Ramachandra Guha's history has to be rated among the top dozen cricket books of all time because it answers the question - the most neglected question - of why the game of cricket is played. Every country needs to ask this question and only India, as far as I know, has been supplied with the answer, thanks to Guha (Hilary Beckles, it should be added, has made a promising start in the West Indies). Tracing the development of the game through the various communities of Bombay, and using newspaper archives - as all too few cricket historians do - Guha explains why, in succession, the Parsis, Hindus, Muslims and Christians took to cricket. It does not provide a complete national picture - the Princes' interest in the game is only touched upon - but the book is still a unique contribution. Now it is up to the other Test-playing countries to follow suit. Scyld Berry

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