Six reasons to pick up the Summer issue of The Cricketer!

The India Test series, the Royal London Cup, The Hundred, the recreational game – four distinct forms of cricket all tussling for space in the calendar. Our superb team of writers assess the state of play at all levels in our Summer issue

You can buy a copy of the issue online HERE or SUBSCRIBE HERE! Here's what's in the mag...

1. "As soon as Fletcher came on to the field he reminded me of the enormous block of sandstone rock on which Nottingham Castle sits"

We have a brilliant piece by celebrated author Duncan Hamilton about county cricket’s cult heroes – specifically why he finds Nottinghamshire’s Luke Fletcher a charismatic successor to Barry Stead of Yorkshire.

2. "There is Jonny Bairstow, the bristling epitome of Yorkshire cricket for the last decade or more, but he appears to be in Cardiff playing for a team called Hula Hoops"

Vic Marks is mystified by this summer’s fixture list.

^{Duncan Hamilton looks at county cricket's cult heroes}

3. "National premier leagues are all well and good, but take away the heart and soul of local village leagues and we all suffer as a result"

Simon Hughes explores the heartlands of the recreational game in Yorkshire on a four-match tour of the North York Moors.

4. "There is too much emphasis on white-ball cricket. Eoin Morgan is getting the England sides he wants. Joe Root is not. This needs to be redressed"

Nasser Hussain says red-ball cricket needs protecting more than ever before.

^{Simon Hughes explores the heartlands of the recreational game in Yorkshire}

5. "The way he picked up those length balls and stroked them through midwicket was like a man lazily sweeping leaves off a porch"

Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes pays tribute to Viv Richards.

6. "Isn’t it possible – just possible – that MCC could sell Lord’s and use the enormous revenue generated (and we could be talking about something up to a billion-pound venture here) to build a new ground, with a roof, elsewhere in the city?"

George Dobell says English cricket needs a stadium with a roof.

^{England's 1980/81 trip to West Indies}

Elsewhere... Gideon Haigh reflects on Ben Stokes’ decision to take time out from the game; Dinesh Karthik wants cricket to go truly global; our 12-page county section includes the diary featuring all 18 counties; Graham Gooch, David Gower, Geoff Miller, John Emburey and Paul Downton tell Huw Turbervill about the 1980/81 trip to West Indies and the death of Ken Barrington; Tanya Aldred explains why umpire Sue Redfern has become a cult hero in her house; we have Stat’s Life with Andrew Samson; and Ali Brown is interviewed in Whatever Happened To…

The summer issue of The Cricketer – something for all cricket fans.

You can buy a copy of the issue online HERE or SUBSCRIBE HERE!