I have been a serious armchair cricket enthusiast since about the age of 14, despite never having displayed any aptitude for playing the game at school. As I have learned more about the history and lore of the game, the legend of Botham’s Ashes in 1981 has always been one of the most appealing and beguiling stories. The England Captain for that series, Mike Brearley, is recognised as being one of the most thoughtful and skillful exponents of captaincy as a specialist discpline, and this book, first published in 1985 after his retirement from cricket in 1982, explores in detail his thinking about all aspects of the art.

For the cricket lover this is a wonderful book. Brearley, who former Australian fast bowler Rodney Hogg once described as having “a degree in people”, and who went on to a successful career in psychoanalysis, explores a wide range of cricketing topics: the role of the captain, the disciplines of batting, bowling, fielding, the importance of training, the role of aggression in cricket, and motivation of individuals in the context of a team game. All of his points are lavishly illustrated with anecdotes, not all of which show Brearley in the best possible light – it is clear that he was very critical of his own performances as both batsman and captain.

Although cricket has moved on considerably in many ways since this book was written – Brearley could not have anticipated Twenty20 cricket, the increase in sledging, the increase in the number of matches played by the leading international players, or central contracts – the fundamentals of the game are the same as they were in Brearley’s time, and as such the wisdom of his observations is just as relevant now. This is a captivating book – only the section on field placings got a bit boring, as I think it would have benefited from some simple diagrams – and I would heartily recommend it to both the cricket enthusiast and the would-be captain, playing the sport at any level. I also suspect there are lessons in the book for managers and ‘captains’ in other contexts, though it’s not written in such as way as to constantly thrust these points at the reader.

If you like the blend of psychology and drama that makes cricket such an appealing sport, you’ll love this book.

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