THE TEST MATCH CAREER OF WALTER HAMMOND.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.FINE/FINE. No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean,glossy,wrap-around mauve background with contemporary b/w photographic illustrated dw/dj panels; with capitalised, black-lettered title,author name and foreword credit to Brian Johnston; spine/backstripwith capitalised,white-lettered title and author name and publisher's white illustrated colophon to foot of same,rear panel with cotemporary b/w sport photograph.Negligible shelf-wear, bumping,creasing to edges and corners - no nicks,tears or splits present.Top+fore-edges bright,crisp,clean without foxing/spotting; contents bright,tight,clean,solid and sound - pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corner tips,appears unread apart from my own collation.Publisher's bright,crisp,unblemished,sharp-cornered,original plain navy blue cloth boards with bright,crisp,blocked gilt lettering to spine/backstrip,and immaculate plain white endpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn, iii-viiipp+1-216pp [paginated] includes a dedication and Acknowledgements to same page with subject's b/w portrait photograph to its reverse as a frntis,a Contents list/tableForeword by Brian Johnston,25 chapters,8pp contemporary b/w photographs in 1 block, between pp104/05,b/w innings diagrams,match/innings statistics, Hammond's statistics,a Bibliography and an Index; plus [unpaginated] a title page with publisher's advert for other cricket titles to its reverse. Visually the exterior appearance is exceptional,and even internally,the book is also in an exceptional condition/state of preservation and presentation for a book of its age.It really is an exceptional,exemplary example for its cleanliness,brightness and lack of detracting faults. Walter Hammond was one of the handsmest batsmen ever to take the field.A classical off-side player who scarcely knew how to play an ugly stroke,he was the mainstay of England's batting for nearly 20 years,but he was also a superlative fielder,and would have made his name as a fast-medium bowler if he had never held a bat.He scored 7,249 Test runs,which remained the record aggregate for 23 years,and even in the present era of ever more international matches has only been surpassed by eight players.He scored twenty-two Test hundreds and passed 200 seven times.Every innings was a joy to watch. This book tells the story of his 85 Test matches,and deals in particular with his seven Test campaigns against Australia.In every one of these,his personal performance, and that of his great rival |Sir Donald Bradman was the pivot on which the series turned.In some ways,it is a poignant story,in that he began with a resounding success, never quite came up to the same wonderful standard again,and ended on a low note in a season when everything went against him.Till then,he had been England's hero,and is deservedly remembered,in the words of Sir Pelham Warner,as 'A Very Great Cricketer,one of the Immortals. Please contact seller,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence, then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **