Eleven reasons to buy my book this Christmas...

A rare day off today, so I thought I would thank those lovely people at Pitch Publishing, who agreed to publish 'In Their Own Words: Derbyshire Cricketers in Conversation' this summer, with a short piece ahead of the Christmas rush.

So why buy my book (if you haven't already)?

1 It is a book about the county that we all support and the wonderful characters who have represented it since the Second World War.

2 It features the only recorded interview with Walter Goodyear, now two months short of his hundredth birthday and with a vivid recall of Derbyshire personalities from the mid-1930s onwards. The recollections of all the participants were wonderful, but to be linked by one man with nineteenth century cricket is a thrill that remains with me. You'll need to read it to understand that one.

3 There are thousands of county runs and wickets among the participants. From the journeyman professional to the international stars, I tried to get a representative selection of players across the county landscape and am thrilled with their contributions. I hope it brings back a lot of memories.

4 It unearthed a lot of new, previously unrecorded stories about the county cricket scene over a seventy-year period. It was what I set out to do and the participants all delivered handsomely. They offered me wonderful source material and I hope I did them all justice.

5 It gives an insight into the way the game changed over seventy years, from catching trains and buses to matches, through to Brian Lara carrying his mobile onto the pitch for business calls. Sponsored cars were not an option in the 1950s. A scooter or affording one of your own was the escape from public transport around the country.

6 In festive Dickensian fashion, it features coaches of Christmas past (Edwin Smith, Graeme Welch) present (John Wright) and possible future (Wayne Madsen). If you want to find out just how much Derbyshire and its cricket means to them all, it is all in the one place. If you want to find out John Wright's coaching ethos, it is there for you.

7 It is less than fifteen pounds on Amazon. Or from me, though I have to charge postage. I will sign it for you, though, or inscribe it as a gift for someone you love. The choice is yours.

8 It has been blessed by universally excellent reviews. See, as a sample:

http://deepextracover.com/2016/07/book-review-in-their-own-words-by-steve-dolman/

 http://www.cricketweb.net/books/in-their-own-words/

9  It will remind you of the fantastic players we have had over the years. Edwin Smith, Harold Rhodes, Bob Taylor, Geoff Miller, Devon Malcolm, Wayne Madsen - there are nineteen interviews in all and you can read them in bite-sized chunks before bedtime.

10 It will while away those cold, dark months ahead before we all gather around the boundary edge once more. Or over our Twitter feeds, radios or Cricinfo, depending on personal circumstances.

11 It features a foreword by club captain Wayne Madsen, who was incredibly generous with his time and comments. Wayne is a true great of the club and it was an honour to have him on board.

Thank you to all those who have so far bought the book, I am grateful to you all. For those who are interested, please search for the book on Amazon or Waterstones websites, ask at your local bookshop or get in touch to the usual email address, peakfan36@yahoo.co.uk

If it sells in sufficient quantities, volume two could be an option down the line.

There's a few people I would love to include in that one!