Cricket has been a part of our lives for generations, in particular Test cricket. We can marvel at the feats of many greats through the years and try to imagine how the game was played in generations past. Thousands of books have been written and hundreds of players have been discussed. But the times are changing and I fear that within the next generation, Test cricket will be remembered as an old format of the game. There are many reasons for my prediction. First, the introduction of the Twenty 20 game. A fast moving, exciting and short format that allows the family an afternoon or evening of fun. We also live in an age where time is important and I fear that the public will no longer have the time or patience to spend five days absorbing a Test match. Finally, it is the cost factor. In so many ways, the cost of staging a Test series is now coming under the microscope. We are seeing fewer people attending Tests across the world and eventually, this will spell the death knell of Test cricket. We should therefore consider ourselves extremely lucky to have lived in an era where such greats of Test cricket have been on display. Yes, the first fifty years of Test cricket was filled with exciting and memorable figures with the likes of W.G. Grace and Don Bradman leading the list. But it is this period after WWII that will eventually be remembered as the 'greatest period.' We just have to look at the past thirty years to gather a list of truly memorable greats - some of whom have been included in this book. In twenty years, when Test cricket is only played as an exhibition sport, we will remember the flashing blades of Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar and Garry Sobers dressed splendidly in their whites. Our memories will be filled with masterful stroke play, brilliant tactical captaincy, effortless ball placement and the magic art of spin bowling. Let's enjoy and support Test cricket before it is lost forever. The shorter forms of the game are exciting and fast, but lack the true fascination, history and guile of a Test match. One Hundred Years of Test Cricket is a compact history of the game produced in our exclusive tactile format in the hope that the game and the players will always be remembered for these exciting Test cricket years.