On the Ashes

Nothing compares to the Ashes. The Ashes is always coming, even when it is finished. The Ashes is where hope, expectation, magic and chagrin flourish in equal measure, and performance is permanently burnished. ’The best cricket writer in the world’ Guardian ’The Bradman of cricket writing’ Sunday Telegraph ’The finest cricket writer alive’ The Australian ’Australia’s finest writer on cricket’ The Times ’The most gifted cricket essayist of his generation’ Richard Williams, Guardian In On The Ashes, Gideon Haigh, today’s pre-eminent cricket writer, has captured over a century and half of Anglo-Australian cricket, from WG Grace to Don Bradman, from Bodyline to Jim Laker’s 19-wicket match, from Ian Botham’s miracle at Headingley to the phenomena of Patrick Cummins and Ben Stokes, today’s Ashes captains. From over three decades of covering The Ashes, Gideon has brought together an enduring vision of this timeless contest between Australia and England - the world’s oldest sporting rivalry - from the colonial era to the present day.

Gideon Haigh was born in England and lives in Australia, with a parent from each. He was eight when he attended his first Ashes Test, twenty-four when he reported his first Ashes series. Gideon has written about cricket in The Australian, The Times, The Guardian, the Financial Times and in over thirty books.