Cricket Bible Wisden to branch out into other sports with new imprint

London, June 3(ANI): Wisden, the publisher of the annual Cricketers' Almanack, has plans to branch out into other sports next year.

As part of a new imprint, Wisden Sports Writing, leading writers have been commissioned to write books on football, sport on television and the world of the fan.

The new writers include two British Press Awards Sports Journalist of the Year winners - Patrick Collins and Ian Ridley - and Martin Kelner of The Guardian.

Matthew Engel, a former editor of the Almanack, will edit the series.

"We intend to publish only a handful of books each year. The aim is that every one of them will be of very high quality," Timesonline quoted Engel, as saying.

"Wisden has always aspired to excellence and we want this series to reflect our values: elegant, intelligent and witty books that will transcend individual sports and say something about life."

"The main criterion is whether they are books I want to read, and I think that's a pretty good basis on which to edit anything," he added.

It will be the first time that Wisden would publish a book on anything other than cricket since it founder John Wisden's Rugby Football Almanack was discontinued after only two issues in the mid-1920s, the report in Timesonline said.

John Wisden founded Wisden in 1864, and its annual publication has continued uninterrupted to the present day, making it the longest running sports annual in history. (ANI)