The Twelfth Man 2019

Book Reviews Chris Barron 38 39 England: The Biography - The Story of English Cricket 1877 - 2018 by Simon Wilde Simon & Schuster, 614pp (hb) - £25 I learned recently that when Rupert Murdoch bought The Times and The Sunday Times in 1981 the government set a condition that the two titles must maintain separate editorial and journalistic staffs. That explains why there is a different cricket writer on Sundays to the weekday reporter. I had assumed that Si- mon Wilde, appearing only once a week, must be a lesser writer than the big names I knew in The Times - John Woodcock, Christopher Mar- tin-Jenkins and latterly Michael Atherton. But no more. With this book England: the biography , Simon Wilde more than proves himself the equal of any. This is a colossal work, with great depth and detail, but also very broad in its range of sub- ject matter. Starting in 1877, Wilde charts the history of the England cricket team right up to the pres- ent day. He starts with the premise that, unlike the All Blacks in rugby, or Brazil and Germany in football, or even the West Indies of the 80s or Australia more recently in crick- et, the England cricket team has never achieved true glory. They are defined by their shortcomings as much as their triumphs. They may have become the top Test side in the world in 2011 but it was only fleeting. Yet for all that, interest in the fate of the national side - certainly amongst those who appreciate cricket - remains pretty constant. Wilde’s narrative covers not just the on-field story of memorable Test Matches and series, but a whole range of off-field develop- ments too. So we learn of the rise of meritocracy and the gradual - some might say too gradual, given it persisted until 1962 - erosion of the Gentlemen and Players distinc- tion; the development of the Eng- lish Test match grounds; the entry of West Indies, New Zealand and India to challenge the long-stand- ing trinity with Australia and South Africa; the administrative panic behind the Bodyline controversy; increasing ease and frequency of overseas tours in the age of the jet plane; the political problems with South Africa and Pakistan; changes in umpiring and the rise of neutrals; play on Sundays and the loss of rest days; the Packer pay revolution; the rise of fitness and development of fielding; the influ- ence of television contracts on the financing of the game; the competi - tion amongst nine Test grounds to host seven matches, leading to the rise and fall of Durham; the Stan- ford fiasco; the rise of player pow- er and most recently, the growing distinction between red-ball and white-ball specialists. Throughout the 140 years of his- tory recorded here, Wilde’s book is an easy read, whether you choose to read it chronologically or just to dip in and out at various stages.