What if I told you that there was a way you could make your World Cup all the more interesting, despite your favorite team’s poor performance? The ICC Cricket World Cup England and Wales 2019 – The Official Book is your one-way ticket to a time when World Cup was cherished, awaited and above all, considered the only trophy that mattered.
This book authored by Chris Hawkes is your traditional guide to the mega event, even if all the statistics presented here can be found on the internet. The way the author describes the eye-witness account of the previous editions, including the finals, is as good as being there.
This Official Book of the World Cup has nothing official about it; it talks about everything that’s related to the World Cup, the participating teams, the key players and some important matches that have had a magical effect on the audience. Although just a few of the many memorable matches have been mentioned here, but they were the best of the best, including the 1979 World Cup Final Century by Viv Richards, 1983 World Cup Final where India dethroned the West Indians, the 1992 World Cup Final where Pakistan shocked the World etc.
When you read about these encounters, the effect it leaves on your mind is amazing and it will definitely make you watch the matches, again.
This book also discusses the many changes in Cricket from the days of WG Grace to the Bodyline ‘fiasco’, and the evolution of Cricket from Tests to ODIs and finally to the Cricket World Cup. It just doesn’t stop here, as then you are told about the Qualifying Round of the Current World Cup as well as the Team Ranking, the Player Rankings and Progression of some important records.
And if there is a book discussing the venues of the World Cup in 4 pages, imagine the kind of research they might have done for the other things. You get a map of the United Kingdom and then the cities where the matches would be played are pointed out on that map so that the audience knows about the conditions in which the matches would be played, the number of seats for spectators, along with a pen sketch of the venue providing information about its past, as well as upcoming matches.
Every page of this book features an action picture of either a current player or one from the history of the World Cup, making it a must-have item for your collection. The accompanying stats in every section as well as in the end let you settle down in the offline World of Cricket which you can enjoy even at a place where there is no Wi-Fi, or electricity.
Since there is a World Cup going on, you might want to know the few players that according to this book might end up as Stars of the Event. Although not every country has a representation in the 10-man list but when you have Hasan Ali representing Pakistan, Virat Kohli appearing for India, Rashid Khan making Afghanistan’s presence felt and Shakib Al Hasan representing Bangladesh, there is no reason to complain.
Add to it the event-by-event analysis of all the earlier 11 editions and you will have no time left on your hand after following this book as well as the matches being played in The United Kingdom. The accompanying Tournament Chart should be on your wall because it will help you track all the matches of the tournament, including the semi-Finals and the grand finale. Get your hands on this book and you will not regret buying it even if your team manages to crash out of the World Cup before you could mark the chart with their presence.
