Mid-Wicket Tales
From Trumper to Tendulkar
- S. Giridhar - Registrar and Chief Operating Officer, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru
- V. J. Raghunath - Azim Premji Foundation
Sports Communication
Written with the passion of a fan and knowledge of a cricketer, 
Mid-Wicket Tales: From Trumper to Tendulkar is for all genuine lovers of cricket from every cricketing nation. It celebrates cricket in all its hues and brings alive the rich history, romance and technical nuances of the game, where diligent research and analysis is blended with rare and interesting anecdotes.
Even as the essays reflect the authors’ passion for the game, there is a perspective, balance and tolerant objectivity right through the book. Thus, if they lavish praise on Rahul Dravid for his batting or the wondrous all-round skills of Garry Sobers or the incomparable slip catching of Bobby Simpson, they also admire the less successful test cricketers, for there are just a few thousand test players in 137 years of international cricket.
It is the sort of book one can reach out and spend 30 minutes on any number of occasions, just like meeting old friends.
This is a great compilation straight from the hearts of two cricket romantics. It makes you fall in love with cricket all over again.
Over the years of loving and following cricket it has been such a great joy to read various cricketing books captivating the essence of individual players and their respective eras. It is how I learnt to play the game and enjoy the rich history cricket is so privileged to possess. Mid-wicket Tales: From Trumper to Tendulkar is a wonderfully put together book. This book will ensure that its readers never forget the traditions of cricket and the players who have gone to painstaking efforts to uphold the culture of our great game.
I loved reading about so many fantastic players who played the great game of cricket. It is so well researched and there are so many fantastic statistics throughout. I particularly liked the section on sublime left handers.
The book has left me bowled over. Facts, snippets and anecdotes gracefully come together in this one-of-a-kind book. I applaud the special effort the authors have made to feature many brilliant cricketers who were just not lucky to become stars. Analytical and insightful, thought provoking but not controversial, this book brings both smiles & tears.
The best books on sport combine passion and intelligence. Passion without intelligence lacks discipline and permanence. Intelligence without passion is cold and impersonal. Here is a volume that gets the balance right.
This book is for all genuine lovers of cricket. It has a lovely mix of statistics, technical analysis and stories that enable us to marvel at the past and appreciate the present. The narrative brings alive the game to the reader, animated cricket as I would call it, with such a unique warmth that you will go back again and again to your favorite passages.
Giri and Raghu brought a lot of erudition to their essays. As cricket lovers they researched assiduously, they crunched numbers, analyzed data, tested hypotheses, challenged viewpoints … They did all that but they also had a feel for the history of the game, its characters, its romance …. They could put things into perspective and that is why this book covers a wonderfully wide range of issues.
An unabashed ode to Test cricket. Or as the authors call it, their “love story”. It is also an antidote for the cynicism of today...assumes a mutual affection for the sport, seeking kindred spirits who will get as excited as Giridhar and Raghunath obviously were when digging out novel statistics and recounting unusual anecdotes...[the book] is representative of the sense of history that the authors have invoked in their approach.
Informative and historically significant...delving on the game’s rich history, exhaustive technicalities, varied personalities and the grassroots... in-depth statistical analysis, forms the backbone of the book...a sanctuary of cricket tales...sure to whet your cricketing appetite.
The book has energy and passion. It’s analytical, dissects technique, explores various facets but, crucially, never forgets cricket’s unsung men — talented players who missed out on Tests...dotted with photographs and illustrations, the book has rare and diverse statistics...the book is, both, an informative and a racy read.