Book Review: Lost Cricket Stickers - In Search of 1983's World of Cricket Sticker Album Heroes by Matthew Appleby

I was always likely to enjoy Matthew Appleby's second cricket book. I enjoyed his first, about his father, his love for cricket and the literature of the game. He has a style of writing that is enjoyable and the theme of this one was very much up my street. 

There are similarities with my own second book, In Their Own Words, In that the author has sought out heroes of yesteryear who in some cases have disappeared from the public conscious. 

Others are better known, such as Mike Selvey and John Barclay, while the pieces on Chris Cowdrey and Geoffrey Boycott are enjoyable.

Yet for me, the strength of this book is in those those who now go below the radar. 

I was always going to enjoy the piece on Ole Mortensen, having been approached, and kindly name-checked by the author for a contact. Like all of the others in the book, 1983 was a fine year for 'Stan' and the interview is a good one. 

So too are those on John Holder, Kevin Emery and Nigel  Popplewell, but there are anecdotes galore in a book that clearly required a lot of travel and work and is hugely enjoyable. 

It was a more simple age, when everyone played for their county and tolerated the challenges of travel that the game brought. Yet everyone seems to have enjoyed it and a recurring theme is that to they wouldn't have swapped their experiences for anything else. 

It is nice to find out more about some of the journeymen of the game, not just during their careers, but since they disappeared from the public eye. Some of my favourites are in here, with every county represented and each of them giving a unique take on the game then and now. 

Based on the only cricket sticker album of the era, this book is a safe purchase. Another worthy publication from Pitch Publishing.

Lost Cricket Stickers: The Search for 1983's World of Cricket Sticker Heroes is written by Matthew Appleby and published by Pitch Publishing