As a schoolboy, one of my favourite books was a collection of cricket stories. The tales were entirely fictional, of heroic last stands and match-winning bowlers specialising in donkey drops. The stories were as much about unusual people in exceptional circumstances as they were about the sport. Cricket lends itself readily to backstory and biography.White on Green, a follow-up to Peter Obornes excellent Wounded Tigers, promises to paint a mesmerising picture of the fascinating events and individuals that have shaped the enigmatic cricket of Pakistan. It promises the backstory and the biography of Pakistan cricket in the words of the protagonists and through the eyes of their contemporaries.The stories are varied and generally brief, perfect for sporadic attention. Prince Aslam, heir to the princely state of Manavadar in pre-Partition India, opens proceedings. He was a playboy cricketer who left a match once he had taken enough wickets to enjoy a party or attend to a girlfriend. He died lonely and sad.We hear the story of Master Aziz, who was separated from his 12-year-old son during Partition. While his son, Salim Durani, went on to play for India, Aziz mentored dozens of talented Pakistani cricketers, some of whom became greats.These, then, are as much tales of Partition and politics, of joy and loss, of the making and breaking of society and individuals, as they are of cricket and cricketers. In this sense, the political passions of the authors, Oborne and Richard Heller, shine through. What is cricket except a manifestation of the political and social evolution of a country?And these observations benefit from the view of outsiders, less entangled in the day-to-day machinations of navigating a life and a living in Pakistan. The authors share a love of their subject and a passion for detail. Forgotten lives and events matter to their besotted eyes.Here we find gems that matter. For instance, the story of Raees Mohammad, the fifth of the marvellous Mohammad brothers, four of whom played Test cricket for Pakistan. Hanif, the most famous of the brothers, died last week. Imagine family games of cricket in the Mohammads garden or on their verandah. Raees is called up too but misses out in what history will judge to be a heartbreaking injustice.What about Dera Ismail Khan, a name that will be familiar to anoraks? Dera played one first-class match and were beaten by Railways by a world-record innings and 851 runs. How did this happen? Was it, as the Wisden Almanack described, a case of Pakistans cricket board allowing teams with no first-class status to compete in first-class tournaments? Then theres Tauseef Ahmed, impressive offspinner and potential Lionel Richie impersonator. Tauseef blagged a role as a net bowler for Pakistans preparations for their first Test against Australia in 1980. Javed Miandad put him up in Zaheer Abbas hotel room, and when Zaheer rang the room to pick up his messages he was shocked to hear Tauseefs voice. Once Tauseef explained what had happened, Zaheer told him to stay.Following the net session, Tauseef returned to his club but received a call from a friend, a cinema owner from Bradford. He told me I was in the Test team. I didnt believe him, but he told me to go home and check. I found a crowd there and thought maybe there was something in it. Tauseef was indeed selected; the offspinner in the squad, Ilyas Khan, had been dropped. Only in Pakistan.We learn more about the cricketing lives of Billy Ibadulla, Duncan Sharpe, and Aftab Baloch. Perhaps most importantly of all, we discover the story behind the introduction of womens cricket to Pakistan, and the ignored tales of the survivors of the terrorist attack on Sri Lankas cricketers in Lahore.There is much to marvel at and revel in but you need to work hard to find it amid material that didnt make the final edit of Wounded Tigers. Some of the biographies of Pakistans cricketers are well known and whats new only forms a minor part of the story. Some chapters indulge the authors and their subjects.So enter with care. White on Green offers detail that you may not be seeking, about events that you might not care about. But for anybody with a love of cricket and cricketers lives, of how cricket and society intertwine, of Pakistan and its idiosyncrasies and injustices, this is a volume you might have dreamt about as a child.White on Green: A Portrait of Pakistan Cricket By Richard Heller and Peter Oborne Simon and Schuster UK 320 pages, £20 Buccaneers Jerseys China . Halifax beat the Saint John Sea Dogs 7-5 on the strength of two goals apiece from Nikolaj Ehlers, Matt Murphy and Brent Andrews. Jonathan Drouin also scored and had three assists while Zachary Fucale made 17 saves for the Mooseheads (16-8-0), who led 6-1 after two periods. Custom Buccaneers Jerseys . Vettel, who has already clinched his fourth straight F1 title, enters the finale with a chance to equal Michael Schumachers 13 victories in a year and match the record of nine consecutive wins by Alberto Ascari in the 1952 and 1953 seasons. http://www.custombuccaneersjersey.com/ .J. -- Marshawn Lynch said Thursday it will be good to get back to football after the Seattle quiet talking running back wrapped up his final mandatory media session of Super Bowl week. Custom Buccaneers Jerseys . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. Buccaneers Jerseys China . The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2. ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals have activated shortstop Aledmys Diaz before Sundays game against Milwaukee.Diaz had been on the disabled with a right thumb fracture.On Saturday, Diaz finished his rehab assignment with Double-A Springfield, starting in Game 4 of the Texas League playoffs. He went 0-for-5 in the Cardinals 10-inning loss to Northwest Arkansas.Diaz has been out since he broke his right thumb when he was hit byy a pitch from the Marlins Andrew Cashner on July 31.ddddddddddddAt the time of the injury, he was hitting a team-leading .312 with 14 homers and 57 RBIs in 96 games, earning a trip to the All-Star Game and making himself one of the leading candidates for the National League Rookie of the Year Award. ' ' '