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Description
Legendary cricket writer Scyld Berry celebrates his reporting of 500 Test matches in this unique portrait of English cricket culture.
Scyld Berry attended his first Test match in a professional capacity in June 1973, as EW Swanton's 'amanuensis'. With his 501st Test now on the horizon – an achievement never reached by any other greats of the cricket-writing world – Berry has watched the sport evolve like no other.
Test cricket is a steady stream: England have not had a winter off-season since 1972, some Test series almost overlap with the next, and players span eras. But the game has changed enormously in the last half-century: helmets, neutral umpires, bigger bats, new shots, data, abolition of rest days, ICC Test Championship, and DRS has transformed this sport on the field. As screens take over, newspapers shrink and, accelerated by Covid, cricket is increasingly covered remotely, it represents a way of life that is dying out.
500 Declared explores these fundamental changes and developments. From in-depth explanations to short snippets lifted directly from Berry's notebooks, this is a cricket book unlike any other. It is the culmination of a lifetime watching and writing about this fascinating sport.
Product details
Published | 09 Jan 2026 |
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Format | Hardback |
Edition | 1st |
Extent | 272 |
ISBN | 9781399425865 |
Imprint | Bloomsbury Sport |
Dimensions | 234 x 153 mm |
Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
About the contributors
Reviews
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500 Tests is a mind boggling number, a testimony to Scyld's commitment and passion for the game
Ravi Shastri
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Hell of an effort. All round quality
Michael Vaughan
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Decades of dedication, 500 Tests of brilliant insight
Mark Wood, England and Durham player
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A unique account of Test cricket's evolution by one of sport's most distinctive writers
Tim Wigmore, author of Test Cricket: A History
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Few can have watched as much cricket as Scyld, and even fewer can have loved the game more. A master-chronicler of the greatest game.
Will Macpherson, The Telegraph
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Scyld has been a cricket journalist for 50 years. He's been there and worn the t-shirt as far as writing about Test cricket is concerned. This book is a magnificent look-back. His passion for cricket is unrivalled.
Nasser Hussain, former England captain