The Pavilion Library

image_print

The Pavilion Library was a series of thirty reprints of cricket books, issued between 1984 and 1991. They were all initially published between 1937 and 1972, (except Ranji, which was published in 1983), a period of thirty-five years when many of the greats of cricket writing were at work. Particularly outstanding and well-represented in this series are Alan Ross, E.W. Swanton, John Arlott, A.A. Thomson, Jack Fingleton and R.C. Robertson-Glasgow; the most obvious absentees are John Woodcock and Neville Cardus. In addition, there are biographies and autobiographies of many of the greats of the game. Although nearly all of this collection of books was initially published after WWII, several deal with cricket history or are compilations of earlier writings, so the inter-war years are well-represented as well. Together, they offer an erudite, if romanticised, view of the game from an English (or Australian) perspective covering the period between WWI and the birth of limited overs cricket in the 1960s.

The books were published in both softback and hardback formats, all with the same design. The covers feature a period photograph or print, framed in emerald green, which was also the colour of the spine. They were generally provided with a new introduction by a prominent cricket figure, and sometimes were subject to minor editing. Most titles are available for little cost at second-hand book websites. The following is a list of all the titles in the order of publication. ISBNs are of the softback editions.

ISBNTitleAuthorYear of reprintYear first publishedPicture
0907516688Cricket Crisis – bodyline and other linesJack Fingleton19841946
0907516718Benny Green’s Cricket ArchiveBenny Green (editor)19851977
0907516696Brightly Fades the DonJack Fingleton19851949
0907516726Cricket CountryEdmund Blunden19851944
090751670XCrusoe on Cricket – the cricket writings of R. C. Robertson-GlasgowR. C. Robertson-Glasgow19851966
0907516734 Odd Men In – a gallery of cricket eccentricsA. A. Thomson19851959
1851450238The Ashes Crown the Year – A coronation cricket diaryJack Fingleton19861954
1851450211Batter’s Castle – a ramble around the realm of cricketIan Peebles19861959
1851450254Hirst and RhodesA. A. Thomson19861959
1851450270Life worth Living – some phases of an EnglishmanC.B. Fry19861941
1851450297 Through the Caribbean – England in the West Indies 1960Alan Ross19861960
185145019XTwo Summers at The Tests – England v South Africa 1947, England v Australia 1948John Arlott19861952
0340241470The Best Loved Game – one summer of English cricketGeoffrey Moorhouse19871979
1851451455Bowler’s Turn – a further ramble round the realm of cricketIan Peebles19871961
1851451161In Celebration of CricketKenneth Gregory (compiler)19871978
1851451129Lord’s 1787-1945Sir Pelham Warner19871946
1851451412Lord’s 1946-1970Diana Rait Kerr and Ian Peebles19871971
185145117XP.G.H.FenderRichard Streeton19871981
1851452230RanjiAlan Ross19881983
1851452702End of an InningsDenis Compton19881958
1851452257Farewell to CricketDon Bradman19881950
1851452060Jack Hobbs – a biographyRonald Mason19881960
1851451889Cricket All His Life – the cricket writings of E. V. LucasE.V. Lucas19891950
1851453903The Cricket Captains of England – a surveyAlan Gibson19891979
1851453709Sort of a Cricket PersonE.W. Swanton19891972
1851454624Cricket Cauldron – with Hutton in the CaribbeanAlex Bannister19901954
1851454918In Search of CricketJ.M. Kilburn19901937
1851454578Masters of Cricket – from Trumper to MayJack Fingleton19901958
1851456680Australia 63Alan Ross19911964
1851456589Pavilioned in SplendourA. A. Thomson19911956

Scroll to Top