The Greatest Ashes Battles celebrates 15 of the most gripping Test matches played in the 130 years of Anglo-Australian cricket rivalry, spanning the period from the inaugural Test at Melbourne in 1877 to England's ghost-laying triumph at Lord's in 2009.

The history of the Ashes has thrown up many individual battles - Bradman vs. Hammond and Larwood, Botham vs. Lillee, Warne vs. Flintoff - but it is the great matches that endure in the mind's eyes.

Great men and moments are remembered in affectionate detail in the book, which is a delightfully interesting and compelling read from start to finish. There are many enjoyable pictures both of famous players who took part, of grounds and of match incidents.

Bernard Whimpress and Nigel Hart believe Great matches are shaped by epic performances, and sometimes by cameos. "While we were not tempted to name 'player of the match' awards, cricket as a team sport has its champions and its bit players. Both get their due in this account, and some of the best individual performers end up on the losing side. We have shown in several places that gritty thirties and forties at the right times win Test matches as effectively as big hundreds, and that big hundreds are often less significant than they are made to seem."

The recent Ashes Tests covered in the book include Edgbaston 2005, Trent Bridge 2005, Adelaide 2006 and Lord's 2009.


Attractively laid out, well illustrated, logically organised and lucidly written, this book is a recommended reading.