England's star batsman Michael Vaughan will become the first man to appear on the cover of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in its 140-year history.

For the famous book with a yellow jacket, it is the first major change to the cover since 1938, when Wisden brought in the celebrated woodcut by Eric Ravilious showing two top-hatted Victorian gentlemen playing cricket. It now appears on the back of the jacket, and also on the spine.

The decision to bring about the change was made by the editor of the 2003 edition, Tim de Lisle, the first one-off editor in Wisden's history.

The new design was completed last October by Nigel Davies, art director of Wisden's monthly magazine, and remained a closely guarded secret since.

The change was then ratified by the Wisden management committee, and chairman Sir Paul Getty approved the new cover in what turned out to be his final contribution to the Almanack before his death on April 17.

The yellow background and chocolate printing are unchanged and the photograph is in black-and-white, to let yellow remain the signature colour and underline Wisden's standing as a publishing classic.

"Black-and-white has the feel of history," de Lisle told a Web site. "It's in tune with what the top players do, writing their names indelibly in the game's annals."

de Lisle said Vaughan was picked because he had made the year his own with seven Test centuries, each scored in great style.The photograph, by well-known cricket photographer Patrick Eagar, shows Vaughan celebrating a century.

"It needed to be an image that was full of vitality and emotion," he said. "Wisden's readers have a real passion for the game, and the cover should reflect that."

A traditional-style jacket has also been produced, and can be ordered free of charge by collectors who prefer it, or who wish to have both covers to maintain the completeness of their collection.

At 40, Tim de Lisle, who won an Editor of the Year award in 1999 with Wisden Cricket Monthly, is the youngest editor of the Almanack since the Second World War.

Readers will find a few more surprises along with reports and comments from the World Cup, which ended only a month ago, when the 140th edition reaches the shops next week.

Published by John Wisden on April 30 in hardback and soft cover, it is priced at £35