The only surprise about his two centuries on a farewell first-class trip to Lord's was that he needed a bridge to cross the river

It was Sangakkara, though, who spectators came to watch, and the authority and precision of his strokeplay were much admired, not least by fellow players. The only surprise about his two centuries on a farewell first-class trip to Lord's was that he needed a bridge to cross the river.

R. Spiller, 'Surrey', L. Booth (ed.), Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (2018), 587

The system that specialised in preventing you

'In Erfurt, I became radicalised against the system. The system that specialised in preventing you. Preventing you full stop.'

I had felt the same at sixteen, in the same system. I'd felt old before I was young. In a liberal democracy, Felix would have been a run-of-the-mill anarchist, a regular angry young man, and his rebellion would have run its course. But not in East Germany in 1971.

K. Kassabova, Border (2017), 92

Never mind 2015: this could have been 1895

You might describe it as a series of its time - cricket for the attention-deprived, 140-character age. And yet there was something queerly retro about it all. Three-day tests? Pitifully low totals? England v Australia playing each other every few months to the exclusion of almost anything else? Never mind 2015: this could have been 1895.

J. Liew, 'England v Australia in 2015', L. Booth (ed.), Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (2016), 334

This was a duty, an obligation, the right thing to do.

Perhaps nothing summed him up better than the last of the several pieces he wrote for Wisden: a tribute to his friend and hero Keith Miller in 2005. the editor muttered apologetically about the feebleness of the fee.  No, he said, he didn't want a fee. This was a duty, an obligation, the right thing to do.

'Obituaries: Benaud, Richard', L. Booth (ed.), Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (2016), 195

I am a sucker for these moments. For a variety of reasons, there are lots in Wisden 2016. I liked this one best.

This was touching, but not a policy found in most textbooks on sporting governance

Tendulkar's 200th test should have been in Cape Town, but politics and money put paid to that: the BCCI wanted to bloody the nose of CSA chief executive Haroon Lorgat, and there were broadcasters to sate. Besides, Tino Best and Darren Sammy were less likely than Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel to embarrass an ageing superstar. Most conveniently, perhaps, the setting allowed Tendulkar's mother to watch him play for the first time. This was touching, but not a policy found in most textbooks on sporting governance.

L. Booth, 'Notes by the Editor', id. (ed.), Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (2014), 22

And then the batting, and batting, and more beautiful batting

The rest is an Indian fairytale: Laxman the last man out in the first innings for a dashing 59, asked to keep his pads on by his captain and the coach, swapping positions with a struggling Dravid in the follow-on, the two coming together in the second innings with Laxman almost upon his century but India still behind Australia’s first-innings total.

And then the batting, and batting, and more beautiful batting, over a short evening, the whole of March 14, and then some more. Laxman curling the ball through imperceptible gaps, Dravid regaining lost form through pure unblinking will, Laxman now flick-pulling the fast bowlers as if tossing frisbees, now driving them on the rise, sinuous jabs that raced improbably across the big green outfield, Dravid now blocking, now shouldering arms, now leaning back to cut, the old sureness slowly redeveloping, Laxman inside-outing Warne miraculously from far outside leg stump, now whipping him against the turn, Dravid, fully restored, emboldened to come down the track himself and wrist Warne across his break, all of this in the huge sound and growing belief of a hundred thousand in Eden Gardens, an energy that must be experienced to be understood.

R. Bhattacharya, 'Two southern gentlemen', L. Booth, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (2013), 131-2

Once upon a time, Amla would have been the player required to leave his homeland

Once upon a time, Amla would have been the player required to leave his homeland to realise his potential and live out his dreams. It would have been the destiny of Pietersen, with his expensive Pietermaritzburg education and his apparently inviolable sense of self-certainty, to wear the national cap

B. Carpenter, 'South African Time', L. Booth (ed.), Wisden Cricketers' (2013), 116

Some see it as a place for people who are still coming to terms with the death of Edward VII

Canterbury divides opinion. Some see it as a place for people who are still coming to terms with the death of Edward VII:  a theme park for vaguely distracted gentlefolk, who find the sport engaging but would really rather be pacifying the North West frontier or civilising the dusty outback

P. Collins, 'Canterbury week: Fascinating! It's Ladies' Day', S. Berry (ed.), Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (2011), 70

I really, really, want to go to watch Kent play.

Two standing ovations: the first full of expectation, the second tinged invariably with regret

Tendulkar was also 38, and his fifth tour of England was widely assumed to be his last.. Each of his eight innings was accompanied by two standing ovations: the first full of expectation, the second tinged invariably with regret.

A. Miller, 'England v India 2011', L. Booth (ed.), Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (2012), 298

English cricket contained no more than half a dozen left wingers

Some of the reaction to the prison sentences handed out to Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamar recalled John Arlott's suspicion that English cricket contained no more than half a dozen left wingers.

L. Booth, 'Notes by the editor', id. (ed.), Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (2012), 21

Deducting one fixture abandoned owing to the death of King Edward

Deducting one fixture abandoned owing to the death of King Edward and five curtailed on account of the funeral, 176 matches were played in the Championship.

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (1911), cited in S. Berry (ed.), Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (2010), 1699