WISDEN CRICKETER?S ALMANACK 1999 Edited by Mathew Engel, John Wisden and Co, ? 28 There would have been no need to review this book because it is a regular publication which records every year?s happenings in the world of cricket. But the Wisden for 1999 is a bit special and not because it is the last volume of this century. Apart from records and statistics and other standard features, this volume contains some important articles that draw attention to and comment on some significant developments in cricket and in the running of it. According to many, the most radical occurrence in the world of cricket was the admission of women members to the Marylebone Cricket Club. Peter Hayter writes on this in an article aptly called ?The Year the Citadel Fell??. The proposal was first moved by the president of the MCC, Colin Ingleby-Mackenzie, to admit women as members. It was blocked. Undaunted, the president moved it again, and lo and behold the gents at cricket?s headquarters in NW8 voted in favour. It is by no means clear whether the voting pattern was influenced by too many gin and tonics or by too many members suffering from withdrawal symptoms. The change is worth applauding and women can now watch cricket from the Long Room. But what is by no means clear is the time of the actual admission of a woman member. Membership, most informed people say, is closed till 2020. A typically cynical reaction came from Rachael Heyhoe-Flint. ?Perhaps now??, she suggested, ?you will be able to buy MCC nighties and fluffy slippers as well as pyjamas.?? Will the latter have amber and orange stripes? The development which sharply divided cricketers from administrators and cricketers from cricketers was the revelation about match fixing, bribery and betting. Corruption entered the noble game in a big way. Mihir Bose writes on this aspect and aptly notes that in 1998-99, ?the goodies threatened to change places with the baddies??. The original accusation had been made by Shane Warne, Mark Waugh and Tim May who had alleged that Salim Malik had approached them in October 1994 to throw matches in return for a bribe of $ 200,000. In 1998-99, it was clear that Warne and Waugh had actually taken money from bookies and had parted with information. What was worse was that the Australian Cricket Board had known about this and had covered it up till David Hookes dug it out. Bose narrates the history of allegations and counter-allegations about bribery and match-fixing.Indian readers will be familiar with this part of the story. In the early days of cricket betting was a part of the game. In 1817, the MCC banned a miscreant named William Lambert and expelled bookmakers from Lord?s. This may not be all that easy today. What is surprising though is the International Cricket Council?s refusal to take steps against Waugh and Warne. Corruption is an index of the role money is playing in cricket today, a subject which the Wisden, in gentlemanly fashion, refuses to discuss. These two essays together with one on the game?s mystery bowlers make 1999 Wisden somewhat different. There is more to it than dry as dust figures. Cricket lovers in Calcutta will be delighted by a small entry on Jeevanlal Paul, the much-loved dressing room attendant and masseur at Eden Gardens who once clean bowled Colin Cowdrey.