The Meaning of Cricket

Engrossing book… Hotten explores what it is about cricket that so takes hold of the imagination… Reveal[s] the funny, moving and transformative impact the game can have on life.

Bookseller

Memory and meditation twirled into a lovesong: Jon Hotten hits it out of the park

William Fiennes

Hotten is among the best in the business, as this vivid love letter to the sport proves.

Sport

Hotten is not just good, he is one of the best... He has the eye for a beautifully judged phrase

Richard Whitehead, Cricketer

Simultaneously playful and packed with insight … All cricketing life is here... Hotten’s writing is accessible and often moving

Ben East, Observer

A collection of Jon Hotten's writing that is lively with insight and anecdote, and informed by the persona of the knowledgeable and fascinated practitioner… On amateur cricket Jon is alternately hilarious and poignant, but it's when he's in his almost-a-pro-yet-somehow-not-quite vein that he truly breaks out. He considers cricket's capacity for revealing us to ourselves.

Gideon Haigh, Cric Info

An eccentric mix of anecdote, personal memoir, historical observation, technical analysis and psychological insight.

Matthew Syed, The Times

[Hotten’s] witty commentary on the great names, absurdities and realities of cricket will give heart to its many mad devotees.

Saga

Hotten has emerged as a worthy addition to the lineage of writers who adhere to C L R James’s aphorism: "What do they know of cricket who only cricket know?"… This will be a worthy addition to any cricketing bookshelf

Tim Wigmore, New Statesman

A little gem.

David Owen, Inside the Games

For those dreaming of summer, The Meaning of Cricket is accessible, fun and elegantly written.

Hilary Mantel, New Statesman, Book of the Year

A beautifully written meditation on the joys of summer

Tom Holland, Evening Standard, Book of the Year

A thoughtful paean…to a beautiful game.

Claire Allfree, Metro, Book of the Year