by Mayukh Ghosh
In 2018, with a bit of help from Douglas Miller, I got in touch with Mark Peel.
I had already read the three biographies he had written. All on big names in English cricket: Ken Barrington, Colin Milburn and Colin Cowdrey.
I liked all his books. I wanted to know the stories behind the writing of these books.
At that point, Mark told me that he was planning to write a book on Mike Brearley.
On that very day, I got to know from David Frith that Mark Peel was scheduled to come and meet him later that day, to talk about Mike Brearley.
Coincidence, of course. But that day I came to know that at long last a biography of Mike Brearley was about to be written. And the man who was about to write the book had already proven his worth as a biographer, on multiple occasions
Fast forward to 2020.
Pitch Publishing publishes that book on Brearley. I once again find myself in a conversation with Mark Peel. And this time it is about how he came to write this book.
How it all began
Mike Brearley was one of England’s greatest cricket captains, but despite being 78-years-old he has never been the subject of a biography. A few years back I approached Brearley through a mutual contact to see whether he would be amenable to an official biography, but he declined the offer, as I suspected, because he is a very private individual. I let the matter drop till, several years later, I was persuaded by a good friend to persevere, and given the fact that a biography was bound to be written of him sooner or later, I decided to go ahead in an unofficial capacity. After I had conducted a fair bit of research, I emailed Brearley to inform him of my intention. I said I fully understood his reluctance to cooperate and offered to show him the manuscript when completed and he was happy to proceed on this basis. One or two of his friends were reluctant to speak to me, but the vast majority did cooperate, including a number who sought Brearley’s approval first of all.
They did cooperate but meeting one of them in person did bring about a fairly unpleasant experience.
“Normally when I talk to witnesses, I like to talk to them in the flesh, but living in Edinburgh can present logistical problems, given the distances involved. With Brearley, I arranged to see one former cricketer at a hotel on a Sunday morning, little appreciating that the hotel car park was private, which led to my gaining a £60 parking fine. Consequently, I increasingly resorted to the telephone to talk to my sources, especially the less important ones. Although many of Brearley’s former team-mates liked and admired him, few claimed to have known him well with the result that there was a limited amount of new material that they could tell me. There was near unanimity, however, about his attributes as a captain.”
What made Brearley a worthy subject?
“Part of Brearley’s fascination as a subject concerns his unusual background for a cricketer. A child prodigy at City of London School, where he was taught and coached by his father, a fine cricketer himself, he stood out as much for his intellectual and cultural accomplishments, as well as his sporting ones. At Cambridge he gained a first in Classics and a 2.1 in Modern Sciences, as well as excelling at lacrosse, hockey and cricket and helping out with the Samaritans, which helped encourage his interest in psychoanalysis. After his failure on the MCC tour to South Africa in 1964-65, aged 22, he spent five years in academia, only returning when he was offered the captaincy of Middlesex in 1971. At school and university, he had proved his leadership credentials, but convincing the old guard at Middlesex with his innovative approach to captaincy took some doing. In the end his tactical ingenuity, his adept man-management, especially with the younger players, and his stack of runs won through. After winning the county championship in 1976, he was appointed captain of England in 1977 following the establishment of Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket and, despite his constant struggle for runs, he enjoyed four years of near-interrupted success as captain.
”Critics point out that much of his success rested on the genius of Botham and the weaker opposition in the Packer era, but while this is true it worth pointing out that Brearley had the great knack of bringing out the best in Botham and Bob Willis. This was never better illustrated than in the memorable 1981 series against Australia when Brearley came out of international retirement to lead England- without a victory in 12 games- to a 3-1 victory. His reassuring presence provided the Midas touch, allowing Botham and Willis to rediscover their brilliance in those never-to-be- forgotten victories at Headingley, Edgbaston and Old Trafford.
“Unlike many players, Brearley was able to walk away from cricket in 1982 and find success in an entirely new field as a psychoanalyst, rising to become president of the British Psychoanalytical Society. More recently, he has turned back to cricket as a columnist and administrator, which helped substantiate his reputation. He was no paragon- he could be prickly and petulant and his hard-nosed approach to winning wasn’t to everyone’s taste, but, in an age of celebrity, his self-effacing modesty and genuine concern for others guarantees him a leading place in English cricket’s pantheon.”
What did Brearley think about the book?
“As to his view of my biography I have no idea, but what I can say is that when he read through my manuscript he asked for no changes- aside from a few factual errors- and that is very rare in my experience. Had I written an official biography I would probably have learned rather more about the private man, but I like to think I have brought out the main paradoxes in his character, especially his combative approach on the field compared to his unassuming self-effacement off it, and his recipe for great leadership.”
This book has in no way tarnished Mark Peel’s credibility as a biographer. He has once again done a fine job.
Anyone interested to know more about the man who had a ‘degree in people’ should read this book.
It is available from Pitch Publishing. You can order a copy here.