The fabled five to celebrate 150?

“…there are the Five Cricketers of the Year, the selection of whom has been the sole prerogative of the editor since 1889, give or take the occasional break for a world war”.
        Lawrence Booth, Mail Online, 11 April 2012

Since the diminutive John Wisden put pen to paper for the first Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack in 1864, Wisden has been a fixture for every cricket tragic. Since 1889*, the editor’s choice of his Cricketers of the Year sparks debate that often approaches physical confrontation, so impassioned are many readers in support of their choices.

Wisden’s five is the oldest individual award in cricket, one of the most prestigious honours in our great game. To grace the pages of the 150th edition is to secure one’s place in cricketing history, a chance to live in the collective memory of all who read cricket’s bible.

The WISDEN addiction – one man’s story

Wisden: it might start with one but....

The first Wisden purchase most cricket fans make changes something in them – they may not have the immediate desire to collect the complete set but all know they are buying into a history closing in on 150 years. ‘The little yellow book – a cricketing bible’ means different things to different people but in all of us it symbolises a love of our great game.

How did a Kiwi cricketing tragic half a world away from Wisden’s spiritual home catch the bug? Like many of my generation, I got the obligatory sporting biography at Christmas – it resonated with me and ever since I’ve collected cricket books quicker than the public turned on Jesse Ryder. In my formative years there was very little overseas cricket coverage on the television or the radio in Aotearoa, and before I embraced the digital age books opened a window to an unseen cricketing world – they are responsible for my love of the Windies.

The little yellow book – a cricketing bible

When little John Wisden launched his even smaller Almanack in 1864 he didn't know he was creating an institution - he thought he was establishing a nest egg for his retirement from a successful cricket career with Sussex……..it arguably started the modern fascination with statistics, and set the standards for their accuracy and presentation. 
                                                                                  Steven Lynch

Wisden 1864 - where it all began

Is the written word continually playing and missing? Are books, once the source of all knowledge, about to be dismissed after a well compiled innings? Has the new digital age seen them go the same way as cricket's grafters in a T20 world?

With the cricketing bible, Wisden, set to celebrate its 150th year in 2013, no declaration appears imminent. How is the little yellow book still relevant after such a lengthy knock?