Andy Zaltzman pens A History Of Test Cricket In 26.52 Statistics
- Cricket obsessive Andy Zaltzman is writing a book about his love of the sport and its stats
- A History Of Test Cricket In 26.52 Statistics is set to be published on 20th November, coinciding with the start of The Ashes
- The News Quiz host Zaltzman has said that "the thing I've enjoyed most in my career is working on Test Match Special because, you know, it's my abiding, lifelong obsession with cricket"
Andy Zaltzman is writing a humorous book about his "abiding, lifelong obsession" with cricket, British Comedy Guide can exclusively reveal.
A History Of Test Cricket In 26.52 Statistics is set to be published on 20th November by Hodder & Stoughton, the day before The Ashes starts in Australia.
As well as being The News Quiz host and reigning Taskmaster champion, Zaltzman has been a statistician for Test Match Special on BBC Radio since 2016 and recently returned from covering England's tour of Pakistan, while his satirical, political stand-up is often full of sporting allusions and metaphors.
"Cricket can be confusing" says the blurb for the forthcoming book. "Numbers, stats, and terms make the sport difficult to grasp. Thankfully, Andy Zaltzman is here to help. He looks back at Test cricket, tracing the formats rise and looks to its uncertain future.
"Drawing on a huge spreadsheet on information, this is a hilarious and accessible introduction to the beloved sport."
Zaltzman performed stand-up "for a long time before I started sort of delving around with cricket stats, which was always a sort of personal obsession" he told comic actor Michael Fenton Stevens on his My Time Capsule podcast last month.
As a political comic, finding a unique angle on Donald Trump's presidency represented a "real challenge" he said.
"So I ended up doing this thing in a live show where I printed out his brain and a cauliflower on a photography tripod, which I claim was a 3D print out of his brain". On his laptop "I got Donald Trump talking about absolute nonsense and you know, early 20th century cricket.
"No other comedian would do that. No other comedian would make Donald Trump as a cauliflower brain talk about 1930s cricket."
Despite his comedy experiences, Zaltzman maintains that "the thing I've enjoyed most in my career is working on Test Match Special because, you know, it's my abiding, lifelong obsession with cricket.
"I'd wanted to get into cricket media when I was younger, and then didn't really know how to do it, ended up doing comedy, and had sort of almost set that aside. I still loved cricket as a fan.
"So to then sort of end up indirectly fulfilling my childhood dream, it's been an endless source of delight."
Hodder & Stoughton published Janey Godley's second volume of autobiography in the summer and has previously put out memoirs by Miranda Hart and Rob Delaney.
Zaltzman's first book was a response to the 2008 financial crash, with Does Anything Eat Bankers?: And 53 Other Indispensable Questions for the Credit Crunched published the same year.
He is currently touring his The Zaltgeist stand-up show, performing at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London tonight.
You can pre-order A History Of Test Cricket In 26.52 Statistics below.