From sun-kissed olive groves to frosty pine glades, cricket is played in every corner of continental Europe. But the game is fragile at its frontiers, struggling for profile and participants on a football-obsessed continent. Cricket on the Continent reflects on how the sport was exported, introduced and developed in mainland Europe, and the challenges it faced (and continues to face). It examines what lies in store in an uncertain future; casts a critical eye at the role of the ICC, the game-changing opportunities the Olympics could bring and the unique origins and development in different countries. These fundamental questions are confronted head on in a tale of matches, machinations and miracles, and a voyage through a fascinating patchwork of cultural nuances, colourful characters and cricketing intrigue that form the map of cricket in Europe.

Tim Brooks is the author of Cricket on the Continent. An experienced writer and commentator focusing on non-Test cricket and global development, he is a regular contributor to Wisden and recently wrote a chapter in the critically acclaimed book Second XI: Cricket in its Outposts. He has also worked with Greece, Germany and Norway as a development consultant.