Armchair Cricket: BBC Guide to Cricket Commentaries
London: British Broadcasting Corporation, [circa 1957]. Paperback. 7 by 4 3/4 inches; 177 by 121 mm. 80 pages. Softcover, in very good condition, bound in green and black card covers worn at the spine edges, but still quite presentable. Item #432
No date given, but probably 1957; laid in is a leaf headed "Experimental Changes for Trial in 1957". The front cover shows a drawing of a man sitting in his armchair and watching cricket on television, with his cat and a cup of tea at his side. An authors' note states that "[t]he book is not intended as a technical guide to the expert, nor as an elementary text book to those who know nothing at all about cricket. It is mainly for the people who have started to follow cricket through watching BBC Television or listening to Sound broadcasts, and who still have only a rudimentary knowledge of the game." Contents include the essays "Before the Match," on broadcasting arrangements, "The Commentator," on describing the action for radio and television, "Pressing the Buttons," on technical aspects including microphone and camera placement, and "Scoring for the BBC," on providing statistical information during the match. The contents also include diagrams of six English cricket grounds, a 25-page glossary, and advertisements for products including cricket bats, radios, televisions, the sports department of the Daily Telegraph newspaper, watches, a refrigerator and an electric shaver. Enclosed in a pocket inside the rear cover is a folded 15-by-12-inch (389 316 mm) "BBC Field-Placing Plan" that illustrates and provides names for various places on the playing field.
Price: $17.50