ACS Overseas First-Class Annual 2019

6 Acknowledgments It is my name that appears as compiler on the cover of this Annual but this means only that responsibility for any errors or omissions is mine alone. The book itself is the work of many hands and it is a pleasure to express my appreciation of all contributions great and small. The database at Cricket Archive (cricketarchive.com ) comprises some 700,000 scorecards from all parts of the world and covering every level of the game. It is the source for all the scorecards in this Annual , which simply would not exist without the support of Philip Bailey and his colleagues. Philip himself, indeed, not only extracts the datafiles on which the book is based but also tirelessly chases down the endless queries generated as the Annual makes its way to publication. Particular thanks go to Nicola Liddle at the City Press Leeds, who for the first time this year assumed responsibility for typesetting the Annual. Nicola, as she has told me more than once during the process, is not herself a cricket person, and I fear that the intricate and onerous labour of setting hundreds of match scorecards may not have had the effect of awakening her to the merits of the game; but it is a task that she has performed with astonishing skill and efficiency. In thanking Nicola, it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the former role of Pete Griffiths of Limlow books, who had so diligently and reliably typeset the first ten editions of the Annual . Pete may not have had any role this year but his historic contribution to the Annual – not only as a typesetter – is immense. Keith Walmsley, Ric Finlay and John Ward checked through all the scorecards and drew attention not only to errors and omissions but also to statistically significant performances on the field of play, besides contributing suggestions and advice throughout the process. Keith also wrote several of the narrative introductions to the various segments of the book. Other contributors in many lands supplied or verified source material or pointed out errors or oversights: Robin Abrahams, David Kendix, Harriet Monkhouse, Francis Payne and Andrew Samson. I also acknowledge the use I have made of published sources both in print and on-line including Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack and ESPNcricinfo. Thanks are due to the ACS Committee for its continued support; to Zahra Ridge for the cover design; and to John Anderson and his colleagues at the City Press Leeds. I must acknowledge the tolerance and patience of my wife Deborah as I shut myself day after day in my study working on the book, and in conclusion say a very special word of appreciation to our ten-year-old foster child Kayden Baker who has been generous with his curiosity and advice and whose name I solemnly promised would appear in print. John Bryant Editor