John Wisden (5^th September 1826 to 5^th April 1884)

I’m not interested in sport but here I am at the grave of John Wisden. I’ve seen the Wisden Cricket Almanack on library shelves for years.

Though he was a first class cricketer who played 187 cricket matches for three English county cricket teams, Kent, Middlesex and Sussex he is best known for his annual Almanack.

I won’t bore you into a coma talking about cricket as I may fall asleep but he I am at his grave.

He began playing cricket at 18 and retired at only 37 due to rheumatism. He started his annual Cricketers' Almanack the following year. In retirement he developed his business into a manufacturer and retailer of equipment for many sports (not only cricket.)

He died of cancer at 57 in the flat above his Cranbourn Street shop (next to Leicester Square tube station.

The grave bore no headstone until 1984 when one was mounted to mark the centenary of his birth.