BY DEFINITION, an almanack is an annual publication detailing information on a range of different subjects. Trying to establish themes from some 1,536 pages is one of the many joys of devouring any Wisden.

This year the stench of racism provides an unwanted narrative. The Azeem Rafiq scandal made Yorkshire appear toxic and cricket unwelcoming.

With the national side in crisis, middle-aged administrators peddled racial stereotypes. It might, noted the editor, “have been the 1980s.”