Thirty-three must-reads

If you haven't heard of the Cricket Monthly, we're here to stage an intervention

May 2015

#ICYMI. Thirty-three essential reads: profiles, conversations, essays, travelogues, reconstructions and reportage from around the globe.

The star we don't know, by Sidharth Monga
The quest for MS Dhoni, absorbing for what it reveals, intriguing for what it cannot.

The lost boys of Jaffna, by Andrew Fidel Fernando
The remarkable story of how cricket survived the landmines in Sri Lanka's decades-long civil war.

Five pictures, by Christian Ryan
Meditations on photographs and Australia: a gorgeous essay, sui generis .

Monsterball, by Daniel Brettig
A nasty, brutish and long account of how Mitchell Johnson reintroduced cricket to fear.

The torment of batting, Martin Crowe and Daryll Cullinan
Cricket conversations do not come any more soul-baring.

August 2015 issue: Cricket in Jaffna © Hiranya Malwatta

Strange love, by Ahmer Naqvi
What does the beautiful and frenzied lament of the modern Pakistani fan look like? This.

The butterfly effect, by Daniel Brigham
From precocious infant to the future of English cricket: meet Joe Root.

Sri Lanka's heartbeat, by Andrew Fidel Fernando
An elegant and thoughtful farewell to one of cricket's most elegant and thoughtful legends.

The science of deception, Erapalli Prasanna and Ian Chappell
Two maestros, plenty of flight and fizz, plenty of footwork and fire: a bit of magic.

Shiv on the shore, by Rahul Bhattacharya
Make time and lose yourself inside this exquisite, sprawling profile of a timeless champion.

The miracle of '92, by Osman Samiuddin
A behind-the-scenes reconstruction to match the most thrilling World Cup campaign of them all.

December 2015 issue: Ian Botham tirelessly supports the cause of leukaemia © Getty Images

Nepal climbs a mountain, by Pranab Man Singh
Deep, intriguing reportage from a golden generation on the cusp of a seminal moment.

Not so grim up north, by David Hopps
An intimate, and amusing, account of running a multiracial club in Yorkshire.

Let's talk about flex, by Osman Samiuddin
Go where no chucking story has taken you: the essential reader.

Zimbabwe's decade of hurt, by Tristan Holme
A powerful, meticulously reported story of how a cricket nation's spiral descent began.

Talking Kolkata, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman
See that above? Ten thousand words of that.

Beefy's long walk, by Andrew Miller
A heartbreaking personal essay about a young girl, leukaemia and a legend.

A mountain of hope, a pile of ash, by Mohammad Isam
The definitive retelling of how Bangladesh's brightest star burnt itself out.

Desert rose, by Sidharth Monga
An evocative journey into the heart of cricket's newest frontier.

The thinking fast bowler, Michael Holding and Wasim Akram
Holding. Akram. Talking fast bowling. What are you waiting for?

Ajinkya who?, by Abhishek Purohit
Sink into this expansive, heartwarming profile and you'll always know.

Kapil drops Viv, by Gideon Haigh
A counterfactual extravaganza by the game's sharpest scholar.

The 360 degrees of batting, Ricky Ponting with Jarrod Kimber
Break down the evolution of modern batsmanship with one of its greatest exponents.

Starman, countryman, by Ahmer Naqvi
You know how a big Afridi innings feels? This is how it reads.

The lion's fairy tale, by Andrew Fidel Fernando
The story of Sri Lanka's World Cup win, laden with delights, from luxury watches to fish buns.

The greatest ODI player
Is debatable? Not according to our 50-strong jury, it isn't.

Wonder cricket, by Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
Pioneers, mavericks, geniuses: a rollicking ride through one-day history.

The logician, by Hassan Cheema
If you never quite got the most un-Pakistani Pakistani of all, now you will.

The bat wallahs, by Sharda Ugra
A vivid exploration of the rocks and hard places of cricket in Kashmir.

Pace is pace, yaar, Shoaib Akhtar with Sidharth Monga
Shoaib, a long spell, off a long run - what more joy?

Warner wired, by Peter Lalor
Cricket's most notorious character understood at last.

The faces of transformation, by Tristan Holme and Luke Alfred
Delicate ground reportage of South Africa's existential issue.

The thirty-ninth summer of DK Lillee, by Christian Ryan
Stunning collage work of a great cricketer, a great reporter and the big themes.