Illustrated Weekly of India's World Cup Special,
June 1979
It was fitting that the now-defunct Illustrated Weekly of India marked its 100th year of publication by producing a work of such charm. This World Cup special was edited by Raju Bharatan, a one-man army who oversaw the magazine's cricket specials during the 1970s.

The paper quality didn't match that of the content, but in using Patrick Eagar's shots, Bharatan didn't hold back on the photographs. In fact, Khushwant Singh, the magazine's editor, sent Bharatan to England in 1972 specifically to source high-quality images for future use.

The issue had its gems - "My best catches" by Eknath Solkar; "How fast are the fastest?" by cricket historian (and author of The Fast Men) David Frith; and Sunil Gavaskar on the best batsmen in contemporary cricket. There was also a piece by Polly Umrigar on the fastest bowlers he had faced (though it had nothing to do with the World Cup).

The issue, given to me by my father, has always been special. When I misplaced it, even Bharatan couldn't help me find a copy. It took me nearly a decade to locate one, at an old-magazine seller's. I sensed it was part of a huge pile and convinced the seller to let me have a look at them all. I don't think Clive Lloyd felt as good when he won the 1979 World Cup as I did when I found that copy. And I got Bharatan to sign it.

Cricket Lifestyle,
February 1984
It was 1984, a few months before my SSC (class ten) examinations. A new cricket magazine had been launched the previous year in Australia and an old-magazine stall in Mumbai displayed the February issue. Dennis Lillee and Greg Chappell were on the cover. This particular issue, wrapped in transparent plastic, caught my fancy. The cost: a stiff Rs 35.

There was no way my pocket money could cover it. Even thinking about asking my mother for that amount took courage

There was no way my pocket money could cover it. Even thinking about asking my mother for that amount took courage. But I eventually did ask. And she shocked me with a yes.

The magazine had tributes to Lillee and Chappell, who had recently announced their retirements. But the piece that has stuck in my mind was Dilip Vengsarkar's appreciation of Syed Kirmani, headlined "The best keeper in the world". Vengsarkar revealed that Kirmani was the only one in his team who polished his shoes and sandpapered his bat after every innings. He also let out a little secret: Kirmani always brought along "sexy underclothing" on tour.

Sportsweek,
April 25, 1971
In the late 1980s, my job at a sports bookstore in Bombay gave me an opportunity to visit bookshops in Pune. On one such trip, I spotted a raddiwallah (scrap-paper dealer) with a pile of old issues of Sportsweek and was surprised to find a few from 1971, including the one published immediately after India won their first series in the West Indies. I bought them, hoping to return later for the rest of the treasure.

Back in Bombay, I bound the issues together so they wouldn't get misplaced. A few months later, a sports-loving actor visited my place to borrow a book. I showed him the Sportsweeks from 1971 and he, fascinated, asked if I would part with them. I was proud he appreciated them but politely declined. And I am glad I did.

Those issues, fronted by the "Glory be, Gavaskar" edition, detailed India's greatest cricketing achievement before the 1983 World Cup and covered the grand return from the West Indies. Also in it was a fine piece by Khalid Ansari, the magazine's founding editor, warning Ajit Wadekar's India to avoid complacency after their Caribbean triumph. They would go on to beat Ray Illingworth's Ashes-winning team in England a few months later.

Wisden Cricket Monthly,
June 1979
On page two of Wisden Cricket Monthly's inaugural issue, under the headline "A Journal is Born", are these words: "Never in its long history has the game of cricket claimed the attention of so many people - as players, spectators, televiewers, radio-listeners and readers of newspapers, books and magazines."

When you reached the bowels of the shop there was always a bunch of old Cricketer International issues

For many years this first issue was on my wish list. I had seen images of the cover, with Rodney Hogg and Geoff Boycott on it, but was never able to get my hands on one. A couple of years ago I finally got a copy when I ordered a decade-plus run of issues, from 1979 to 1993.

The pick of the articles in this issue is by John Arlott, about the state of the game during the last season of Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket. "If the truce," he wrote, "is not extended to a complete - even if compromise - peace, someone has failed the game of cricket."

The Cricketer International,
December 1981
Smokers' Corner in south Mumbai is a unique bookshop situated in the lobby of a building on Pherozeshah Mehta Road. When you reached the bowels of the shop there was always a bunch of old Cricketer International issues.

Given the provocative cover image of this issue, I am surprised there were any remaining on display. At Rs 5 it should have sold like hot cakes. "Politics and Cricket - What Next?" it asked, in red, on the white wristband of a black player.

The issue contained, among other things, a piece by Michael Melford on how an England tour of India in 1939 was cancelled because of the Second World War. Tests were scheduled for Bombay, Calcutta and Madras, and the team was to have been led by AJ Holmes. Some key England players, who wanted to keep fresh for the 1940-41 Ashes (which too did not take place), would have missed the trip. And this made India the favourites but for a tour, as the headline had it, "that never was".

Clayton Murzello is group sports editor of Mid-Day in Mumbai

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