The Test Match Special Book of Cricket Quotes

Test Match Special presents witty, weird and wonderful quotes from the cricket world and beyond

Dan Waddell is a journalist, novelist and author. He covered two seasons of county cricket for the Daily Telegraph and his books include Who Do You Think You Are? and Field of Shadows: The Remarkable True Story of the English Cricket Tour of Nazi Germany, 1937. He captains Acton 2nd XI in the Middlesex County League where he tries and fails to pass on sage advice to young players.

Collecting hundreds of quips and quotes, and beautifully illustrated throughout, The Test Match Special Book of Cricket Quotes is a cricket fan’s indispensable guide to bats, beards, boundaries and bowls. 
 
From witty sayings and wise words, to doubles entendres, and legendary moments from cricketing history, you’ll find the perfect line for every occasion. 
 
‘I've never got to the bottom of streaking’- Jonathan Agnew 
 
‘On the first day Logie decided to chance his arm and it came off' - Trevor Bailey 
 
‘Bill Frindall has done a bit of mental arithmetic with a calculator’- John Arlott 
 
'Strangely, in slow motion, the ball seemed to hang in the air for even longer' - David Acfield 
 
'I'm not into caps with lots of diamonds on them, like KP' - James Anderson 
 
'How can you tell your wife you are just popping out to play a match and then not come back for five days?' - Rafa Benitez on test cricket 
 
‘I don't think we choked this time. We never played well enough to choke’ - Craig Matthews 
 
‘Flintoff starts in, his shadow beside him. Where else would it be?’- Henry Blofeld 
 
‘I once delivered a simple ball, which I was told, had it gone far enough, would have been considered a wide’ - Lewis Carroll

We Had Some Laughs

A warm, funny, sad memoir about the darts commentator Sid Waddell by his son, Dan.

Hootingly funny, deftly structured, a joy to read and highly recommended

A touching, funny, warm and readable tribute to a funny, warm and unreadable man!

Warm, moving and humorous.... a paean to a way of life that has slowly slipped from view and people and places that linger now only as memories

A touching tribute to a man who transcended his sport

Raise a glass to Sid Waddell's wit and warmth! ... An engaging biography of a much-loved tv voice ... packed throughout with little gems about Sid

A touching and laugh-out-loud tribute to the father he adored

I adored this treble-top memoir of coal miner’s son, Cambridge graduate and inimitable darts commentator Sid Waddell by his sportswriter son. By turns fruity, funny and deeply touching, it teems with larger-than-life characters – and I don’t just mean the darts players. At its heart it’s a celebration of a vanished era, from the pits of County Durham and the early Wild West days of Yorkshire Television, to the boozy, smoky pre-arena spectacle that was darts. But most of all it’s a story about a father and a son, and the often tested but never broken bond between them.

An ESSENTIAL book for any fan of darts or, more specifically, the voice of darts, Sid Waddell... reading Dan's book felt like an old friend was being brought to life again in my hands.

As ‘the voice of darts’, the inimitable Sid Waddell helped transform it from an unfashionable pub game to a massively successful international sport. His uninhibited enthusiasm, classical allusions and memorable one-liners endeared him to millions. His son Dan Waddell grew up in this smoky, boozy world and witnessed Sid’s turbulent journey from failed novelist and struggling TV producer to much-loved television personality. 
 
We Had Some Laughs is Dan’s warm, moving and funny account of Sid’s colourful life and career and a son’s memories of an unconventional dad. It is also a celebration of a way of life and a story of loss – of people, places and times now gone or changed for ever. But, most of all, it’s a story about fathers and sons, and the unshakeable bond between them.

The Test Match Special Quiz Book

Over 3,000 brand-new questions from every era of Test Match Special.

For over 50 years, Test Match Special has provided listeners with every Test cricket ball, batting average, and plenty of views from the boundary, too. But how well do you know your cricket? 
 
Pit your wits against Aggers, Tuffers, Boycs and Johnners – and try not to get caught out! Can you identify the most famous players from history, name that ground or reel off well-known (and lesser-known) stats and facts. And of course, what Test Match Special would be complete without the gaffes, giggles, cakes and celebrity guests who make up a day at the cricket? 
 
With over 3,000 mind-bending puzzles about every aspect of the sport and beyond, this is the ultimate test of any cricket fan's true average.

The English Cricket Tour of Nazi Germany 1937

Field of Shadows

The real story of a moment of sporting history, when an English cricket team took on Nazi Germany in 1937

Cricket and Nazis! Can there be a more enticing combination of subjects to read about? A wonderful story... A story begging to be told

Adolf Hitler despised cricket, considering it un-German and decadent. And Berlin in 1937 was not a time to be going against the Fuhrer’s wishes. But hot on the heels of the 1936 Olympics, an enterprising cricket fanatic of enormous bravery, Felix Menzel, somehow persuaded his Nazi leaders to invite an English team to play his motley band of part-timers. 
 
That team was the Gentlemen of Worcestershire, an ill-matched group of mavericks, minor nobility, ex-county cricketers, rich businessmen and callow schoolboys – led by former Worcestershire CC skipper Major Maurice Jewell. Ordered ‘not to lose’ by the MCC, Jewell and his men entered the 'Garden of Beasts' to play two unofficial Test matches against Germany. 
 
Against a backdrop of repression, brutality and sporadic gunfire, the Gents battled searing August heat, matting pitches, the skill and cunning of Menzel, and opponents who didn't always adhere to the laws and spirit of the game. The tour culminated in a match at the very stadium which a year before had witnessed one of sport's greatest spectacles and a sinister public display of Nazi might. 
 
Despite the shadow cast by the cataclysmic conflict that was shortly to engulf them, Dan Waddell's vivid and detailed account of the Gentlemen of Worcestershire's 1937 Berlin tour is a story of triumph: of civility over barbarity, of passion over indifference and hope over despair.

The Wit and Wisdom of Test Match Special

A treasury of cricket quips and quotes from over 50 years of Test Match Special

‘He played that so late, it was almost posthumous.’ (John Arlott) 
 
 
For over fifty years, Test Match Special has provided the soundtrack to many cricket fans’ lives – now this book collects its greatest hits. 
 
 
Here are all the witty sayings, bons mots, doubles entendres, wise words and priceless moments from the whole TMS team past and present, and of course their many and varied celebrity guests. Whether it’s classic Test moments or hilarious asides from the boundary, you’ll find the perfect line for every occasion. Collecting over half a century of quips and quotes, and beautifully illustrated throughout, The Wit and Wisdom of Test Match Special is a cricket fan’s indispensable guide to bats, bowls, beards and bakes.

Dan Waddell

The Genealogy Handbook

Do you know where you came from? 
 
Who Do You Think You Are? has been a BBC hit since its first series in 2004, which ignited an extraordinary boom in researching family history in the UK. Since then, the world of genealogy has transformed and while our sources of information remain the same, our ways of accessing them have multiplied and changed beyond recognition. In this practical, easy-to-use handbook, the WDYTYA? team share their experience and expertise, essential for anyone who would like to discover their family’s history. 
 
Drawing on celebrity stories to illustrate and inspire, and providing hints, tips and practical step-by-steps this pocket handbook will bring family history to life for fans of the show, and for any amateur sleuths starting out on their own journey of discovery.

Dan Waddell

Books by Dan Waddell

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