Playfair Cricket Annual
Playfair Cricket Annual is a compact annual about cricket that is published in the United Kingdom each April, just before the English cricket season is due to begin. It has been published every year since 1948. Its main purposes are to review the previous English season and to provide detailed career records and potted biographies of current players. It is produced in a "pocket-sized" format, being approximately 5×4 in (i.e., about 13×10 cm), so that it is a convenient size for carrying to cricket matches. The front cover of each edition has featured a photograph of a prominent current cricketer. There is a popular myth that this "honour" has a "hex" or "curse" associated with it, as the player featured then invariably has a poor season.
1990 English cricket season
The 1990 English cricket season was the 91st in which the County Championship had been an official competition. The size of the seam on the cricket ball had been reduced markedly from 1989, and along with dry conditions and the extension of four-day cricket this enabled batsmen to make large scores and Graham Gooch became one of a handful of players to average over 100 in a first-class season. The County Championship was won by Middlesex. England defeated both New Zealand and India 1-0 in respective Test series. The Zimbabwe national cricket team made a short tour of England in May, playing two limited overs and three first-class matches against county opposition.