{"product_id":"on-cricket-1","title":"On Cricket","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003eMike Brearley's collection of essays, \"On Cricket,\" is a TIMES SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR, exploring the human qualities of humbler players, the game's idiosyncratic culture, and its enduring appeal. It pays respect to the past without denigrating the present and considers the future. \u003c\/blockquote\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\\n                                                            \u003cstrong\u003eFormat\u003c\/strong\u003e: Hardback\u003cbr\u003e\\n                              \u003cstrong\u003eLength\u003c\/strong\u003e: 432 pages\u003cbr\u003e\\n                              \u003cstrong\u003ePublication date\u003c\/strong\u003e: 04 October 2018\u003cbr\u003e\\n                              \u003cstrong\u003ePublisher\u003c\/strong\u003e: Little, Brown Book Group\u003cbr\u003e\\n                          \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA TIMES SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA treasure of recollections and reactions, talking heroes, controversies, and big themes, Mike Brearley is at his best in these quirky, delightful essays when he is exploring the human qualities of humbler players. . . . Brearley's admiration for his friends' decency, craftsmanship, and modesty seems to recall a golden age of country cricket.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Times\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBrearley has a knack for paying respect to the past without denigrating the present and for calmly considering the future.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMail on Sunday\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMike Brearley was arguably one of England's finest cricket captains; not just for his outstanding record leading his country but also for the way he orchestrated, during the 1981 Ashes series, one of the most extraordinary reversals in sporting history.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this collection of sparkling essays, Brearley reflects on the game he has come to know so well. He ranges from the personal—the influence of his Yorkshire father and the idols of his youth—to controversial aspects of the professional game, including cheating, corruption, and innovation, the latter often being on a borderline between genius and rebellion.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBrearley also evaluates his heroes (amongst them Viv Richards, Bishan Bedi, and Dennis Lillee), the game changers, the outstanding wicketkeepers, the Indian-ness of four generations of Indian batsmen, and the important commentators (including Harold Pinter, John Arlott, and Ian Chappell). The Ashes, the most sustained love-hate relationship in the history of sport and key to Brearley's test-playing career, are raked over. Central to the book is an important section on race and cricket, and the legacy of C. L. R. James.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eInsightful and humorous, On Cricket is an intelligent exposition of the game's idiosyncratic culture and its e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\\n                            \u003cstrong\u003eWeight\u003c\/strong\u003e: 844g\\n                            \u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDimension\u003c\/strong\u003e: 231 x 161 x 35 (mm)\\n                            \u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN-13\u003c\/strong\u003e: 9781472129475\\n                            \\n                          \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mike Brearley","offers":[{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":44097577844986,"sku":"9781472129475","price":14.28,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0522\/4297\/2845\/products\/60a95bfcabf95359fa6eb81c9cc5e3d0.jpg?v=1631845590","url":"https:\/\/shulphink.com\/products\/on-cricket-1","provider":"Shulph Ink","version":"1.0","type":"link"}