Renowned cricket publishers Wisden have named Australian Christian Ryan’s 2009 book Golden Boy: Kim Hughes and the Bad Old Days of Australian Cricketas the best cricket book ever written.

 A panel of 6 judges chose Ryan’s book from an overall selection of over 150 books on all aspects of cricket. Judges included historian Tom Holland, Daily Mail cricket writer Lawrence Booth and author Frances Edmonds.

 First published in 2010, Golden Boy sheds new light on the likes of Lillee, Marsh and the Chappells and examines the most tumultuous era of Australian cricket through the lens of the story of flawed genius, Kim Hughes. Hughes was one of the most majestic and daring batsmen to play for Australia in the last 40 years. He played at least three innings that count as all-time classics, but it’s his tearful resignation from the captaincy that is remembered.

Of the book, Phil Walker, Editor-in-chief of the Wisden Monthly wrote: ‘It made me laugh, it told me things, it reminded me why I love the subject I’m reading about…It’s audacious, it’s got chutzpah, it’s done with a lyrical flourish. I didn’t know that cricket books could be written like this.’

Allen and Unwin will be reissuing Golden Boy later in 2019.