Year in and year out, Headline Publishing Group, has been doing an outstanding job in coming out with the pocket-sized Playfair Cricket Annual.

For cricket scribes, statisticians and scorers Playfair Cricket Annual is a companion that should permanently remain in their briefcases. You ask for any statistical detail about the game and it is there.

The latest edition of the Playfair Cricket Annual is packed with all the essential information required to follow events on the cricket field, with unrivalled up-to-the-minute statistical detail on all first-class players registered in the UK and fixture lists for the present season.

In his editorial preface in early March this year, Ian Marshall remarked: "There is no cricketer who currently shines as brightly as Sachin Tendulkar. Over the winter he passed 50 Test centuries, while his 120 against England in the World Cup on 27 Feruary was his 98th three-figure innings in international cricket to date. This summer we have what will surely be the last opportunity to see him in action in this country; few will want to miss the opportunity to see the greatest batsman of the modern era in action. It would not be a surprise if he reached his 100th hundred in the Test at Lord's."

The Annual, as usual, contains the Test match scores and averages both home and abroad between January 2010 and January 2011, coverage of the County Championship 2010, Clydesdale Bank 40 and the Friends Provident T20, Minor Counties and 2nd XI Championships, detailed Register of all current first-class county players and umpires including career bests in international Twenty20 matches, probable Sri Lanka and Indian touring teams and series records.

Former England captain, Graham Gooch has paid a rich tribute to Andy Flower while reviewing England's success in the Ashes this winter: "Flower's role in all of this is a vital. As a person and as a cricketer, he is calm and committed. Having been a world-class performer himself, he understands the moods of the players, and can express his ideas and vision with great clarity. Every base is covered, and he ensures the players always go in search of victory, something they have to keep working on. He has brought self-belief to the squad: his methods have been seen to work. But he also has the priceless virtue of not getting stuck in his ways; he is happy to change things and promote new ideas."

Cricket enthusiasts would love to find the coverage of the Indian Premier League 2010, the Champions League Twenty20 2010 and ICC World Twenty20 2010. A two-page chapter on Duckworth/Lewis - A brief explanation is quite informative. The cricket lovers would find meticulously compiled records section, covering First-class, Tests, ODIs and Twenty20 Internationals apart from Women's Tests and ODIs.

Playfair Cricket Annual 2011 is an accurate and thorough statistical cricket annual and is an excellent value for money.