as told to Mayukh Ghosh

Books about cricketing families is nothing new. There have been books about the Graces, Cowdreys, Greigs, Trotts and Edrichs.
Many of them played Test cricket and the Graces and Edrichs were capable of fielding their own XIs.
But none of those families produced three generations of Test cricketers.
The Headleys did and their story was never told.
Till now.
John Flatley has written a book on this exceptional family and has kindly narrated the story behind the book.
Here’s John on his life and how he wrote this book

*****

The story behind The Headleys: Three Generations of Test Cricketers

Given their remarkable achievement as the first family to produce three generations of Test cricketers, a book about the Headleys seemed long overdue. And although I’d never had a book published before, either about cricket or anything else, I thought the family’s connections with my home town of Dudley in the English West Midlands gave me at least some credentials to be the one to write it. Of course, I had a few doubts. I wasn’t a professional writer and nor was I much of a cricketer. And the fact that I live in Argentina, somewhat removed from cricket’s front line, was not likely to make things easier. But on the other hand cricket was a longstanding passion, and I had faith in my writing skills, unrecognised though they were.

My passion for cricket was nurtured from the very beginning, principally by my father. In September 1947, when I was six weeks old, I received my first cricket bat. Just a miniature of the real thing, but a proud possession ever since. My parents bought it from Bill Merritt’s sports shop in Dudley. Merritt had played Test cricket for New Zealand but ended his playing career in Birmingham League cricket with Dudley, where he was for a time a team-mate of George Headley. The following April, still only eight months old, I was taken to Worcester to see the visiting Australians begin their triumphal march that season. Bradman hit yet another century and though I’m not one for superstition perhaps something of the occasion penetrated my infant consciousness.

As the years passed, my father and I would turn out as often as we could to see Worcestershire play, and it was as Worcester in 1961 that I saw Ron Headley make 17 against Essex. That may not seem much, but as my father said that day, ‘you won’t see a better 17 than that in your life’. Ron hit four boundaries that day in quick succession, flowing cover drives that sped unstoppably to the boundary, and though he went on to play many bigger and more important innings for Worcestershire, Jamaica and West Indies, I’ve never forgotten that little cameo.

I was already aware of Ron, of course, who’d been representing Worcestershire since 1958. Though born in Jamaica, he’d lived in Dudley since 1951, the year George Headley brought his young family over from Jamaica having signed up to play Birmingham League cricket for the local club. George spent four seasons playing for Dudley and became a hugely popular figure in the town. Sadly, I never saw him play, and for some years I was only vaguely aware of his remarkable achievements for West Indies. Indeed, it wasn’t until I began to write my book that I fully appreciated what a colossus and trailblazer he was, not only in terms of his cricketing achievements, but in the way he inspired his people during the years of colonialism. In a career truncated by the war and the fact that West Indies played relatively infrequently in the early days, George played only 22 Tests, but he hit 10 centuries and averaged over 60, placing him firmly among the batting elite, and justifying his soubriquet, ‘the black Bradman’. He was the first truly great batsman that West Indies produced, an achievement all the more remarkable given that he had to carry the West Indies batting for much of his career, earning the nickname ‘Atlas’ for his efforts. It’s also important to remember that in 1948 he became the first black captain of West Indies. Injury and prejudice denied him further opportunities, but the solitary Test in which he led his team marked the beginning of the end of the colour-bar to the captaincy that was practised for so long by the West Indies authorities.

George’s story is an inspiring one and has been written about before, though not for some time. Something I discovered late on is that he also began work on an autobiography, and though it was never finished, the drafts, held by the Alma Jordan Library of the University of the West Indies, can be accessed. Being able to consult these somewhat forgotten documents was an unexpected and thrilling experience.

Happily, George’s achievements inspired rather than intimidated son Ron. Ignoring the Jeremiahs who said ‘he’ll never be as good as his father’, Ron became a key player for Worcestershire from 1958 to 1974, and played a huge part in their many successes during that period, thanks to his sound but frequently exhilarating batting and his phenomenal fielding. He also played two Tests for West Indies during their tour of England in 1973. He should’ve played more, but West Indies tended not to favour English-based players, and there had been some reluctance on the part of Worcestershire to release him for Test duty when he was required.

Dean Headley took the family tradition in a new direction. British-born, he played for England and excelled as a fiery, accurate and tireless fast bowler, always willing to go the extra mile for the cause. After several years of sterling service to Kent, he made his Test debut in 1997 against Australia, so crowning the family’s three-generation achievement. 15 Tests and 13 ODIs later, including that momentous England victory at Melbourne in 1998 in which he played a leading part, his playing career was ended by a serious back injury. Happily he continues to serve the game in a variety of ways as a coach and more recently as a match referee.

The book tells the story of all three Headleys, and that in itself was quite a challenge. Three biographies in one meant quite a lengthy tome and a lot of research. Keeping the book within reasonable bounds was no easy task, the more so as the Headley story goes ‘beyond the boundary’, in that memorable phrase of C.L.R James.

George’s career and his wider importance cannot be understood without reference to racism and colonialism in the West Indies. And, of course, racism is still deeply rooted in British society and cricket itself - all three Headleys have been touched by it in the course of their careers. Then there is the whole question of genes and environment when it comes to a three generation pattern like this. What weight should we give to these different factors? I can’t say that I’ve found the answer to that complex question, but the issue has been raised. And given the burden it can entail, what makes the sons of famous fathers so often try to follow in the old man’s footsteps? How difficult is it? Injury was also a necessary topic, given what happened to Dean. Why do so many fast bowlers struggle in this respect – is it the very nature of the job or can more be done to protect them from injury by managing their bowling load, by more monitoring of their physical condition, etc?

Even when the achievements of the protagonists give the story an inherent boost, one still has to make the writing coherent and interesting. Sometimes I wondered if I’d left the story too late. George’s playing career ended in 1954, Ron’s in 1976. Given the many changes in cricket in recent years, they might seem like men from another age. Even Dean hasn’t played first-class cricket for over twenty years. Are people still interested in the Headley story? I hope so and I believe so. Time will tell I suppose, but I’ve been encouraged by the comments I’ve received from so many people as I’ve worked on the book, all expressing interest and telling me that this is a story that should be told.

Such encouragement has kept me going on those days when I feared I would sink beneath the weight of the challenge. So too has the hard work and support of my editor Patrick Ferriday of Von Krumm Books and the positive reaction of the Headley family. Ron gave his blessing to the project from the start, though illness in the family meant he wasn’t as available as he would have liked. Happily Dean has been more than willing to give me some of his time, as have many of his old team-mates. The interviews I had with Dean were not only vital to the book but fascinating in themselves, given his huge enthusiasm for cricket and immense knowledge of the game. Dean’s sister Tina has also been a big help, and so too has Lyndie Headley, Ron’s younger brother. Lyndie adds to the Jamaican side of the story and is a reminder that there is even more to the family than my three protagonists. Lyndie was an outstanding athlete in his day and represented Jamaica in the 1964 Olympics, and the youngest of the brothers, Sydney, was a talented cricketer in his own right, a fact confirmed by no less an authority than Michael Holding who went to school with him. Mikey’s contribution to the book, as someone who has known the whole Headley family, has been particularly welcome and I’m really grateful, not just for his contributing the foreword but for his enthusiasm for the whole project.

Completing what has sometimes appeared a monumental task is of course a great satisfaction to me. I’m happy with the outcome, and I hope those who read the book will feel the same.

*****

Patrick Ferriday at Von Krumm Publishing is the publisher.
The book will be available later this month.
It can be pre-ordered here: https://www.vonkrummpublishing.co.uk/