Award-winning cricket writer Mark Peel charts the development of the England captaincy from 1945 to the present, with portraits of England's 43 captains. Is England's failure to produce sufficient leaders of stature - especially in comparison with Australia - down to individual deficiencies or the exacting nature of the job?
Mike Brearley was one of England's greatest captains, thrice winning the Ashes, including the memorable series of 1981. He also led Middlesex to four county championships and two Gillette Cup wins. In this first-ever biography of Brearley, Mark Peel assesses the many facets of his complex personality to explain his phenomenal success as a leader.
Never Surrender is the biography of England cricket captain Douglas Jardine, whose success in winning the Ashes in Australia in 1932/33 was tarnished by the use of bodyline bowling, which was seen as unsporting. Now, with Jardine's reputation on the rise, Mark Peel reassesses this complex character and outstanding leader.
Gilly is the tragic account of a West Indian fast bowler whose rise to greatness was undermined by his volatile temperament on and off the field. Banned from Test cricket for dangerous bowling at age 24, his refusal to curb his aggressive behaviour and chaotic lifestyle led to constant scrapes with authority and, ultimately, to a life unfulfilled.
Yorkshire Grit: The Biography of Ray Illingworth traces the rise of a brilliant Yorkshire cricketer from humble origins to the England captaincy and his triumph in regaining the Ashes in Australia in 1970/71. But the qualities that made him a fine captain, paradoxically, were the undoing of his time as manager both at Yorkshire and with England.
Australien – Traumland, Verlockung des Fremdartigen, Zuflucht. Das »Südland« hatte und hat für viele eine besondere Bedeutung – für die ersten Menschen, die es vor einigen zehntausend Jahren besiedelten ebenso wie für die Seefahrer des 17. Jahrhunderts, für die Sträflinge, die im 18. Jahrhundert hierher deportiert wurden ebenso wie für die Abenteurer und Einwanderer des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts. Anschaulich und amüsant erzählt Mark Peel die Geschichte des fünften Kontinents, skizziert Mythen und Traumwelten der Aborigines und die aktuellen Probleme der heutigen multikulturellen Gesellschaft Australiens. Ein informativer, oft überraschender und unterhaltsamer Überblick über Wurzeln, Eigenart, Geschichte und Gegenwart dieser faszinierenden Weltregion. »Prägnant, anschaulich und unterhaltsam erzählt...« ›Ludwigshafener Wochenblatt‹ Mark Peel , geboren im Süden Australiens, lehrt Geschichte an der Monash University in Melbourne.