Fire in Babylon beats off strong field to win prestigious Cricket Society-MCC book of the year award for 2016
Simon Lister pictured at Lord's after receiving his award for Fire in Babylon Cricket writer and BBC TV news producer Simon Lister has won the prestigious Cricket Society and MCC Book of the Year award for 2016 with Fire in Babylon: How the West Indies Cricket Team Brought a People to its Feet. In what chair of judges Vic Marks hailed as an exceptional year for cricket writing and research, Lister beat off a strong field that included two books about WG Grace and one providing a definitive story of cricket’s County Championship. Lister received certificates and a £3000 award in front of a large audience in the Long Room at Lord's, which was packed with MCC and Cricket Society members and officers, authors and their publishers and guest cricketing journalists and writers. Those books that made the shortlist but missed out on the top prize were: Cricket: The Game of Life: Every reason to celebrate , by Scyld Berry (Hodder & Stoughton) Summer's Crown: The