In anticipation of England doing well in the World Cup, white-and-red flags fluttered ubiquitously, fans made arrangements for watching the games with mathematical precision, and a number of footballers signed gigantic book deals, topped by the record-breaking £5 million for a five-book account of Wayne Rooney’s life.

But the first volume of this five-part saga has sold a rather modest 13,700 copies. Whether the cause is England’s similarly middling performance in the World Cup, or the fact that, apparently, the book’s most revealing insight is that Mr. Rooney’s house “has six bedrooms and a big kitchen, which is very modern and greyish,” is unknown. But it’s clear that when Roddy Bloomfield, sports book editor at Hodder and Stoughton, said, “I’m not buying any footballers’ books now,” he was not the only one.

So what fills the void? Bloomfield has that figured out, too: “You need characters and real stories to sell sports books,” he said, “and this is what cricketers provide.” The smart publisher brought out Andrew “Freddy” Flintoff’s autobiography last fall, after his success in the Ashes earned him the title “Man of the Series” by Australian coach John Buchanan. This all-rounder player, who has also won the inaugural Compton-Miller Medal, the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC player of the year award, the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2005, and the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World in 2006, now has the additional distinction of having sold over 250,000 copies of his autobiography in hardback alone.

And Flintoff is hardly a solitary case. Bloomfield has also served as publisher to Michael Vaughan, captain of the English cricket team, and Ritchie Benaud, long-time commentator of the sport, whose memoirs have both sold roughly 100,000 copies. Next week, another publisher, Ebury, will unveil its latest efforts in the genre with the story of the self-confident Kevin Pietersen, an England and Hampshire cricketer born in South Africa.

Most recently, publishers have been clamoring over the rights to Monty Panesar’s biography. His surprising emergence as the hero of England’s win against Pakistan this summer has brought this left-arm spinner to the attention of the public. As the first Sikh to represent England, and, in fact, any country outside of India, on a cricket team, Monty has a fresh story to tell. His grandparents are still residing in India, where he made his Test debut a mere six months ago. Since then, he has become distinctive for his excellent bowling, excellent work ethic and less-than-excellent ability in the field, but even more so for his personality, and his reputation for wearing his patka (a smaller version of the Sikh turban) on the pitch. His book deal, expected to be wrapped up within the week, is projected to bring Panesar about £250,000.