Download or read book Botham s Book of the Ashes written by Ian Botham and published by Random House. This book was released on 2011-03-11 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sir Ian Botham and the Ashes are as closely intertwined as willow and leather or Merv Hughes and his moustache. You simply cannot think of one without the other. In this book, Sir Ian takes you on a ride through a lifetime's relationship with cricket's oldest and most treasured prize, revealing just how it has shaped his life and how he has helped to turn it into the contest it is today. From the moment he first watched the likes of Ken Barrington stride to the wicket in jaw-jutting defiance to the day he flayed Australia's bowling attack around Headingley as if playing with his mates in the park, and then onwards to his role in commentating on what was arguably the finest series of the lot, in 2005, Sir Ian has a rich and varied connection with the Ashes, and he tells all here. The Ashes is a series that has provided incredible highs and heartbreaking lows for English and Australian fans alike over the past 35 years. Sir Ian has often been at the centre of the roller-coaster ride. Whether it is his account of his days as England's dogsbody in 1977 in Melbourne or the story of his refusal to let Bob Willis bowl downwind until he was angry enough to skittle the Aussies in 1981, all is revealed in depth in Botham's Book of the Ashes.
Download or read book Cricket s Greatest Rivalry written by Simon Hughes and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2014-06-09 with total page 189 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Hughes takes us on a breathless tour through cricket history, the great players, personalities, matches and events. He never slackens pace or dwells on the dry details of the scoreboard.' - The Times From the William Hill Award-Winning author of A Lot of Hard Yakka comes Cricket's Greatest Rivalry: A History of the Ashes in 10 Matches, a fast-paced, distinctive history of the iconic, 135-year-old cricketing rivalry between England and Australia. The new paperback edition is completely revised and updated to include the tumultuous two series of 2013-2014, which saw more more twists and turns in this enthralling contest. No other sport has a fixture like the Ashes. From the early 1880s the rivalry between these two great sporting nations has captured the public imagination and made sporting legends of its stars. Commentator, analyst and award-winning cricket historian Simon Hughes tells the story of the ten seminal series that have become the stuff of sporting folklore. Cricket's Greatest Rivalry places you right at the heart of the action of each pivotal match, explaining the social context of the time, the atmosphere of the crowd and the background and temperaments of the players that battled in both baggy green and blue caps. Simon starts his story at the very birth of the Ashes and tells the tale of the band of Australians that took on the best gentleman and players in the Empire's HQ and beat them on their home turf. That momentous occasion set the tone for some epic contests including: The thrilling 1902 Test at Old Trafford, which was one by a mere three runs. The incredible innings of Hobbs and Sutcliffe in front of a tense and packed Oval in 1926. The legendary 'bodyline' series of Jardine, Larwood, Bradman et al in 1933. The incredible run chase in 1948 that also saw Bradman's last test. England's reprise in the fifth test of 1953 when Lock, Trueman, Bailey and Hutton steered the hosts to a whirlwind victory. The fearsome pace attack from the likes of Lillie and Thompson that transformed the contest in the first Test of 1974 and shaped the Ashes as a tournament for decades to come. Botham's Ashes in 1981 that restored pride in a sports-mad nation. The match up at old Trafford where the magic of one Shane Warne sent shockwaves through the game. And finally the breaking of the Aussie stranglehold in 2005, when Flintoff, Pietersen and Vaughan did the seemingly impossible and re-established the greatest of rivalries. The book also includes complete statistics and records of all the Ashes fixtures and results and much, much more!
Download or read book No Spin written by Shane Warne and published by Random House Australia. This book was released on 2019-07-02 with total page 427 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Everyone knows the story, or thinks they do. The leg-spinner who rewrote the record books. One of Wisden's five cricketers of the twentieth century. A sporting idol across the globe. A magnet for the tabloids. But the millions of words written and spoken about Shane Warne since his explosive arrival on the Test cricket scene in 1992 have only scratched the surface. The real story has remained untold.
Download or read book Graham Thorpe Rising from the Ashes written by Graham Thorpe and published by HarperCollins UK. This book was released on 2012-08-30 with total page 387 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Graham Thorpe’s achievements on the cricket field contrasted wildly with his personal problems, where drink and depression combined to send him spiralling off the rails. This is his brutally honest life story, including his dramatic retirement from Test cricket, and updated to include England’s 2005 Ashes win, and his new coaching career.
Download or read book Cricketing Lives written by Richard H. Thomas and published by Reaktion Books. This book was released on 2022-08-22 with total page 438 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As famous for its complicated rules as it is for its contentious (and lengthy) matches, cricket is the quintessentially English sport. Or is it? From cricket in literature to sticky wickets, Cricketing Lives is a paean to the quirky characters and global phenomenon that are cricket. Cricket is defined by the characters who have played it, watched it, reported it, ruled upon it, ruined it, and rejoiced in it. Humorous and deeply affectionate, Cricketing Lives tells the story of the world’s greatest and most incomprehensible game through those who have shaped it, from the rustic contests of eighteenth-century England to the spectacle of the Indian Premier League. It’s about W. G. Grace and his eye to his wallet; the invincible Viv Richards; and Sarah Taylor, “the best wicketkeeper in the world.” Richard H. Thomas steers a course through the despair of war, tactical controversies, and internecine politics, to reveal how cricket has always warmed our hearts as nothing else can.
Download or read book Andrew Flintoff Ashes to Ashes written by Andrew Flintoff and published by Hodder & Stoughton. This book was released on 2012-08-16 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Freddie' Flintoff is perhaps the best-known cricketer in the world, and definitely the most loved in the UK. Widely considered the greatest English all-rounder since Ian Botham, bars at cricket grounds immediately empty the moment he approaches the wicket. It was victory in the 2005 Ashes series that cemented Flintoff's place at the nation's heart, with his stunning performances helping ensure the Ashes were regained for the first time in eighteen years.
Download or read book Pushing the Boundaries Cricket in the Eighties written by Derek Pringle and published by Hodder & Stoughton. This book was released on 2019-08-13 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Derek Pringle is finally ready to tell his story of cricket in the 80s. First chosen by England whilst still at university in 1982, Derek featured in the national side for the next 11 years. He played 30 Tests, 44 One Day Internationals, and appeared in 2 World Cups. Inside the dressing room, and out on the pitch, Derek witnessed at first hand an era of English cricket populated by characters such as Botham, Gooch, Lamb, and Gower. An era so far removed from today's rather anodyne sporting environment. And it wasn't just at international level that the sport lived life to the full. He was an integral part of Essex's all conquering side that won the County Championship 6 times as well as numerous one day trophies. Full of insight and experience here is the story of one of English cricket's most tumultuous periods told by someone who was there.
Download or read book On Fire written by Ben Stokes and published by Headline. This book was released on 2019-11-14 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR SPORTS AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR AT THE 2020 TELEGRAPH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS. BEN STOKES: WINNER OF THE 2019 BBC SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR AWARD 'He is the Special One, and I intend to call him that for the rest of his career' Sir Ian Botham, Daily Telegraph 'There are not enough superlatives to describe Ben Stokes' Nasser Hussain, Daily Mail 'The undisputed hero of English cricket' The Times Early evening on Sunday 14th July 2019. Lord's Cricket Ground in London. Something unprecedented had just happened: England had won the Cricket World Cup for the very first time since the tournament's inception in 1975. At the epicentre of England's historic triumph was Ben Stokes, the talismanic all-rounder with an insatiable appetite for The Big Occasion. He contributed a critical 84 runs off 98 balls when England batted, a seemingly nerveless innings of discipline and maturity. Thrillingly, it was enough to tie the scores at 241 runs each, so the match reverted to a Super Over - just six balls for each side to bat in the ultimate in sporting sudden-death. Stokes and Jos Buttler saw England to 15 runs off their over. When it was finally confirmed that Martin Guptill had been run out off the very last ball of New Zealand's Super Over with the scores level once again, England had astonishingly won on the boundary count-back, and the nation could finally breathe again. Early evening on Sunday 25th August 2019. A sun-drenched Headingley in Leeds. Having been bowled out for just 67 earlier in the Third Test, England were facing the prospect of failing to regain the Ashes. In their second innings England were still 73 runs short of victory with a solitary wicket remaining. Australia were near certainties to retain the Ashes there and then. Cue one of the most amazing innings ever witnessed as Ben Stokes thrashed the Australian bowlers to all corners of the ground, in the process scoring 135 not out, driving England to a barely-believable one-wicket victory, and keeping the series very much alive. The nation took another breath. On Fire is Ben Stokes' brand new book, and in it he tells the story of England's electrifying first ever Cricket World Cup triumph, as well as this summer's momentous Ashes Test series. It is the ultimate insider's account of the most nerve-shredding but riveting three-and-a-half months in English cricket history.
Download or read book Ian Botham written by Simon Wilde and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2011-04-14 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ian Botham arrived on the international scene just in time to ride sport's first big financial wave and exploit the Thatcherite mantra of go-out-and-get-what-you-want. He certainly needed the cash, having been regularly short since leaving state school in Yeovil at 15. In an era short on glamour and personalities, Botham brought an irresistible cocktail of talent, energy and swagger. With the stench of economic failure still in the air, he made the country feel good about itself again. He showed that Britain could still produce champions and that the working class still deserved to be valued. For this he won himself a fund of public goodwill, a fund he sometimes threatened to drain but uncannily managed to replenish. Before Botham, many saw cricket as a very staid, very boring game. He played it with an irreverent dash that stuck up two fingers at the cricket Establishment. He wore striped blazers and strange hats, sported long hair and droopy moustaches. He got into trouble over punch-ups, drugs and girls. He was even banned from playing at one point. But all this would have meant little had he not been able to keep on achieving remarkable things - as he did with impeccable timing and implausible frequency. He had an insatiable appetite, and an uncanny knack, for creating tales of heroism, but if he failed on that score there was always the chance of a scandal or two. He gave the media everything they needed for front pages and back, and some newspapers discovered that it didn't necessarily matter if the story was true or not, as long as he was in it. Ian Botham tells the story a great piece of British sporting history, one of the greatest: of a man for whom the glamour and the grit came together. And it was the grit of the times in which Botham had grown up, and the grit of the where he had come from.
Download or read book Bob Willis A Cricketer and a Gentleman written by Bob Willis and published by Hodder & Stoughton. This book was released on 2020-08-06 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: SHORTLISTED FOR THE TELEGRAPH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS CRICKET BOOK OF THE YEAR 2021 'Verdict on Willis book: a treat' - Express 'The book is a gem' - Mike Atherton 'It's a lovely book, containing previously unseen musings from the great man' - David Lloyd 'enjoyable and eye-opening... a delight to read' - The Telegraph 'A warm, polished recollection.' - The Guardian 'It's such a great read' - Piers Morgan 'Willis book will bowl you over' - Sunday Mirror & The People A biography celebrating the life of the legendary cricketer Bob Willis, with tributes from key figures in sports and media and a foreword by Sir Ian Botham. Following his passing in 2019, tributes to Bob came flooding in in every major news outlet and from every major figure in the industry - and outside of it. His career spanned decades, from his days as a cricketer for England to his time as a pundit on Sky TV. This autobiography includes never-before-seen writing from Bob alongside contributions from key figures as well as a detailed account of the great England victory over Australia at Headingly in 1981. The book, edited by Bob's brother David, combines a new biography, written by Daily Mail sportswriter Mike Dickson, with a celebration of a truly legendary man. Tributes from some of his many friends in the world of cricket and beyond are accompanied by reflections on highlights from an eventful life, drawing on autobiographical and personal material by Bob himself, contemporary press reports and the accounts of team-mates and opponents.
Download or read book Behind the Shades written by Duncan Fletcher and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2008-09-04 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Before his resignation in April 2007, Duncan Fletcher had been the most successful England cricket coach of the modern era. In the glorious summer of 2005 Fletcher's management and coaching skills reached their apogee, as England regained the Ashes from Australia for the first time since 1985. Widely acclaimed as the greatest Test series in the history of the game, this five-match contest thrilled the nation with its extraordinary swings of fortune. It was a personal triumph for Fletcher, and the high point of his tenure as England coach. One of the most experienced and senior figures in the game, Fletcher now looks back over his life and career as he ponders his next step. What was it that drove him from a sporty and competitive Rhodesian farming family to the heights of international cricket? What lessons has he drawn from his successful business career in forging a winning team? Full of telling insights and frank assessments of the players and administrators he has had the pleasure and pain of working alongside, Behind the Shadesis the riveting and revelatory autobiography of the man who put the pride back into the England cricket team.
Download or read book An Inconvenient Match written by Susanna Malcolm and published by . This book was released on 2019-02-24 with total page 295 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Officious. Difficult. Rich....Is the discourteous manner in which the Earl of Ashland would describe his new wife. In dire financial straits, Ash has sacrificed himself at the altar in order to salvage his lofty family name, grudgingly uniting himself to the wealthy tradeswoman with steel in her spine and ice in her veins. He can't imagine he'll ever find anything to admire about her, until a glimpse of the simmering heat beneath her cool façade arouses an undeniable attraction.Indolent. Irresponsible. Drunk....Is precisely how Honora Botham would label her new husband. Marrying the handsome earl elevated her to a long-coveted status, allowing her to achieve her beloved grandmother's dreams for the family's ascent into the nobility. Eager to finally experience the sensual pleasures of marriage, Honora enters into her marriage willingly. But while she's always admired Ashland's looks, she can find little to approve of in his indulgent avoidance of responsibility. His indolence and her ambition make for a volatile union, and yet... Mutual desire grows stronger, but is it enough to overcome the discord between them?
Download or read book The Art of Captaincy written by Mike Brearley and published by Pan Macmillan. This book was released on 2015-06-18 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'The best book on captaincy, written by an expert' - Mike Atherton Mike Brearley is one of the most successful cricket captains of all time, and, in 1981, he captained the England team to the momentous Ashes series victory against Australia. In The Art of Captaincy, his study on leadership and motivation, he draws directly on his experience of man-managing a team, which included a pugnacious Ian Botham and Geoffrey Boycott, to explain what it takes to be a leader on and off the field. Giving an insight into both his tactical understanding of the game, as well as how to get a group of individuals playing as a team in order to get the best out of them, The Art of Captaincy is a classic handbook on how to generate, nurture and inspire success. With a foreword by former England player and BBC commentator Ed Smith, to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of its first publication, and an afterword by director Sam Mendes, The Art of Captaincy remains urgently relevant for cricket fans and business leaders alike. Covering the ability to use intuition, resourcefulness, clear-headedness and the importance of empathy as a means of achieving shared goals, Brearley's seminal account of captaincy is both the ultimate blueprint for creating a winning mind set, but also shows how the lessons in the sporting arena can be applied to any walk of personal and professional life.
Download or read book On the Ashes written by Gideon Haigh and published by Atlantic Books. This book was released on 2023-06-01 with total page 415 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nothing compares to the Ashes. The Ashes is always coming, even when it is finished. The Ashes is where hope, expectation, magic and chagrin flourish in equal measure, and performance is permanently burnished. 'The best cricket writer in the world' Guardian 'The Bradman of cricket writing' Sunday Telegraph 'The finest cricket writer alive' The Australian 'Australia's finest writer on cricket' The Times 'The most gifted cricket essayist of his generation' Richard Williams, Guardian In On The Ashes, Gideon Haigh, today's pre-eminent cricket writer, has captured over a century and a half of Anglo-Australian cricket, from WG Grace to Don Bradman, from Bodyline to Jim Laker's 19-wicket match, from Ian Botham's miracle at Headingley to the phenomena of Patrick Cummins and Ben Stokes, today's Ashes captains. From over three decades of covering The Ashes, Gideon has brought together an enduring vision of this timeless contest between Australia and England - the world's oldest sporting rivalry - from the colonial era to the present day.
Download or read book That Will Be England Gone written by Michael Henderson and published by Constable. This book was released on 2020-04-30 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'For those who fear the worst for the sport they love, this is like cool, clear water for a man dying of thirst. It's barnstorming, coruscating stuff, and as fine a book about the game as you'll read for years' Mail on Sunday 'Charming . . . a threnody for a vanished and possibly mythical England' Sebastian Faulks, Sunday Times 'Lyrical . . . [Henderson's] pen is filled with the romantic spirit of the great Neville Cardus . . . This book is an extended love letter, a beautifully written one, to a world that he is desperate to keep alive for others to discover and share. Not just his love of cricket, either, but of poetry and classical music and fine cinema' The Times 'To those who love both cricket and the context in which it is played, the book is rather wonderful, and moving' Daily Telegraph 'Philip Larkin's line 'that will be England gone' is the premise of this fascinating book which is about music, literature, poetry and architecture as well as cricket. Henderson is that rare bird, a reporter with a fine grasp of time and place, but also a stylist of enviable quality and perception' Michael Parkinson Neville Cardus once said there could be no summer in England without cricket. The 2019 season was supposed to be the greatest summer of cricket ever seen in England. There was a World Cup, followed by five Test matches against Australia in the latest engagement of sport's oldest rivalry. It was also the last season of county cricket before the introduction in 2020 of a new tournament, The Hundred, designed to attract an audience of younger people who have no interest in the summer game. In That Will Be England Gone, Michael Henderson revisits much-loved places to see how the game he grew up with has changed since the day in 1965 that he saw the great fast bowler Fred Trueman in his pomp. He watches schoolboys at Repton, club cricketers at Ramsbottom, and professionals on the festival grounds of Chesterfield, Cheltenham and Scarborough. The rolling English road takes him to Leicester for T20, to Lord's for the most ceremonial Test match, and to Taunton to watch an old cricketer leave the crease for the last time. He is enchanted at Trent Bridge, surprised at the Oval, and troubled at Old Trafford. 'Cricket,' Henderson says, 'has always been part of my other life.' There are memories of friendships with Ken Dodd, Harold Pinter and Simon Rattle, and the book is coloured throughout by a love of landscape, poetry, paintings and music. As well as reflections on his childhood hero, Farokh Engineer, and other great players, there are digressions on subjects as various as Lancashire comedians, Viennese melancholy and the films of Michael Powell. Lyrical and elegiac, That Will Be England Gone is a deeply personal tribute to cricket, summer and England.
Download or read book Who Dares Wins written by Dominic Sandbrook and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2019-10-03 with total page 866 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: SELECTED AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR 2019 BY THE TIMES, DAILY TELEGRAPH, LONDON EVENING STANDARD, DAILY MAIL AND BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE 'Magisterial ... If anyone wants to know what has been happening to Britain since the 1950s, it is difficult to imagine a more informative, or better-humoured guide ... a Thucydidean coolness, balance and wisdom that is superb.' - AN Wilson, The Times 'Who Dares Wins captures the period with clairvoyant vividness. Compulsively readable, the book will be indispensable to anyone who wants to understand these pivotal years.' - John Gray, New Statesman 'Immaculately well-researched, breathtakingly broad and beautifully written ... Sandbrook leaves the reader impatient for the next volume.' - Simon Heffer, Daily Telegraph The acclaimed historian of modern Britain, Dominic Sandbrook, tells the story of the early 1980s: the most dramatic, colourful and controversial years in our recent history. Margaret Thatcher had come to power in 1979 with a daring plan to reverse Britain's decline into shabbiness and chaos. But as factories closed their doors, dole queues lengthened and the inner cities exploded in flames, would her radical medicine rescue the Sick Man of Europe - or kill it off? Vivid, surprising and gloriously entertaining, Dominic Sandbrook's new book recreates the decisive turning point in Britain's recent story. For some people this was an age of unparalleled opportunity, the heyday of computers and credit cards, snooker, Sloane Rangers and Spandau Ballet. Yet for others it was an era of shocking bitterness, as industries collapsed, working-class communities buckled and the Labour Party tore itself apart. And when Argentine forces seized the Falkland Islands, it seemed the final humiliation for a wounded, unhappy country, its fortunes now standing on a knife-edge. Here are the early 1980s in all their gaudy glory. This is the story of Tony Benn, Ian Botham and Princess Diana; Joy Division, Chariots of Fire, the Austin Metro and Juliet Bravo; wine bars, Cruise missiles, the ZX Spectrum and the battle for the Falklands. And towering above them all, the most divisive Prime Minister of modern times - the Iron Lady.
Download or read book Wisden on the Ashes written by Steven Lynch and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2016-03-08 with total page 705 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *Updated edition to include the 2013, 2013-14 and 2015 Ashes series*Wisden on the Ashes: The authoritative story of cricket's greatest rivalry is a detailed chronological journey through the history of this famous English-Australian contest. With Test reports, scorecards, "Great bowlers of the year" and other fascinating material from the archives, together with new editorial pieces, this is a remarkable record of cricket's most enduring battle.The book begins its journey with England's first tour of Australia in 1876 and the subsequent three series prior to the 1882 tour that led to a mock obituary being placed in the Sporting Times "In affectionate remembrance of English cricket, which died at The Oval on 29th August, 1882. ... The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia." Celebrating the players who made their mark on the game and the controversies that shook the sport, the book covers every series since then through to the most recent series. In 2005 England won a highly competitive series that helped raise the popularity of the sport, and each series since then has attracted huge attention.This book will be a welcome addition to all cricket enthusiasts' collections, as well as an ideal gift purchase.This updated edition includes both 2013 series, which saw England retain the Ashes on home soil before Australia won all five tests in the second series later that year, and the summer 2015 series held in England. It also includes a colour photo section celebrating the players, the matches and the key moments from an ongoing rivalry.
