Steven Lynch, Deputy Editor, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket statistician of international repute. Those readers familiar with the compiler's meticulousness will have every confidence in the quality of the latest edition of this publication.

Steven has done a marvellous job in the 2012 edition of the Wisden Guide to international cricket. Now in its sixth year, this outstanding publication contains crisp profiles of every batsman playing at present and expected to appear in a Test match in 2012.

The Wisden Guide to International Cricket 2012 has the detail of 200 players. Each player has been devoted a full-page, including a photograph and the facts and figures of his career. The coaches of the Test-playing countries are also profiled, along with umpires and referees.

The Australian skipper has been profiled as: "Michael Clarke was being touted as an Australian captain before he'd even played a Test. And when he marked his debut with 151 against India in October 2004, his future looked even brighter than the yellow motorbike he received as Man of the Match. Another thrilling century followed on his home debut, and his first Test season ended with the Allan Border Medal. Then came the fall. Barely a year later he was dropped after 15 centuryless Tests. He was told to tighten his technique, especially early on against swing."

Daniel Vettori, according to Steven Lynch, the first slow left-armer to take 300 Test wickets, has been arguably the best bowler of his type in international cricket for almost a decade.

Steven says you only have to attend a one-dayer at the Wankhede Stadium and watch the lights flicker and the floor tremble as the applause echoes around the ground when he comes in, to realise what Sachin Tendulkar means to Mumbai..and India.

The Wisden Guide to International Cricket 2012 has given sufficient space to the non-Test playing countries e.g. Afghanistan, Canada, Kenya, Ireland, The Netherlands and Scotland.

Cricket enthusiasts would find answers to a few interesting questions like Which former groundsman took a wicket with his first ball in a Test? Who burst into tears when he was run out for 99 in a Test match? Who hit the first ball in the World Cup for six?

Besides the above features, there is a quick-reference section of records, covering Tests, One Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals apart from a handy guide to the coming year's international fixtures.

Steven Lynch deserves full credit for bringing out this magnificent publication. One of the many strengths of the book is the well-researched players' profiles section. Highly recommended. This is the only publication which informs you how the players play as well as what they have accomplished so far.

Readable, most informative, interesting and well-researched, The Wisden guide to International Cricket 2012 is the ideal complement to the long-standing spring bestsellers Wisden and Playfair and fills a gap left by these publications by providing detailed profiles of every player.

Readers of this indispensable book will find themselves in exalted company. The book is also excellent value for money.