Return of the Prodigal by Colin Bryden

Return of the Prodigal (Collectible 1992 South African Cricket Return)

A Senior Cricket Journalist's Account of South Africa's Return to International Cricket After Isolation

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Return of the Prodigal: South Africa's Cricketing Comeback
• Author: Colin Bryden
• Publisher: Sunday Times with Jonathan Ball Publishers, Johannesburg
• Publication Date: 1992
• ISBN-13: 9780947464585
• ISBN-10: 0947464581
• Edition Details: First published in 1992. Foreword by Kepler Wessels.
• Binding: Publisher's green cloth boards, gilt lettering and publisher's logo to spine, with a colour photographic dust jacket.
• Physical Format: Large-format illustrated hardback, approximately quarto, 208 pages. With black and white photographs.
• Language: English

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Very Good (VG)
• Exterior / Boards: The green cloth boards are clean, with no visible marks or fading. The spine is green with gilt lettering and the publisher's logo. Spine edges and corners appear sound.
• Interior: The text block is clean and the print sharp, with slight toning to the page edges. The binding appears tight. No foxing, writing or markings. The light brown endpaper has a small crease near the gutter and a faint spot.
• The Dust Jacket: Present. The colour photographic jacket is bright and complete, with slight wear and creasing to the edges and spine ends, and a few small tatters at the top spine fold. Protected in a durable archival-type plastic cover.

Synopsis & Historical Value

Published in Johannesburg in 1992 by the Sunday Times with Jonathan Ball Publishers, Return of the Prodigal: South Africa's Cricketing Comeback records the national side's re-entry to international cricket after years of sporting isolation.

Colin Bryden, a senior Sunday Times cricket journalist who travelled with the team, follows the tours of India and the West Indies and the 1992 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The book carries a foreword by Kepler Wessels and is illustrated with black and white photographs.

The book is a first-hand record of a pivotal moment in South African sporting and political history. It has since been cited as a source in scholarly writing on South Africa's 1992 World Cup participation, and by a history of that tournament.

Author Profile: Colin Bryden

Colin Bryden is a South African cricket journalist and former Sports Editor of the Sunday Times. He was twice named South Africa's Sports Journalist of the Year and has reported on more than 100 Test matches and five World Cups.

His other books include Herschelle: A Biography (Spearhead, 2003) and Jackers: A Life in Cricket (2011), written with Robin Jackman.

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