In the latest issue of Wisden Cricket Monthly, out May 14, we speak to England keeper Jamie Smith about his bruising Ashes tour, family life and rediscovering the best version of himself.
"Definitely a top-order player," says Smith when asked about his long-term role in the Test side. "Every time I've got a bat in my hand, I feel like that's where I belong."
As we look forward to next month's New Zealand Test series, the recalled Ollie Robinson opens up to Phil Walker about his past struggles, Andrew Alderson reveals the secrets behind the Black Caps' pace factory, and we consider the make-up of England's line-up in the wake of their Ashes defeat.
Elsewhere, we have all the domestic news in County Files, with Raf Nicholson reporting on the biggest stories from the women's game in her new regular feature. New columnist Daniel Norcross laments the Championship's April run shower, Andrew Miller ponders what the last act of Ben Stokes' career might look like, and Lawrence Booth says it's naive to think the county game can solve all England's problems.
Katya Witney explores the legacy of the 2017 Women's World Cup and how this summer's World Cup can learn from past mistakes, Jo Harman-McGowan revisits the controversial 2004 deal which took live cricket off free-to-air in the UK, and Cameron Ponsonby asks if the new Knight-Stokes Cup can redress the imbalance at the heart of English cricket.
We also have exclusive interviews with England batter-turned-selector Lydia Greenway and Ashes winner Jake Weatherald, while Test call-up Emilio Gay details his month in 'The Diary'.
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"Once the Ashes was finished and you come back home and you’re reflecting, I didn’t feel that I was batting in any way that was myself. I thought, ‘I can’t have got that bad in the space of a couple of months’."
Jamie Smith tells Phil Walker he wants to set the record straight after a challenging winter
"I could have gone down the route of chucking it all in, to be honest. But Mia’s been the one who’s kept me motivated. She works so hard herself, but she’s also taken on a bit more burden from me than she deserved to, really."
Recalled by England, Ollie Robinson says his wife Mia Baker has helped to rejuvenate his career
"An indefinable distance has begun to creep into Stokes’ persona, which was also apparent in the latter years of both Botham and Flintoff’s careers, when the wattage of their personal brands began to outshine the team in which they’d made their names."
Andrew Miller considers what the last chapter in Ben Stokes' extraordinary career will bring
"We get the best out of what we've got, given how limited we are by size and finances compared to some countries. New Zealanders tend to have a way to find a way."
Ahead of New Zealand's tour of England, Tim Southee explains how the Black Caps are able to keep producing high-class seamers
"McCullum risks finding himself at the centre of one of English cricket’s time-honoured over-corrections, even if the Ashes meltdown might have been averted by things as simple as proper preparation and a willingness to learn from basic errors."
Lawrence Booth says county cricket doesn't have all the answers to the questions faced by England's Test side
"There was a buzz, but it faded. Without the domestic structure below, you didn’t have the scaffolding to build on that success."
Heather Knight speaks to Katya Witney about the missed opportunities following England's 2017 World Cup win
"When it comes to talk of me potentially playing for England, I’ve consciously tried not to look at how other players are doing. I just focus on myself."
Writing ahead of his maiden Test call-up, Durham's Emilio Gay describes his month in 'The Diary'
"There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever of a lost generation. It’s just that people who didn’t like the deal decided there was. Why are the Test grounds always full? Why do crowds consistently increase? It’s a fallacy."
Former ECB chair Giles Clarke speaks to Jo Harman-McGowan about the ECB's decision to take live cricket off free-to-air from 2006
"Trescothick’s morning at Birmingham sets the whole thing up. Like the snare drum at the start of Like a Rolling Stone, the sound of the door being kicked in to a different reality, it’s that shot against Warne."
Phil Walker on the innings that changed the course of the 2005 Ashes
"I just wanted to get my life back in order without feeling too obsessive, depressed and suicidal."
Ashes winner Jake Weatherald talks to Adam Hopkins about the move which changed his life
You can order the new edition of Wisden Cricket Monthly, digital or print version, here.
