John Wisden: Cricket's answer to 'the word of God'

You can’t help but admire Google’s creativity. To mark one’s birth anniversary, they come up with the innovative sketches popularly known as ‘Google Doodles’.

And today, they have chosen to mark the 187th birthday of one of cricket’s greatest personalities – a man who was not only the finest all-rounder of his time, but also an astute businessman and founder of the game’s noteworthy dissertation: the Cricketers’ Almanack.

He was a fellow of short stature, but what he accomplished during his lifetime left him standing head and shoulders above everyone else.

He gave to the world what I will term as cricket’s answer to the word of God, or, to put it simply, the cricket fan’s Bible.

His name? John Wisden.

A portrait of John Wisden

Born on September 5, 1826 in Brighton, Sussex, Wisden was known to be very enthusiastic and possessed a strong sense of determination as a youngster.

One of seven children born to William and Mary Wisden, John studied at Middle Street Primary along with his younger brother Edwin, while his elder brother William ran a sports outfitters’ business – it is understood that John picked up some of the finer points from him.

After his father passed away, John went to live with Tom Box, a friend under whose guidance he blossomed as a cricketer. At the age of 12, he turned out for a team called ‘Eleven Youths of Brighton’, soon renamed as the under-14 Brighton Schools XI. He would visit the Montpelier ground on summer evenings, and earn six pennies worth of coppers for acting as a fielder.

At 19, John played his maiden first class game for Sussex against Kent on Tom Box’s ground at the beginning of Lewes Road (now known as the Royal New Ground).

He bagged 6/46 in the first innings and 3/59 in the second as Sussex won by three wickets. After the All-England XI touring side was formed, he was invited to join them, drawing a small salary of four to six pounds a week.

Only 5 ft 6 in tall, John was nicknamed the Little Wonder – but little, certainly, were none of his deeds. He developed a reputation as a fine pace bowler, although his speed declined with the passage of time. He was also a fine batsman, and notably scored a classy 148 against Yorkshire in 1855 – it was to be the only century made in that season.

Wisden also has the distinction of bagging all ten wickets – every batsman was bowled – in a single innings. His friend Box was one of those; the two were representing the South and North – Wisden played for the latter because he was based at Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, having set up his company John Wisden & Co. to provide cricketing equipment to the players.

He also organised cricket tours to Canada and the USA along with friend and business partner, George Parr. The two had broken away from the All-England XI in 1852, primarily because John was disgusted with what he perceived to be the high-handedness and dictatorial behaviour of the manager William Clarke.

He formed the United England XI, along with James Dean, and upon Clarke’s death a few years later, Parr took over the remnant of the All-England squad – all the Leamington Spa partners were now in charge of professional cricket in the country.

Frequent attacks of rheumatism led the all-rounder to abandon the game in 1863 at the age of 37. But what the on-field proceedings lost, the off-field gained, for it was in the same year that John launched the first Wisden Cricketer’s Almanack (The first five editions of the book had the ‘s’ after the apostrophe, but from the sixth edition onwards, this was changed) as a competitor to Fred Lillywhite’s The Guide to Cricketers.

John Wisden Cricketers’ Almanacks Collection

He thus changed the primary business of his company from selling equipment to publishing. Although the Almanack itself was one of several publications, it is now the oldest, continuously published handbook worldwide.

Media baron Robert Maxwell‘s conglomerate Macdonald acquired and published the ‘Bible of cricket’ in the 1970s, before it changed ownership several times, finally dropping into the lap of Bloomsbury.

In fact, its fame now surpasses that of the man himself!

With the advent of technology, John Wisden & Co. have also branched out into publishing a monthly cricket magazine and have their own website. The Almanack is often referred to as the cricketers’ Bible, and it took a former first class cricketer to compile the various statistics which have now become as famous as the game itself.

For all his achievements in both business and sport, John’s private life was a bit tumultuous. He had been engaged to marry Annie, George Parr’s younger sister, in 1849, but the young lady passed away before the marriage took place. It broke the man, and for the remainder of his life, he stayed a bachelor.

Honest in business, and well-liked and respected by all who knew him, John was always helping out those less fortunate souls he happened to be acquainted with; he purchased the cricketers’ public house at Duncton and placed his friend and colleague James Dean as manager in order that the latter would have an income and a place to live after quitting cricket.

John succumbed to cancer at his London home on April 5, 1884. His innings ended at 57 – a short life span for one who was just beginning to enjoy the fruits of his labours. His elder brother William led the procession of mourners at the Brompton cemetery as the Little Wonder was finally laid to rest.

He may have departed the world over a century ago, but John Wisden’s legacy endures in the publication that bears his name. Since its launch in 1864, there have been 150 editions published – the 2013 issue is the latest one, while the 2003 issue featured former England skipper Michael Vaughan on the cover (in a first).

The book justifies what the man was to everyone – a true Little Wonder.

Happy Birthday, sir!