Watching cricket with a companion: The Oxford Companion to Australian cricket at twenty

Abstract

This paper examines the genesis and purpose of the Oxford Companion to Australian Cricket and more especially uses it to highlight some of the more significant changes in Australian cricket since its publication in 1996. The paper considers both changes within the Australian game, ranging from the rise of a celebrity culture among the players to the emergence of India as a dominant international opponent, and new developments in writing about the game over the last two decades including shifts in academic historiography and the dominance of the internet.