The Cricket Annual was a compact cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

 annual

Annual publication

An annual publication, more often called simply an annual, is a book or a magazine, comic book or comic strip published yearly. For example, a weekly or monthly publication may produce an Annual featuring similar materials to the regular publication....

 published in 1961 and 1962 and edited by Roy Webber

Roy Webber

Roy Webber was a British cricket scorer and statistician. After World War II, in which he served with the Royal Air Force, he decided to turn what had been his hobby into his profession. He had the necessary proficiency with figures, having previously been an accountant. He was the scorer for BBC...

. In 1962 the Playfair titles including Playfair Cricket Annual

Playfair Cricket Annual

Playfair Cricket Annual is a compact annual about cricket that is published in the United Kingdom each April, just before the English cricket season is due to begin. Its main purposes are to review the previous English season and to provide detailed career records and potted biographies of current...

 were acquired by Dickens Press which had just published The Cricket Annual. In November 1962 Webber died suddenly and the decision was made to combine the two annuals so that in 1963, Dickens published a new style Playfair Cricket Annual, using the same name but basing the size, format and price on The Cricket Annual.

Background

The Cricket Annual was one in a long line of publications starting in 1895, with many different titles but with a continuity of format and style. They are pocket book size (approx 9.8 x 13.6cm) but pre-1928 inaccurately trimmed and size varies (1906 is 8.9 x 13cm). Pre-1915 books usually contained 96 pages (1908 = 80). From 1904-1914 they were edited by Alfed Gibson (Rover)and then for one year in 1921 by 'Mentor'. From 1922 until 1939 the editor was Frank Thorogood, in 1946 Percy Rudd, and then Crawford White until 1957 when he was joined by Roy Webber. Good quality copies prior to 1921 are rare and the 1895-1899 Star and Leader Cricket Manuals very difficult to find in any condition. The early annuals (pre-1914) sold for one penny (1d). When they reappeared after the First World War the price was 4d (1923 2d) and then in 1929 reduced to 3d until 1939. Post-1946, as the number of pages grew, the cost rose in increments from 6d to one shilling and six pence (1/6) by 1957.

Titles

• 1895-1899 Star and Leader Cricket Manual
• 1900-1908 Morning Leader Cricket Annual
• 1909-1911 Morning Leader Cricket and Sports Annual
• 1912 Morning Leader Cricket Annual
• 1913-1914 Daily News and Leader Cricket Annual
• 1921-1926 Daily News Cricket and Tennis Annual
• 1927-1930 Daily News Cricket Annual
• 1931-1939 News Chronicle Cricket Annual
• 1946-1960 News Chronicle Cricket Annual
• 1961-1962 The Cricket Annual
• 1963-2010 Playfair Cricket Annual
  Playfair Cricket Annual
  Playfair Cricket Annual is a compact annual about cricket that is published in the United Kingdom each April, just before the English cricket season is due to begin. Its main purposes are to review the previous English season and to provide detailed career records and potted biographies of current...
  
  

Details

Year	Editor	Cricketer on Front Cover	Price	Pages
1961	Roy Webber	Richie Benaud Richie Benaud Richard "Richie" Benaud OBE is a former Australian cricketer who, since his retirement from international cricket in 1964, has become a highly regarded commentator on the game....	2s	192
1962	Roy Webber	Ted Dexter Ted Dexter Edward Ralph Dexter CBE is a former English cricketer...	2s 6d	192