When buying new "Wisden's", my first action is to go to the back of the book and the "Index of Unusual Occurrences", and get an intriging preview of the oddities lying within the covers. Cleverly, "Wisden" has decided ask leading cricket writer Gideon Haigh to scan through the "Wisden's" since its inception in 1864 to find all the more unusual occurrences in cricket history and publish them in this slim volume.

And there are plenty of anecdotes and reporting of unusual occurrences since 1864, including former Australian wicket-keeper Bill Oldfield presenting Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie with a cricket bat donated by Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies, the incident where South African Pat Symcox had a stuffed barbecue chicken thrown at him and when film director Peter Jackson recorded a Wellington crowd making grunting and growling noises for use in a future "Lord of the Rings" film.

And you'll plenty more in here. Recommended. ( )