On the Ashes

'As a cricket writer Gideon Haigh has few peers, past or present. This cameo history of the Ashes (drawn from years of writing) confirms his standing as a class act.' - Sydney Morning Herald

'[Haigh's] books are prized, and his latest, On the Ashes, would surely make a fine gift for a cricket tragic' - The Australian

Nothing compares to the Ashes. The Ashes is always coming, even when it is finished. The Ashes is where hope, expectation, magic and chagrin flourish in equal measure, and performance is permanently burnished.

In On the Ashes, today's pre-eminent cricket writer Gideon Haigh has captured over a century and a half of Anglo-Australian cricket, from W. G. Grace to Don Bradman, from Bodyline to Laker's Match, from Botham's Miracle at Headingley to the phenomena of Patrick Cummins and Ben Stokes, today's Ashes captains.

From over three decades of covering the Ashes, Gideon has brought together an enduring vision of this timeless contest between Australia and England—the world's oldest sporting rivalry—from the colonial era to the present day.

Now updated to include the extraordinary 2023 Ashes, one of the greatest and most controversial series ever.

Praise for Gideon Haigh:

'The Bradman of cricket writing' - Sunday Telegraph

'The finest cricket writer alive' - The Australian

'Australia's finest writer on cricket' - The Times

'The world's greatest living cricket writer' - The Guardian

'The most gifted cricket essayist of his generation' - Richard Williams