Wisden

The Wisden brand derives from the English cricketer John Wisden, who in 1850 took all ten wickets in an innings, all bowled, in a North vs South match at Lord’s. He sold sports equipment from his London shop before branching out into publishing, producing the first Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack in 1864, which ran to just 112 pages. Wisden later became probably the leading multi-sports equipment brand in England, and its sporting goods business declined during the Second World War.⁠[1][2]

The publishing company John Wisden and Company Limited was incorporated on May 4, 1914, and remains an active company registered for book publishing.⁠[3]

The Wisden almanack adopted its famous yellow cover for its 75th edition in 1938. It continued through both World Wars, having been published every year of its existence, and has always been independent of any cricket administration.⁠[1]

The magazine Wisden Cricket Monthly was first published in June 1979; it was the brainchild of its first editor, David Frith.⁠[4]

In 1993 the philanthropist and cricket lover Paul Getty (John Paul Getty Jr.John Paul Getty Jr.John Paul Getty Jr. (1932–2003), known as Sir Paul Getty, was a son of oil businessman J. Paul Getty and a Britain-based philanthropist and book collector who made large gifts to the National Gallery, the British Film Institute and cricket, and received an honorary KBE in 1986.Open the full entry) bought Wisden. The Wisden group was thereafter owned by the Getty family, and by 2007 it was chaired by his son Mark GettyMark GettyMark Getty is the co-founder and chairman of the board of the image company Getty Images and oversees Getty family investments; in Getty Images’ 2026 bankruptcy restructuring, Getty family affiliated entities and Koch Equity Development committed new equity and will jointly own the reorganized company.Open the full entry.⁠[5][6]

At the end of 2000 Wisden started a new online venture, to which Wisden Cricket Monthly’s Tim de Lisle and Steven Lynch moved.⁠[4]

In 2001 Wisden acquired the magazine The Oldie in a deal that gave it a £500,000 cash injection.⁠[5]

On February 24, 2003, Wisden and CricInfo, a cricket website founded in 1993, announced that they had merged to form a new business, Wisden CricInfo, with Robin Bevan as chief executive officer. CricInfo had built its business on free access to content.⁠[7][8]

Following the merger of Wisden Cricket Monthly with The Cricketer, the new magazine The Wisden Cricketer, edited by John Stern, first appeared in October 2003.⁠[4][9]

In 2006 the Wisden Group acquired the ball-tracking technology company Hawk-EyeHawk-Eye InnovationsHawk-Eye Innovations is a British sports technology company founded by Paul Hawkins and known for its ball-tracking system of the same name, Hawk-Eye, which is used for officiating and broadcasting in cricket, tennis, football and other sports; the company was acquired by the Wisden Group in 2006 and has been owned by Sony since 2011.Open the full entry; at the time Wisden was described as cricket’s most famous publisher and Cricinfo as the game’s largest global website.⁠[10][11]

In February 2007 Wisden appointed financial advisers to sell the magazines The Wisden Cricketer and The Oldie in order to raise funds for its online and technology businesses, while retaining Cricinfo and its books business, including the Wisden almanack, and concentrating on Cricinfo and Hawk-Eye. The Wisden Cricketer had a circulation of 35,584 for the period ending December 2005. BSkyB bought The Wisden Cricketer that year.⁠[5][6][9]

On June 11, 2007, ESPN and the Wisden Group announced that they had agreed terms for ESPN’s acquisition of Cricinfo, which ESPN acquired that month, ending the Wisden Cricinfo period. Mark Getty, a director of the Wisden Group, said the group would continue to focus on its Hawk-Eye sports technology business. Cricinfo was later rebranded ESPNcricinfo.⁠[12][8]

In November 2008 the British publisher Bloomsbury Publishing acquired John Wisden & Co for a consideration of £2.8 million; the business had annual turnover of £0.7 million to December 31, 2008. Bloomsbury said Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack would join its other reference titles, including Who’s Who.⁠[13][14]

In August 2009 Bloomsbury made the seven most recent editions of the Wisden almanack available online in searchable form through its subscription service Bloomsbury Library Online for a one-off £40 subscription; that year’s hardback print edition was published by A&C Black at £29.⁠[15]

In October 2011 Bloomsbury signed a long-term licensing deal with the sports and entertainment management firm FidelisWorld to launch Wisden India in early 2012, with the first annual Wisden India edition planned for October 2012; the rights also covered Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the Middle East and North America.⁠[16]

In June 2024 Wisden partnered with the sports digital solutions company Sportz Interactive to revamp its official website, adding interactive features such as polls, quizzes and predictors; Ian Sykes, managing director of Cricket Properties Ltd and Wisden, welcomed the partnership. The Wisden India brand had been revived in 2020.⁠[17]

As of October 2026 John Wisden and Company Limited was more than 75% owned by John Wisden (Holdings) Limited, which in turn was more than 75% owned by A&C Black Publishers Ltd; both companies were registered at 50 Bedford Square, London, Bloomsbury’s address. The 2026 edition of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack was published by Bloomsbury Publishing on April 16, 2026, and edited by Lawrence Booth.⁠[18][19][3][20]

At the same time, the website Wisden.com was operated by Cricket Properties Ltd, a company that delivers content, events and other services to rights holders and brands, with an address at The Kia Oval in London.⁠[21]

Wisden: Official website: https://www.wisden.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[22]

X: Official account: https://x.com/WisdenCricket (opens in a new window)⁠[22]

YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry: Official account: https://www.youtube.com/c/wisdencricket (opens in a new window)⁠[22]