Yorkshire Grit: The Life of Ray Illingworth

Yorkshire Grit: The Life of Ray Illingworth is a biography of one of English cricket's most outstanding figures, Ray Illingworth, by award-winning writer Mark Peel. It covers his life from his upbringing in Yorkshire to his success as a player and captain for Leicestershire and England, as well as his controversial tactics and clashes with other top players.

Format: Hardback
Length: 288 pages
Publication date: 03 July 2023
Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd

Yorkshire Grit: The Life of Ray Illingworth is a captivating account of one of English cricket's most outstanding figures, told by award-winning writer Mark Peel. Raised in the harsh world of Yorkshire cricket, Illingworth's all-round ability and tactical acumen made him an indispensable member of their great sides of the 1950s and 60s. Leaving Yorkshire in 1968, he went on to captain Leicestershire to unprecedented success, and also became one of England's finest captains and the first man since Douglas Jardine nearly 40 years earlier to regain the Ashes in Australia. Yet, for all his success on the field, Illingworth's attritional tactics and refusal to compromise made him a controversial figure. His return to Yorkshire as manager was marred by a clash with Geoff Boycott, while his time as England's chairman of selectors and manager saw clashes with Mike Atherton and other top players. In this first biography of Illingworth for nearly 50 years, Peel reappraises a dominant personality who never shied away from controversy.

Yorkshire Grit: The Life of Ray Illingworth is a captivating account of one of English cricket's most outstanding figures, told by award-winning writer Mark Peel. Raised in the harsh world of Yorkshire cricket, Illingworth's all-round ability and tactical acumen made him an indispensable member of their great sides of the 1950s and 60s. Leaving Yorkshire in 1968, he went on to captain Leicestershire to unprecedented success, and also became one of England's finest captains and the first man since Douglas Jardine nearly 40 years earlier to regain the Ashes in Australia. Yet, for all his success on the field, Illingworth's attritional tactics and refusal to compromise made him a controversial figure. His return to Yorkshire as manager was marred by a clash with Geoff Boycott, while his time as England's chairman of selectors and manager saw clashes with Mike Atherton and other top players. In this first biography of Illingworth for nearly 50 years, Peel reappraises a dominant personality who never shied away from controversy.

Weight: 534g
Dimension: 242 x 162 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781801504522