IRISH BOOKS BY Andy Lee and Richie Sadlier are among those to feature on the longlist for the prestigious William Hill sports book prize.

‘Recovering’ and ‘Fighter,’ the latter of which is ghostwritten by The42‘s deputy editor Niall Kelly, are among 14 books nominated.

‘In Sunshine or in Shadow: How Boxing Brought Hope in the Troubles’ by Donald McRae also makes the cut.

McRae is aiming to win the prize for a record-breaking third time, as is Duncan Hamilton, who picks up a nomination for ‘The Great Romantic: Cricket and the Golden Age of Neville Cardus’.

The longlist has been chosen from a record 151 submissions for the 31st edition of the prize, with previous winners including ‘Rough Ride: An Insight into Pro Cycling’ by Paul Kimmage and ‘Seabiscuit: The True Story of Three Men and a Racehorse’ by Laura Hillenbrand.

The judging panel for this year’s award consists of: ex-professional footballer and former chairman of the Professional Footballer’s Association, Clarke Carlisle; five-time Olympic medallist and rower Dame Katherine Grainger; broadcaster and writer John Inverdale; broadcaster Danny Kelly and journalist and broadcaster Mark Lawson. Chair of Judges is author and journalist Alyson Rudd.

The entries will be whittled down to a shortlist on 22 October, while the winner of the £30,000 cash prize will be announced at a ceremony in London on 5 December.

The longlist in full (alphabetically by author’s surname):

1. They Don’t Teach This: Lessons from the Game of Life by Eniola Aluko (Yellow Jersey)
2. Unbreakable: The Woman Who Defied the Nazis in the World’s Most Dangerous Horse Race by Richard Askwith (Penguin Random House)
3. No Win Race: A Story of Belonging, Britishness and Sport by Derek A Bardowell (Harper Collins)
4. Homing by Jon Day (John Murray)
5. Rise of the Ultra Runners: A Journey to the Edge of Human Endurance by Adharanand Finn (Faber & Faber)
6. The Great Romantic: Cricket and the Golden Age of Neville Cardus by Duncan Hamilton (Hodder & Stoughton)
7. Fighter- Andy Lee with Niall Kelly (Gill Books)
8. In Sunshine or in Shadow: How Boxing Brought Hope in the Troubles by Donald McRae (Simon & Schuster)
9. The Beast, The Emperor and The Milkman: A Bone-shaking Tour through Cycling’s Flemish Heartlands by Harry Pearson (Bloomsbury)
10. Rough Magic: Riding the World’s Wildest Horse Race by Lara Prior-Palmer (Penguin Random House)
11. Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump by Rick Reilly (Headline Publishing Group)
12. How Football (Nearly) Came Home: Adventures in Putin’s Russia by Barney Ronay (Harper Collins)
13. Recovering by Richie Sadlier (Gill Books)
14. Position of Trust: A Football Dream Betrayed by Andy Woodward (Hodder & Stoughton)

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!