Tally-ho: apparently it's not score o'clock yet © Getty Images

Plenty of reading happens on a cricket field - players have to read conditions, umpires have to read the light, batters have to read bowlers' line and length - but outside of that there's not a lot of time to expend on the written word. Which is probably why Mithali Raj caused a stir when she was photographed with a book of Rumi's poetry while waiting to walk out to bat in a World Cup innings in 2017.

How do scorers start their days? With a cuppa and a pore-over, as in the picture above.

Mithali rumi-nates on the vagaries of cricket © ICC

In the days before Candy Crush and Instagram, it was candy apples and comics that took the drudgery out of the long wait for doors to open before a cricket match.

The Boys' Own: sticky fingers before sticky wickets © Wisden Cricket Monthly

Then you grow up and graduate to books proper because the lines haven't become any shorter.

Black, white and read: MCC members look between the lines © Getty Images

Scratch that, you're never too old for a comic book. Tiger, later Tiger and Speed, was a sports comic that featured columns by the likes of Geoff Boycott, Ian Botham and Tony Greig.

Paper tiger: Sunil Gavaskar tries to get Ian Botham to share his comics Adrian Murrell / © Getty Images

Would you rather spend rain delays goofing off with the lads and playing cards or sitting with your nose in a book? Mohammad Sami chose the latter.

Skip poker: Sami would rather curl up with a good book © Getty Images

Would you rather read the news or make the news? In the photo below, Pakistan manager Yawar Saeed reads about the 2010 spot-fixing scandal at Lord's in the News of The World during the very Test match that was being written about.

Extras, extras - read all about it © Getty Images

There's nothing like the sun on your back, the grass under your feet and a paperback to while away your summers in the Caribbean. And maybe a Test match or five to fill in the days. Just ask England.

It's not cricket, it's grasshoppers on England's 1986 tour of the West Indies © Getty Images

Sometimes it doesn't have to be reams of newsprint, just a line or two from a loved one to let you know you're being thought about.

Andrew Flintoff gets a birthday card while on tour © Getty Images

The Ashes are the absolute pinnacle of cricket, a close-fought war between ancient rivals with never a dull moment, and you can't take your eyes off the action for a second...

Or at least it says so in this book here © Getty Images

There are worse places to read, just ask Jonathan Livingston Seagull.

A gull keeps his buddy updated on the match between England and India women at Scarborough in 2014 from the topmost point of an apartment overlooking the ground © Getty Images

It is now almost mandatory to publish at least three autobiographies on your life if you're a cricketer. It's a tough job and sometimes you have to have a sit-down to think about it.

Allan Border makes a case for physical books in the days of e-readers © Getty Images

Has anyone managed to make reading in bed look as elegant as Imran Khan has?

Read-head: Imran hosts a pyjama party for one © Getty Images

Deepti Unni is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

 

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