Great sporting memories

The Catch

Mark Wormald is a poet, a fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge, and an expert on Ted Hughes. ‘Expert’ seems inadequate, as following various personal issues, Wormald almost reincarnates himself as our former Poet Laureate: his first office was once Hughes’ room, and taking his fishing diaries and River, his poetic reflections on all things fluvial, Wormald uses his rods and his recommended fly platters, and returns to the places where Hughes fished.

But this isn’t simply a paean to Hughes; it’s a profoundly reflective examination of Hughes’ fishing life, layered over Wormald’s own, with the result being a sort of palimpsest of the experiences of both men, for whom fishing is elemental to their existence. At the same time, Wormald is examining his familial role as father and son.

Wormald has an engaging, lyrical style, by which it’s easy to be beguiled into appreciative enjoyment and even wonder. It will certainly appeal to fishing enthusiasts as well as the many fans of Ted Hughes.

By Mark Wormald Bloomsbury, £20

Tales of Moor & Stream

It was Charles van Straubenzee’s nephew who encouraged him to write down his recollections of many happy years spent fishing, shooting and stalking, and the result is this charming memoir.

While he tells us about fishing in Iceland as well, Scotland dominates the narrative, as it has been where van Straubenzee has had many of his formative experiences. The memoirs start with a youthful holiday at Balnacoil, on the north side of the Brora and Blackwater, where he “learnt a great deal of fieldcraft” and caught his first salmon fly-fishing, shot his first stag and started shooting over dogs. It was at Clunes, one of the Atholl estates, and Braelangwell where he had numerous successes.

While his greatest love is salmon fishing – “the best thing in all fieldsports” being the thrill the second the fish takes the fly – his best day’s sport came on the hill after angling disappointment. The book is greatly enlivened by his lovely photographs, which give the memories colour and authenticity.

By Charles van Straubenzee Available to order direct from Countryside Books, £10

A Day at the Races

Dr Peter May, a mathematician, computer scientist, former professional gambler and racing enthusiast, has selected more than 100 races that best embody the glories of the past 500 years of “the sport of kings”.

Charting the history of racing, this is a fascinating work which clips along in whip-smart fashion. Though he is careful to note the most important events in the evolution of the sport, May is clear that this isn’t simply a list of “landmark episodes”, but also an opportunity “to shine a light on extraordinary human and equine achievements that keep so many racing fans coming back for more”.

So we have essays on the first St Leger stakes in 1776, the first win by a female jockey nearly two centuries later and the first use of photo-finish technology in 1947. And we have essays on the duel at Ascot in 1784 and the Ascot racecard scandal of 1843, alongside reflections on great jockeys and great horses such as Ormonde, whose skeleton was donated to the Natural History Museum in London. Eminently dippable.

By Peter May Merlin Unwin, £20

Cricket Grounds Then and Now

Brian Levison is a former club cricketer and lifelong cricket enthusiast, and this will be an indispensable coffee table or loo book for the many others who fall into that category.

While the modern-day photographs of around 50 grounds are striking, the real interest lies in the depictions of their earlier incarnations, with pictures capturing the game in bygone eras. All are accompanied by a potted history of the ground, and all credit to Levison for squeezing in so much detail.

The range of grounds reflects all the levels at which cricket is played. Some are still famous, such as Lord’s and New Zealand’s Basin Reserve (a former swamp), and play host to internationals, while others are county cricket grounds, such as St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury. There are stately homes, including Audley End, where the pitch was preserved after the property was sold to English Heritage, and schools, such as Clifton College. Sadly, a couple, Bramall Lane and Hastings, no longer serve their original sporting purpose.

By Brian Levison Pavilion, £18