Notes By The Editors: 120 Years of Wisden Opinion

When Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack was first published in 1864, it included no comments or opinions at all. As the editors explained, they “carefully avoided making any remarks upon the play or players, as the purport of this little work is to record the scores of the matches”.

But by the turn of the century, things had changed, and since the first set of “Notes By The Editor” appeared in Wisden in 1901, the editor’s opinions have become a feature of the Almanack, the first pages that readers turn to, to see what bees are in the editorial bonnet this year.

In this collection, Notes by the Editors reproduces many of the most memorable editor opinions expressed over the 120 years since they first appeared. Wisden’s views on all the great topics (and some of the smaller ones) are included – throwing, bodyline, Packer, the d’Oliveira Affair, not to mention ball tampering and the development of The Hundred. And the weather, always the weather.