Keeper of Style
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€23.99
The life and times of Middlesex and England wicketkeeper-batsman John 'JT' Murray, one of the acknowledged greats of English post-war cricket. Irresistibly cool, glamorous and apparently unapproachable, Murray was Christopher Sandford's consuming hero at the time the author was confined in an English seaside boarding school in the 60s. Twenty or more years later, the two became friends. In 2017 Murray eventually succumbed to a decade-long campaign and agreed to share in full his lifetime's reminiscences, recounting his experiences of a quarter of a century as a professional English sportsman. Murray proved unfailingly generous and humorous (if by no means uncritical) in his accounts of the great Tests, the tours and the parade of celebrities, sporting and otherwise, he encountered. This treasure trove of stories - described not just in the dry accountancy of scores and averages, but in droll anecdotal detail - lies at the heart of a unique cricket book illustrated by photographs, letters and notes from Murray's own collection.
Christopher Sandford is the author of some 30 books. Among them are a biography of the Pakistani sportsman-turned-prime minister, Imran Khan, and The Final Over, an account of the cricketers of the summer of 1914 - both of which were shortlisted for the MCC Cricket Book of the Year Award. Christopher's earlier biography of the deceased rock star Kurt Cobain is currently in development as a feature film.