Sporting occasions are an open letter of emotions, idiosyncrasies and outrageous acts which serve as gold dust for the annals. This makes for a rich history of incident in cricket over the years. The characteristics and limitations of cricketers, umpires and the game itself have always produced a rainbow of rarefied gems for spectators and scribes alike.

The fall-outs, the controversies, the occasions, the upsets and the plain left-field happenings have all been logged by The Wisden Cricketer's Eyewitness since 2003. This book is a compilation of the most memorable happenings by the people who were there. Its strength is that it brings a voice and character to the participants you may have only ever seen in action or heard of in a second-hand context.

The image of Michael Holding kicking over the stumps in fury during the bad-tempered 1979-80 tour of New Zealand is probably one of the most iconic you are likely to see on a sporting pitch or book cover. Colin Croft, accused of barging the umpire on the same tour, speaks of West Indian passion rather than an aggression but Clive Lloyd's words are less rose-tinted and more regretful.

You can enter this book on virtually any page and be transported into the scene. The summaries before the quotes are short and to the point. The best lines are often unintentionally humorous, such as the musings of Keith Fletcher, England's hapless coach when England got skittled for 46 in Trinidad: "I reckon that if the target was 50 or 60, we'd probably have got there."

There are some real gems despite the subject matter being well worn. The Donald-Atherton battle at Trent Bridge in 1998 has been known for its intensity and nothing else, but 'White Lightning' reveals that the Lancashire man offered him a consolation prize. Donald recalls: "Mike gave me his batting glove. He signed it on the red mark that the ball had left."

Extreme conditions in foreign places are perhaps the bane of the tourist. Off the pitch, England's tour of India in 1985 was a nightmare after Indira Gandhi's assassination threw the tour into chaos. The lack of security back then is portrayed with brutal simplicity by photographer Graham Morris who strolled past a senior figure claiming to be a member of the IRA. He was shown the door to the England room. Chilling.

Other parts of the human condition unknown to us mere mortals are also exposed. While Graeme Fowler may have suffered for his double century in India, it hardly compares to Dean Jones batting through constant 40 degree heat and 80 per cent humidity in Madras during the infamous tied Test of 1986. Allan Border's encouraging response to the constant vomits and pleas of his partner to go off were: "You weak Victorian. I want a Queenslander out there." There is also a good piece on Jones' methods disturbing the relative tranquillity of under-achieving Derbyshire.

It is this mix of international incidents and domestic kitchen-sink traumas that make Flying Stumps and Metal Bats such a compelling read. Expect the next updated version to contain a whole chapter on Pakistan in-fighting. Some things never change...

Flying Stumps And Metal Bats, Cricket's Greatest Moments by the People Who Were There (Aurum Press £8.99)

Tim Ellis