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It can’t be fun being a selector. You only get written about when someone is being critical of you, and you get written about a lot. Not only can you not please everyone, often, you can’t please anyone. That’s what the journalists at Wisden Cricinfo – our staff and some regular contributors – discovered when we put on our selectorial hats, and picked Rest of the World teams for the Super Series contest against Australia next year.What a squishy mess we walked right into. As many as 22 people cast their votes, picking a Test XI and an ODI XI, and no two teams, out of all these, were exactly the same. We collated all the votes and came up with composite teams, and those sides did not match any of the 22 submitted in each category either. That confirms the suspicion that some of us are too hard on selectors sometimes; they will rarely pick the same team that any writer or fan may pick, and as long as the differences are reasonable, one should just let those poor souls be.Feel free to pick on us, though. If you don’t agree with our teams, given below, write to us and let us know, and give us your Rest of the World XIs for Tests and one-dayers.Rest of the World Test team (in batting order)1 Michael Vaughan (13 votes, capt)
2 Virender Sehwag (14)
3 Rahul Dravid (20)
4 Brian Lara (20)
5 Sachin Tendulkar (19)
6 Jacques Kallis (14)
7 Mark Boucher (16, wk)
8 Shaun Pollock (10)
9 Shoaib Akhtar (17)
10 Steve Harmison (19)
11 Muttiah Muralitharan (22)The closest battle in the selection of this squad was between Jacques Kallis and VVS Laxman, who found himself the 12th man with nine votes. The argument in favour of Laxman was his outstanding record against Australia, with an average of 63.52, and three centuries – two in the recent four-Test series, to add to his classic 281 in 2001. But Kallis’s allround skills won him the slot: the differential between his batting average and his bowling average is 11.3, which compares well with anyone in the history of the game.The most popular opener, surprisingly, was Virender Sehwag, who wasn’t even taken seriously as a Test opener until recently – he himself speaks of going back to the middle order one day. His 309 against Pakistan at Multan, and the 195 against Australia at Melbourne that came two Tests before that, underscored his destructive potential at the top of the order, where he can snatch the momentum away in a session, and the match in another.

He’ll have good company in Michael Vaughan, whose uncertain form of late is balanced by his fine run against Australia in the last Ashes series, where he made three hundreds. He made the team comfortably with 13 votes, more than the openers nearest to him, Graeme Smith (7) and Herschelle Gibbs (5), combined.Unsurprisingly, every single person picked Muttiah Muralitharan, disregarding the controversies that have dogged him since his career began. The pace of Shoaib Akhtar and Steve Harmison was supplemented by the experience and guile of Shaun Pollock, while Anil Kumble, Irfan Pathan and Chaminda Vaas, all with five votes, missed out by a long distance. Kumar Sangakkara, with four votes, was the reserve wicketkeeper.Some of our writers made interesting punts on the future, given that the matches are a year away. One picked Yuvraj Singh to open with Sehwag, implying that not only will Yuvraj open for India in the coming season, as is being speculated, he’ll do well enough to be considered one of the world’s best. Another backed Geraint Jones for the wicketkeeper’s slot – Andy Flower also got a vote for that place. No-one bet on Kevin Pietersen, though, or young Parthiv Patel.Michael Vaughan won the right to captain the side, ahead of the only other current captain, Brian Lara.Rest of the World ODI team (in batting order)1 Sachin Tendulkar (21 votes)
2 Virender Sehwag (15)
3 Jacques Kallis (15)
4 Brian Lara (18)
5 Rahul Dravid (12, capt, wk)
6 Yuvraj Singh (7)
7 Andrew Flintoff (18)
8 Shaun Pollock (16)
9 Shoaib Akhtar/Chaminda Vaas (7 each)
10 Steve Harmison (8)
11 Muttiah Muralitharan (21)Many more players were in contention for the one-day side than the Test side – a total of 39 players had their names mentioned by our 22 selectors. While the cut-off mark for the Test side was 10 votes, here, it was seven, with three players tied on that position, in a battle for two places. Yuvraj Singh, who has constructed some impeccable finishes for India in recent times, took up the batting slot at No. 6, while Shoaib and Vaas were left struggling for one bowling spot.Pathan, Sourav Ganguly and Herschelle Gibbs just missed the cut with six points each. Boucher also lost out with six points; of the 12 people who picked Rahul Dravid, 11 wanted him to keep wicket. Remarkably, given that he isn’t India’s captain yet, he was also chosen to captain the side. Far-sighted or foolhardy? We’ll know in hindsight.Two men named Chris, Gayle and Cairns, got five votes each. Tendulkar and Murali were the most popular picks, both with 21 votes. (And no, the names and email IDs of the people who left out Tendulkar from either side will not be posted here.) As many as ten of the people who voted for Tendulkar wanted him to bat in the middle order, but at the end, only one other opener made it among the batsmen, so that wasn’t necessary. Andrew Flintoff, who lends such weight to the England team with his stirring allround talent, and Brian Lara were also popular choices, with 18 votes each.Shite, wasn’t it? And to think we call ourselves cricket writers. Disgraceful. You can certainly do better, so please do, and write in to us with your teams. We’ll try to collate readers’ XIs, and we’ll also put up some of your feedback.Amit Varma is managing editor of Wisden Cricinfo in India. None of the teams picked here corresponds exactly with his, so in case you know where he lives, please don’t do anything harsh.

No-one will ever under-estimate Peter Fulton when he next strides to the wicket with bat in hand for Canterbury, or for whoever he is playing.Fulton, 24, in only his 11th first-class match achieved the feat of scoring a triple century in a State Championship match against Auckland at Hagley Oval.It was the definitive statement of his ability although is not without precedent when coming so early in a career.Most recently Ken Rutherford scored his triple century when 21 years of age while Bill Carson, whose 290 was the record Fulton surpassed as the highest score for a maiden century, was 20 when he achieved his great score. He had his career cut short by the Second World War in which he died of wounds.Fulton didn’t feel too tired after his innings, it was broken with a night off when he was 188 not out, and said when the declaration came around lunchtime on day two, he felt a tiredness normally associated with having been on a long run.By the end of the four days he was back to normal.The innings came as some reward for opting for cricket over the rugby he had been playing as a 196cm tall fullback. The choice, one which faces so many young New Zealand sportsmen, was forced on him when he had the chance to play league cricket in England. He had two years with Lytham in the Liverpool League. Some knee problems also contributed.”Both sports are similar in terms of team spirit involved in them. But I think in cricket you have a little bit more control over your own game and you are not so reliant on other people,” he said.Fulton made his debut in the last game of the summer of 2000/01, when the competition was well and truly gone from Canterbury’s grasp. It was enough to leave him wanting more but not sufficient for him to get a true idea of what was involved.”It was five or six games before I realised what was all about,” he said.Winning acceptance as a prospective player had not been easy because he played his club cricket in North Canterbury and it was unfashionable for country players to be pulled into the representative side.Making his task easier was the fact that Michael Sharpe had become Canterbury coach after a period as Canterbury Country coach where he had seen Fulton develop.That country cricket involved playing in New Zealand’s second-class competition for the Hawke Cup, a competition notorious for producing some hard nuts who have been exposed to one-innings matches of a nature as tough, if not tougher on occasions, as first-class cricket.”It’s the highest level that a lot of those who are playing will ever reach, and they make it tough. There is a lot riding on it and there is more talk on the field than in first-class play.”The biggest difference in Hawke Cup cricket is having to bat for such a long time and it makes you realise what is required when you step up,” he said.It was certainly a key asset in his own triple century innings.Canterbury had not been going well although Fulton had been having some reasonable, if not earth-shattering, scores.”In the Auckland game there was a lot of pressure on the whole team. The batsmen had not been performinng.”I felt good when I got in. I was so determined to make the most of it.”Before I got to the century, that was all I was focusing on. It is a big hurdle until you get one. Once I got there I was just enjoying it.”Then I really wanted to get through to the end of the day and start again the next day. I knew if I could do that I could get a really big score.”He went to stumps on 188 not out.The innings produced its own type of euphoria the further he went. Batting wasn’t difficult.”I didn’t feel like I had to force myself to concentrate. I was not worried about dot balls or maidens.”As his innings mounted, team-mates began to take an interest in the milestones as they passed: Chris Harris’ Canterbury record of 251 not out; the highest score by a New Zealander for his maiden century held by W N ‘Bill’ Carson with 290 runs, and then the seventh instance of a New Zealander scoring a triple century – the first by anyone who didn’t have an Otago connection.”It was strange to see myself on that [triple centuries] list. Now the season has finished I can think about it a little more.”The reaction after the match had been “amazing”. He has been getting letters and calls of congratulations from people who he thought wouldn’t have taken an interest in cricket and that had been most satisfying.Fulton, who has an Arts degree majoring in education and sociology, said he didn’t think the triple century would create any pressure for him in the future. The opposite was the case.”I’ve done it. It gives me some confidence for my place in the side.”The immediate benefit has been a place in the New Zealand Cricket Academy this year. He had been disappointed to miss out last year.It will be the first time he has had some specific coaching. He hasn’t had a lot of technical coaching before, more the benefit of an enthusiastic headmaster Peter Prosser at Waihi School and Sharpe later on in his career.”I couldn’t really play a forward defensive shot. I was more of a bowler until just after the third form.”Winning a place in the Canterbury team, he never played age-group cricket for Canterbury, although he was once included in the Under-19 side when another player was injured, had exposed him to international players and their methods of preparation and performance.”The biggest thing about playing for Canterbury is being in the nets with the New Zealand players when they are back. Batting with them and watching them, and asking them questions has been great because they have been happy to pass on their knowledge.”I had a different route to the side. I have had to work every year and I took the view that I had to improve five per cent each year so my improvement has been quite gradual.”When he was chosen for Canterbury he was the first Christ’s College player for several years, which in Christchurch’s, and Christ’s College’s, proud association with cricket was a long time.The school teams had suffered from the problem afflicting the game in New Zealand, the drop-out rate of players when their schooling is completed. But that just made Fulton’s success all the more satisfying for him.He gives the impression that there is still much more he wants to do, and that has to be healthy for Canterbury in the short term and who knows where it might all end for him?

Waqar Younis will continue as captain of Pakistan for the home series against New Zealand and the Asian Test championship.Waqar led Pakistan to a drawn series against England and the final of the NatWest Series involving England, Pakistan and Australia.”The Pakistan Cricket Board is satisfied with Younis’s overall showing as captain and he has set a good example with his leadership,” Tauqir Zia, the PCB chairman told the BBC.

Add another name to the emerging crop of young fast bowlers in New Zealand, Ian Butler from Northern Districts.The New Zealand Under-19 representative from last summer allowed his side to gain a significant advantage over Central Districts in their State Championship match at Blenheim’s Horton Park today.Times were when Marlborough’s own fast bowlers Gary Bartlett and Michael Wilson were in their prime the Horton Park pitch was one of the fastest in the country.It still remains one of the bouncier pitches, and while not as fast as in its heyday, it created enough problems for bowlers of both teams to exploit.But at the moment it is Northern Districts who are in charge, although just how much they are able to cash in depends on the batsmen, and three of them are gone.By stumps, CD had been dismissed for 181 and in reply ND were 84/3.However, this was not a pitch that should have so favoured the bowlers. Rather it demanded greater application and graft by batsmen prepared to bide their time.CD has been a batsman short in games to date, and with that in mind it tried promoting Campbell Furlong to No 3 to try and arrest some of the batting decline that cost it a chance against Auckland.His 23 under normal circumstances would have suggested the ploy hadn’t worked, however, given the nature of the CD batting, it positively shone out of the scoreboard.It is likely to have caused Furlong only small comfort, because he had done all the hard work to build a more substantial innings when he chipped an easy return back to bowler Joseph Yovich to be caught and bowled.Yovich had earlier claimed a key wicket when removing David Kelly, a century maker in his last game, for 11.But it was Butler who added sting to the ND attack to give it an even more effective look than last season.He had Richard Scragg out in his first spell downwind this morning, and then had Richard King leg before wicket for 31 in the middle of a fiery, fast spell.Captain Robbie Hart kept manoeuvring his attack, especially when he had Scott Styris bowling impressively to keep the scoring down, to good effect.While wicket-keeper Bevan Griggs offered some hope of a lower-order recovery, he was only able to find suitable support from Michael Mason. They added 28 runs, hardly earth-shattering but timely in the context of CD’s innings before Butler ended Griggs’ 109 minutes of defiance with a catch to Robbie Hart. Griggs scored 31 and then Butler shattered Lance Hamilton’s stumps to finish with four for 44, an impressive return and one that offers ND great hope if it can keep its attack together.ND then found itself under pressure, as CD’s bowlers responded. Mason cleaned up James Marshall for seven with the score on 16.Matt Hart and Mark Bailey were just starting to look comfortable but CD had just the right man to sort them out in Andrew Schwass. And sort them out he did in his first over.Off the first ball Hart, who had been milking space wide of slips for boundaries, didn’t get his measurement quite right and found Furlong waiting to take a low catch, then four balls later Bailey tried to tickle a ball down the leg side, but he failed to get enough bat on it and it flew to Griggs to leave ND 58/3.Schwass ended on two for 11 from his five overs while Mason had one for 15 from 10.It was left to Styris and Hamish Marshall to take ND to 84/3, but to make CD pay for a disappointing batting effort, they must assume control tomorrow morning.However, such has been the lack of batting commitment on the first day, there is no way that CD can be considered out of this match yet.

The headlines when New Zealand landed for their tour of England were more about the players who hadn’t arrived than those who had. Five of their key players are in India taking part in the IPL, raising questions about how focused the tourists will be. However, two of them who spoke to Cricinfo, Jacob Oram and Ross Taylor, were firm in dismissing the notion of being distracted and added they are happy to be the underdogs.Oram recalled the scene back in New Zealand, just before the first IPL auction. “We had a big team meeting, everyone was there. We had a lengthy discussion about the whole situation,” he said. “Not only from a playing point of view but even off the ground. Whether someone would feel left out, about the emotions and about going to England a little late. Everything was in the open and in the end everyone was okay and decided we would support whoever gets selected.”Taylor added: “Jac [Oram], Dan [Daniel Vettori] and Brendon [McCullum] were picked up and since we had already discussed everything before we were all happy for them. Later, [Kyle] Mills and I got selected.”Both players stressed that being part of the IPL has been a beneficial experience and, in a way, better preparation than if they were in New Zealand. “I am playing on the grass while the players in New Zealand will have had to do with practising indoors,” said Taylor.”We should still be there in England for two first-class games and I have 17 days of build-up before the Test match [at Lord’s] and if that’s not enough then nothing will be,” Oram said. “We are not on a holiday here. We are playing competitive games. There is no distraction.”Moving onto the series itself, both readily admitted that England are the favourites. “We are always the underdogs, we tend to play our best cricket like that,” said Oram. “They beat us in New Zealand and this will be the first [Stephen] Fleming-less team in years. The bowling looks pretty okay though it’s obviously a blow that Shane Bond can’t play and James Franklin would have been handy with his left-arm swing bowling.”For Oram, the key to New Zealand doing well will be the performance of numbers one to four in the batting. “One of the issues in the recent times has been the top-order batting. If we can nail two or three guys who can score big runs we can go a long way,” he said. “With Fleming gone and recent retirements of Nathan Astle and Scott Styris we are pretty light on experience.”Jamie How has played nine Test games and Ross Taylor only five but they will be vital. It’s amazing how Taylor has become one of the senior batsmen. But I guess this needs to be looked at as opportunity. He had a great home series against England and he has to carry on his form here.”For his part, Taylor is looking forward to playing on the history-laden grounds around England. “You talk to any cricketer, he would love to play a Test match at Lord’s and to get their name on the honours board. The top-order batting has been our Achilles heel; in the last decade we have gone through lots of openers. Hopefully the arrangement of How and me will do the job. If we can see off the new ball, we will have given us a good chance of making a big total, which will the crucial.”

Taylor has been speaking to his Bangalore team-mates like Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis on the experience of playing in England conditions. “The ball will swing traditionally early in the summer but its going to be same for both sides,” Taylor said. “It is something to be wary off but not get too caught up in it. Chanderpaul talked about the basics: playing close to the body and late. The others shared with me some good tips.”Taylor believes while the top order is the “unknown” the middle-order is strong. “We have got Oram, Brendon and Dan coming in. Hopefully the top order can score runs and support them.”Some experts have felt that the likes of Vettori and Oram should bat higher up the order, but Oram believes in maintaining the status quo. “It’s difficult. I know Dan has batted well in the lower order but we know that the guys batting higher up have a much harder job than the guys further down. It is our strength – the lower-middle order – and I am not sure we should rock the boat there but should look to improve our top order.”Oram is also happy with Vettori’s captaincy and compared him with the style of Fleming. “He captained for so many years and was obviously an outstanding captain. But Vettori is doing a great job. Being a bowler himself he probably understands the bowlers’ psyche better. Not that Flem wasn’t clued on.”The New Zealand media have been critical of coach John Bracewell but Oram believes he is still the right man for the job. “I have read and heard those criticisms but I really like playing under John. I think he has done great things. I know you can look at records and say he has not, but if you ask most of the players they enjoy playing under him.”On a personal level, all Oram is hoping for is that he remains fit for the entire tour and he has not set any targets. “I don’t set goals at all. There is already enough pressure in playing at this level, adding individual goals adds unnecessary pressure.”

ScorecardNetherlands proved no match for a confident West Indies side as they went down by 10 wickets in the opening match of the quadrangular series at Clontarf in Dublin. Dwayne Smith’s medium pace claimed four wickets as Netherlands collapsed for 80, then Chris Gayle’s 41-ball half-century ensured West Indies sped home before the approaching clouds caused any problems.West Indies needed less than 15 overs to knock off the runs as Gayle slammed six fours a six. Devon Smith provided solid support in what was nothing more than an extended net and completed the victory with a flick to fine leg.Netherlands’ batsmen had no such luxury as only three managed to reach double figures. Their problems started early when Ravi Rampaul trapped Tim de Grooth lbw in the fourth over and Bas Zuiderent, formerly of Sussex, fell in similar fashion. Alex Kervezee, who is on Worcestershire’s books, managed five boundaries in his 22 before being caught behind off Powell and the innings continued in a rapid downward spiral.Denesh Ramdin was kept busy behind the stumps, collecting five catches, as West Indies’ seamers caused plenty of problems. Fidel Edwards proved too quick for Peter Borren then Smith’s swing did the bulk of the remaining damage. Darren Sammy, who missed out on the one-day series against England, claimed two cheap wickets as the innings folded inside 32 overs.There was no sign of West Indies relaxing following the series win against England with Gayle determined not to slip up against the Associates. Netherlands, though, were clearly not up to the battle and are a few rungs down from the likes of Ireland, who make up the tournament alongside Scotland. Netherlands have a chance to put up a better showing when they take on the hosts, at Stormont, on Wednesday.

Eoin Morgan, the Ireland batsman, has received an official reprimand and been warned about future conduct for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during Ireland’s one-day international against Scotland at Ayr on Saturday.Morgan violated 1.4 of the Code which concerns “Using language that is obscene, offensive or insulting and/or the making of an obscene gesture” and pleaded guilty to the use of obscene language after being run out on 99.”It is possible to excuse disappointment when a player is dismissed, especially when he is run out for 99, but shouting an obscenity while leaving the field is not acceptable,” said Roshan Mahanama, the match referee. “Morgan is an up-and-coming international and a first-class player and he should be setting an example to all those who follow the game. I am pleased to say he apologised for the incident but he must learn to show more restraint in future, whatever the situation.”

ScorecardA defiant half-century from Keith Dabengwa could not saveMatabeleland as Mashonaland cruised to a 258-run victory onthe fourth and final day of the Logan Cup match at Bulawayo Athletic Club.Dabengwa, who came in at No. 9, hit two huge sixes andnine fours on his way to 65 off 58 balls which gave the small crowd something to cheer about in this one-sided encounter. He was the last man out as Matabeleland, who were bowled out for 220 in the first innings, were skittled for 206 in their second attempt.Matabeleland, chasing 465, resumed from their overnight total of 34 for 2, with Sean Williams and Mark Vermeulen at the crease. But Vermeulen soon perished when he fell to Waddington Mwayenga as he edged through to Tatenda Taibu. Matabeleland then lost their fourth wicket as Douglas Hondo bowled Williams for 19 (65 for 4). Hondo picked up a second as he trapped Gregory Strydom for 18.Next ball, Mbekezeli Mabuza attempted to pull Hondo: but hemiscued, and skied a simple catch for Taibu which left Matabeleland wobbling on 70 for 6. Mluleki Nkala, the Matabeleland captain, and Gavin Ewing stabilised their innings with a seventh-wicket stand of 45, but this ended when Ewing was dismissed by Chamunorwa Chibhabha, caught at mid-off by Chigumbura for 27.Nkala and Dabengwa played some beautiful strokes, and put on 52 before Nkala was trapped by legspinner Graeme Cremer. Dabengwa, whose fifty came up from 41 balls, put on 25 for the last wicket with Simba Kusano. But then Dabengwa gave Cremer his third wicket when he was caught at silly mid-on by Tafadzwa Mufambisi just after lunch, and Mashonaland wrapped up a winning start to the campaign.

For the time being at least, West Indies’ brittle pride has been restored. Brian Lara’s world record brought an uplifting closure to a depressing Test series against England, and was followed by an impressive display from a youthful one-day team. But woe betide any player who thinks their winter’s work is done. Because the ultimate indignity could be lurking just around the corner.The Bangladeshis have arrived for their inaugural tour of the Caribbean, and if there’s one team that West Indies could do without facing at the moment, it’s the side with absolutely nothing to lose. The first of three one-day matches starts on Saturday; the second of two Tests finishes three weeks later. It’s a blink-and-you-miss-it stopover, but if anything should go wrong, the world will be wide-eyed in its condemnation.On the face of it, a West Indian defeat is an absurd notion – Lara’s majesty alone could put the series out of reach, while Tino Best and Fidel Edwards are fully equipped to expose Bangladesh’s notorious shortcomings against high-quality pace bowling, just as Jermaine Lawson did the last time the teams met – his second-innings figures of 6 for 3 at Dhaka in December 2002 sealed a West Indian victory by an innings and 310 runs: the heaviest and most humiliating of Bangladesh’s 26 Test defeats in 28 matches.But, as England occasionally demonstrated on their pre-Christmas trip to Bangladesh, the fear of failure can be paralysing. “We are not far away from our first Test win,” said Habibul Bashar, Bangladesh’s captain, as the squad stopped over in Jamaica en route for St Vincent, and the facts back him up. They came within one wicket of victory over Pakistan in Multan last September; held the upper hand for much of the inaugural Test against England in October and, under the astute guidance of Dav Whatmore, are developing a head for heights to complement their undoubted enthusiasm for the game.Lara, for one, is taking nothing for granted. “I’m not going to write off Bangladesh,” he said recently. “The way we’re playing right now you can’t write off anybody at all.” His caution is utterly justified. According to the latest ICC Test rankings, West Indies are cut adrift from the rest of the established Test nations – a 14-point margin separates them from Sri Lanka in seventh place, who in turn are just 11 points behind England in third spot. With Zimbabwean cricket in ruins, this series has suddenly become the battle of the basement.Not that West Indies would acknowledge that fact. Their capitulation against England was characterised by complacency – from the anonymity of their middle-order batsmen (Lara included), to the partying in the stands that followed their first-Test hammering in Jamaica. Bangladesh, on the other hand, are approaching the series from an entirely opposite perspective. Their expectations are nil, and yet their confidence somehow remains sky-high.

That mysterious blend of pride and humility is all down to Whatmore. In the ten months since he took charge of Bangladesh cricket, he has been at pains to stress how little victory or defeat matters to him. But all of a sudden, with a one-day victory against a [pre-boycott] Zimbabwe to lift the spirits, he is daring to push the envelope just that little bit further. “On their day,” he told a press conference in the Caribbean, “Bangladesh are capable of upsetting any side in world cricket.”It was an uncharacteristically bullish statement, but he was doubtless aware that the reverse is equally true. On their day, West Indies are capable of losing to any side in world cricket, and what is more, they know it as well.It promises to be a nervy series for Caribbean supporters. West Indies have hardly paused for breath since arriving in Southern Africa in November, while Bangladesh are refreshed after a lengthy winter break and a low-key trip to Zimbabwe. What is more, their recent habit in Test cricket (the strongest of their suits) is to compete eagerly for three days before fading away on the fourth and fifth, so the probability of lengthy rain breaks can only help to channel their focus over the full distance.West Indies should still prevail, however, and by some distance. Man for man, they are simply too powerful, and the momentum they have gained in the past few weeks must surely count for something. But after their schizophrenic efforts against England, they do not dare take anything for granted any more.

Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, the most recognisable book in sport, is to have a photograph on the cover for the first time in its 140-year history. The first man to appear on the famous yellow jacket is Michael Vaughan, England’s star batsman, who has just gone to the top of the world rankings.It is the first major change to the cover since 1938, when Wisden brought in the celebrated woodcut by Eric Ravilious showing two top-hatted Victorian gentlemen playing cricket. The woodcut now appears on the back of the jacket, and also on the spine, which is otherwise unchanged so as to maintain continuity on collectors’ shelves.The decision to change the cover was made by the editor of the 2003 edition, Tim de Lisle, the first one-off editor in Wisden’s history. The new design was done last October by the art director of Wisden’s monthly magazine, Nigel Davies, and was a closely guarded secret for six months, with the book trade being shown only a silhouette. The change was ratified by the Wisden management committee, and the chairman, Sir Paul Getty, approved the new cover in what turned out, alas, to be his final contribution to the Almanack before his death on April 17."The cover of Wisden is an icon," Tim de Lisle says, "and you don’t update an icon without taking a deep breath. But it had ceased to be a true reflection of the book. The content had become much more entertaining under the previous three editors [John Woodcock, Graeme Wright and Matthew Engel], and the cover was making Wisden look drier and dustier than it really is."The yellow background and chocolate lettering are unchanged, and the photograph is in black-and-white, to let yellow remain the signature colour and underline Wisden’s standing as a publishing classic. "Black-and-white has the feel of history," de Lisle says. "It’s in tune with what the top players do, writing their names indelibly in the game’s annals."The hope is that being on the cover of Wisden will become a major honour, like our Five Cricketers of the Year, but distinct from them – you can be a Cricketer of the Year only once, whereas the cover star should be the person to whom the year belonged, for whatever reason, and it should be possible to appear twice. Last year, for instance, it might have been Sir Donald Bradman, whose obituary was in the book."Vaughan was picked because he had made the year his own with seven Test centuries, scored in great style. The photograph, by the well-known cricket photographer Patrick Eagar, shows Vaughan celebrating a century. "It needed to be an image that was full of vitality and emotion," de Lisle says. "Wisden’s readers have a real passion for the game, and the cover should reflect that."A traditional-style jacket has also been produced, and can be ordered free of charge by collectors who prefer it, or who wish to have both covers to maintain the completeness of their collection.At 40 Tim de Lisle, who won an Editor of the Year award in 1999 with Wisden Cricket Monthly, is the youngest editor of the Almanack since the Second World War. His brief was to move the book forward and regular readers will find a few more surprises – along with reports and comment from the 2003 World Cup, which ended only a month ago – when the 140th edition reaches the shops next week.Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 2003 is published by John Wisden on April 30, in hardback and soft cover. The recommended retail price is £35 – but click here for our special offer.