The Club
Empire, Power and the Governance of World Cricket
Published on 24. March 2025
Book
Hardback
320 pages
978-1-80150-950-3 (ISBN)
Description
The fascinating story of cricket's world governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), and how it grew into a multi-billion-dollar business.
From cricket journalist, historian and academic Rod Lyall.
This meticulously researched and authoritative history reveals how:
Privileged aristocrats and mining magnates turned cricket into a 'civilising' force of empire, promoting the politics and prejudices of their class
Cricket's world governing body evolved - from its early days in St John's Wood, London as the Imperial Cricket Conference into the International Cricket Council, a multi-billion-dollar sporting business, based in Dubai and increasingly dominated by a financially and politically ambitious Indian elite
The ICC failed to deal effectively with such challenges as the Bodyline controversy, apartheid in South Africa and Kerry Packer's commercialisation of the game
Media rights deals and global events sponsorship have created new problems: match-fixing, administrative corruption and the threat from franchise leagues
This is the first full account of the ICC's origins and its roots in imperialist ideology, charting its rise from a talking-shop into a multi-billion-dollar global business driven by massive worldwide TV audiences.
From cricket journalist, historian and academic Rod Lyall.
This meticulously researched and authoritative history reveals how:
Privileged aristocrats and mining magnates turned cricket into a 'civilising' force of empire, promoting the politics and prejudices of their class
Cricket's world governing body evolved - from its early days in St John's Wood, London as the Imperial Cricket Conference into the International Cricket Council, a multi-billion-dollar sporting business, based in Dubai and increasingly dominated by a financially and politically ambitious Indian elite
The ICC failed to deal effectively with such challenges as the Bodyline controversy, apartheid in South Africa and Kerry Packer's commercialisation of the game
Media rights deals and global events sponsorship have created new problems: match-fixing, administrative corruption and the threat from franchise leagues
This is the first full account of the ICC's origins and its roots in imperialist ideology, charting its rise from a talking-shop into a multi-billion-dollar global business driven by massive worldwide TV audiences.
Reviews / Votes
"How is cricket run? The Club, at last, provides answers where there have previously only been questions." -- Gideon Haigh "Rod Lyall is a passionate and learned observer of the global phenomenon - part sport, part business - known as cricket. This is an essential and timely book." -- Joseph O'Neill "This is a riveting and important document on the history of the ICC. The political machinations in cricket tend to be underreported, with few journalists willing to dig deep. But Rod Lyall has been plugged in for decades and his knowledge shines through on these pages. The power structure in cricket has long been contentious and learning about these dynamics - with shifts in power also mirroring the erosion of colonialism which underpin this British sport - provides an understanding on the decisions, for better or worse, that are being made from the top." -- Tristan Lavalette "Never before has an author squarely and unflinchingly addressed the governance of the game and exposed how the decisions of a select few have dictated how cricket has developed and the state it finds itself in now. In The Club Rod Lyall has filled that gap in the cricketing canon and has done so with relish and aplomb. The Club is a triumph of erudition and scholarship and is a must read for those who are curious about how the game developed and how it is run." -- Tim Brooks * Emerging Cricket * "The Club doesn't always make particularly pleasant reading, but it is always engaging and fulfils its goal of revealing how cricket is run.... It is highly recommended reading for anyone with an interest in knowing how and why cricket ended up in its current position." * Cricket Europe *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Hove
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 144 mm
Width: 224 mm
Thickness: 32 mm
Weight
470 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80150-950-3 (9781801509503)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
A cultural historian and retired academic, Australian-born Rod Lyall has been writing about cricket, especially for the ICC's Associate members, since 2005, producing hundreds of online articles, ranging from match reports to analysis of the politics of the game at national and international level. Between 2012 and 2016 he served on the board of the KNCB, the governing body of Dutch cricket, for the first two and a half years as its vice-chairman.