Cricket in Uzbekistan: Some writing in the 2023 Wisden Almanack

The 2023 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack includes a piece that I wrote for its Cricket Round The World section, about the growth of the game in the Central Asian republic of Uzbekistan. 

Having played and followed cricket all my life, I’m very proud that my article has a place alongside writing by my favourite journalists. Following the Notes by the Editor Lawrence Booth, the 2023 Wisden features essays by writers including Mike Atherton, Gideon Haigh, Tanya Aldred, Tim de Lisle and Emma John.

As well as the article about Uzbekistan, Cricket Round The World this year includes stories about cricket matches in many other unexpected places. This year’s story is my fourth contribution to the annual Wisden Almanack: I first wrote about cricket in Uzbekistan in the 2014 edition, and have also written about the game in Russia (2021) and Tajikistan (2022).

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Jonathan Campion is a writer, a translator from Russian and Ukrainian, and a book editor. He has travelled in Eurasia since 2005. Read about his work here, and contact him here.