Everyone devours the latest “Wisden” in their own way. Some start from the start, reading the Editor’s notes, then the five cricketers of the year and so forth. Some, with ties to a particular English county or country, will turn to the relevant pages covering their team’s results. I am part of another group; those that immediately flip to the back of the book to read “the index of unusual occurrences”.

2007 was just as strange a year in cricket as ever. In Cuttuck, India, play in the Himachal Pradesh v Orrissa was twice stopped by swarms of bees (sadly, “Wisden” does not note whether that is a record). Meanwhile, play was stopped in a match between Lancashire and Kent when the pavilion was evacuated after a smoke alarm was set off by some burnt gravy. And of course the after effects of an Artic Monkeys concert caused play to be delayed in a Lancashire v Hampshire match.

The “Cricket round the world” is another favourite of mine, with entries from outposts like Guam, the Dominican Republic and Greece.

All in all, “Wisden” is one of my favourite wastes of time. ( )

The 145th edition of Wisden reports on the calamitous World Cup, the invigorating World Twenty20, the volatile Australia v India series and twelve stuttering months for England. Under a new editor, Scyld Berry, the 2008 Almanack is the first Wisden to include the record of every Test cricketer, past and present. The game s best writers cover all the stories you would expect.and some you wouldn t. * Mike Brearley, Ian Chappell, John Woodcock, Simon Barnes and Tony Cozier profile the five greatest cricketers never chosen to be a Wisden Cricketer of the Year (clue: there are four bowlers and only one batsman) * Andrew Strauss looks at What Duncan did for us * Four county cricketers tell the stories of their 2007 season * Carl Bridge and Doug Insole look behind the legend of Don Bradman on the centenary of his birth * Nick Newman celebrates the enduring power of cricket cartoons * Mike Atherton, Ian Healy and Robert Craddock assess the great careers of Brian Lara, Adam Gilchrist and Glenn McGrath PLUS: The burnt gravy which stopped play .and the visiting county who had to bring their own stumps There can t really be any doubt about the cricket book of the year, any year: it s obviously Wisden . Andrew Baker in the Daily Telegraph. ( )