Cricketing Caesar
Mike Brearley was one of England's greatest cricket captains. He thrice won the Ashes, including the unforgettable series of 1981, when his leadership helped England to snatch victory from defeat. Yet there was nothing inevitable about his rise. A spell out of the game in his mid-20s stymied his progress and when he returned full-time to captain Middlesex, his innovative approach found little favour with the old guard. In this first-ever biography of Brearley, award-winning cricket writer Mark Peel reveals how Brearley overcame his critics to lead Middlesex to four county championships and two Gillette Cup wins. His rise to the England captaincy was fast, but his unrivalled leadership skills contrasted with his repeated failures with the bat. Away from cricket, Brearley possessed a range of cultural interests along with a sharp intellect, which saw him achieve eminence as a psychoanalyst. Drawing on interviews with friends and team-mates, Peel assesses the many facets of this complex man to explain his phenomenal success as a leader.
Mark Peel has written 12 books including England Expects: A Biography of Ken Barrington (winner of the 1993 Cricket Society Literary Award), The Last Roman: A Biography of Colin Cowdrey, Ambassadors of Goodwill: MCC Tours 1946/47-1970/71 (shortlisted for the MCC/Cricket Society Book of the Year 2018) and Playing the Game? Cricket's Tarnished Ideals from Bodyline to the Present (shortlisted for the Daily Telegraph Cricket Book of the Year 2018).