Really pleased to let you all know that Emma John will be coming to Norwich on Thursday 23rd February 2017 (7.45pm) to talk to us about her book – Following On.

Emma is a former deputy editor of Observer Sport Monthly and The Wisden Cricketer and in 2008 was the first woman to win a Sports Journalism Award.

Following On is Emma’s first book and has earned a series of excellent reviews; you can check them out and get more details about the book here

Follow Emma John on Twitter @em_john

We’re really delighted to be featured in Uniquely Norwich – a new pocket guide highlighting all that’s great to see and do in our fine city!

Copies are available from various locations in Norwich.

Take a look at our feature in Uniquely Norwich here

Our first guest speaker of the 2016/17 programme will be Neil Robinson, Library & Research Manager at Lord’s Cricket Ground. Neil will be joining us at the George Hotel, Norwich on Wednesday 14th September (7.45pm) and in addition to discussing his role at Lord’s, Neil will also be talking about his book Long Shot Summer: The Year of the Four England Cricket Captains 1988.

Further details about Neil’s book are available at Amberley Publishing

Follow Neil Robinson on Twitter @mcclibrarian

Really pleased that we’ve signed up our first guest speaker for 2016/17 and it’s none other than former England all-rounder Phil ‘Daffy’ DeFreitas.

Phil will be joining us at the George Hotel in Norwich on Thursday 27th October (7.45pm) to discuss his first class career with Leicestershire, Lancashire and Derbyshire, and as we approach the 30th anniversary of England’s Ashes winning tour to Australia in 1986/87 Phil will also be sharing with us his memories of making his Test debut on that tour and playing alongside the likes of David Gower, Ian Botham and Allan Lamb.

Put the date in the diary, this is not to be missed!

Thanks to everyone who made it along to our screening of Warriors at Cinema City on Monday 25th January, so pleased that we managed a sell out crowd of 66!

Warriors is now available to buy on DVD, details at http://www.warriorsfilm.co.uk

We’re trying to get Warriors on the screen at Cinema City in Norwich on Monday 25th January at 6pm, can you help us to spread the word!

Watch the Warriors trailer below to find out more about this documentary film

Really pleased with our line up of speakers for 2015/15 and even more so with the national exposure they’ve enjoyed in the last week.

First up on Friday 16 October was Justin Parkinson who was a tea time guest on Test Match Special chatting to presenter Simon Mann about his book The Strange Death of English Leg Spin.  Simon Mann and Justin’s discussion followed in the wake of Adil Rashid’s first innings bowling analysis of 0-163, the worst ever by a debutant in Test match history. Just as it seemed like English leg spin’s death certificate was finally being written the patient lurched violently back to life as the very next day Adil Rashid bowled brilliantly to pick up 5-64, making him the first English leg spinner to take a five-for in a Test match since Tommy Greenhough in 1959.  I don’t think that there would have been many people more delighted than Justin to have witnessed Adil Rashid’s feat.

Justin Parkinson was in the news again quite literally on Thursday 22 October when his book was name checked by none ever than Michael Atherton in an article in The Times entitled Will the English ever learn to love leg spin? 

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/cricket/article4592429.ece

Justin Parkinson will be talking about The Strange Death of English Leg Spin at The George Hotel in Norwich on Thursday 14 April 2016 (7.45pm)

Also in the news recently have been the West Indies cricket team following an emotional news conference by Sir Garry Sobers lamenting the state of the game in his homeland.  It was against this backdrop that our February speaker Simon Lister was the tea time guest on Test Match Special on Friday 23 October discussing his book Fire in Babylon with Simon Mann.  Simon’s book charts the period from the mid 1970’s to the mid 1990’s when the West Indies dominated world cricket, a world away from their sad state nowadays as they languish near the bottom of the Test rankings.  It’s a brilliant read which superbly blends sporting and social history and alongside the insights from West Indies legends such as Clive Lloyd, Viv Richards and Michael Holding there are some wonderful recollections from fans of the great side.

Simon’s tea time TMS chat is available as a podcast for a limited time at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0360k5x

Simon Lister will be talking about Fire in Babylon at The George Hotel in Norwich on Thursday 11 February 2016 (7.45pm)