The first book to follow the leading British cricketers of 1939 from the sports field to the fields of war. The declaration of war on 3 September 1939 brought to an end a golden age of British cricket, the likes of which has never been repeated. At least 216 of 283 registered British first-class players joined up before the end of the year; fifty-two lost their lives. Here cricket stands as both a statistical and very human representation of the price paid in British blood as a whole. Final Innings will follow characters of unmatched modesty, charm and often endearing eccentricity in their private and public lives, right up to the moment of their deaths. Men such as Yorkshire and England bowler Hedley Verity and the luxuriously mustachioed Maurice Turnbull will be given voices via their diaries and letters, expertly narrated by acclaimed author Christopher Sandford, who will weave a very human tale of the abrupt transition from the world of Lord's and the Oval to that of air raids, Dunkirk, the Blitz and the horror that followed. AUTHOR: Christopher Sandford has written over 25 books, including four cricket titles. His 2014 The Final Over was short-listed for the Cricket Sports Book of the Year award, and his biography on Imran Khan was runner-up in the MCC Cricket Book of the Year award. His books have been optioned for television series, and they have been translated into eighteen languages. 20 b/w images