On this episode I talk to Duncan Stone's about his fascinating new book Different Class: The Untold Story of English Cricket.
Different Class is both a history of cricket from the grassroots and an analysis of the roots of the sport's attitudes to race and class. Duncan uncovers the reality of cricket behind the myth, and reveals the true story of working-class cricket in the south of England.
It’s a richly detailed book, based on years of unique archival research, which highlights how the history of cricket parallels the many of the key aspects of the conflicted stories of rugby and soccer. Most of all, for anyone wanting to understand English cricket's current crisis 'Different Class' is essential reading.
You can buy the book direct from the publishers, and there’s a pre-Christmas discount if you move quickly, by going to the website of Repeater Books.