Wisden is the Bible of cricket. It is published annually from England for the last 149 years. It completes 150 years now. It provides the valuable statistics. The first test match was played in 1877 on 15, 16, 17 and 19 March. Wisden was first published in 1864. It pre-dates the first test. It was previously called Wisden Cricketer’s Almanac. They used to write ‘ cricketer’s ‘  for the first four years, but from 5 th year, they used to write Cricketers’. Initially, apart from cricketer, they used to write about other sports. Its cover page was in Salmon pink colour but in 1938, it was converted into the yellow colour. To begin with , it carried 112 pages but now carries up to 1500 pages. The centenary issue was published in 1963. The annual has been started by a cricketer—Jone Wisden. The first editor was W.H. Crossford. Wisden in its 150 years life has been edited by 17 editors. The longest editorial tenure was that of Sydney Pardon. He remained an editor for 35 years. It selects Top Five Cricketers every year. This is going on from 1927.They formed an expert committee to select the Top Five for the Century. In 2004, they started selecting ‘Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World.’ The first one to receive this honour was Richy Ponting. Sehwag was selected consecutively in 2008 and 2009 for this honour. They arranged Wisden Trophy Match on completing 100 years. Wisden’s ownership too changed during  course of time – Robert Maxwell to McDonald, Sir Paul Getty and Bloomsberry.

Wisden’s editorials are important. Wisden collaborates with ESPN for online statistics.