No one who plays cricket, or is seriously interested in the game, can afford to miss this superb publication, The Cricket Pocket Bible.

The perfect gift for every cricket enthusiast. Who managed a total of just one run in his first six Test match innings? Who was the first cricket writer to be knighted for services to the game? Who was the first batsman to accomplish the remarkable feat of hitting six sixes in an over? You can have the answer to all these and more inside The Cicket Pocket Bible, a pocket compendium of cricketing trivia and titbits about one of the world's most popular sports.

The book has eleven informative chapters apart from the Cricket Quiz - The History of Cricket, The Laws of Cricket, The Cricket Kit Bag, The Field of Play, The Etiquette of Cricket, The Main Forms of the Game, The Teams, The Great Games, The Great Players, The Culture of Cricket and The Cricket Glossary.

Greg Vaughan says the book offers more than simply guidance on how to play, it also takes a closer look at the history and playing records of the teams at the top of the game, at their star performers and their grounds, at their notorious scandals and exhilarating victories. It looks at the relationship between cricket and the world around it - in the politial world, in books, on film, even in music - and at how the way we watch and play cricket is changing.

The highlights of the book are the interesting Pocket facts throughout. A few quite interesting ones are:

# Australian post-war fast bowler Keith Miller was well known for his slick "Brylcreemed' hair but this was his secret weapon too - before bowling he would pass his hand through his hair and apply a discreet coating of hair cream to the shiny side of the ball.

# As with Australia's fear of the number 87, English cricketers are often concerned when the score reaches 111 as this score looks like the three stumps without bails, a sure sign that a wicket is going to be lost. It is known as a Nelson, after the war hero Horatio Nelson who was wrongly believed to have one eye, one arm and one leg.

# To date, Richard Hadlee is the only cricketer ever to receive a knighthood while still paying the game professionally.

A small correction can be rectified in the next edition in the first question of cricket quiz (Who scored 333 for England against Pakistan at Lord's in 1990?). Graham Gooch had actually achieved the feat against India.

The book is a feast for the eye, a priceless work of reference and attractively laid out.