Ashes to Ashes - Keith Fletcher

Headline RRP £18.99 Buy The Book Now for £9.99

Keith Fletcher, the only man to both captain and coach an England cricket team shares his views on the past, present and future of the game in his new book published this month. Not one to shy away from speaking his mind, he delivers a frank assessment of his life in cricket, how it not only affected his career but his friends, family and team mates at Essex. His book "Ashes to Ashes" has been released by Headline ahead of this year's Ashes battle in England.

Fletcher doesn't shy away from controversies, openly discussing Ray Illingworth's contribution to cricket and his feelings towards the ex chairman of selectors. There was certainly no love lost between the two and how their careers were linked. Illingworth took Fletcher's wicket in only his second first class game in 1962 and three decades later in the 90's tried his very best to scupper his plans when he wanted overall control of both management and coaching decisions for England. Buy The Book Now for £9.99

An accurate bowler, Illingworth played for England and captained the side in 1969 but never succeeded to accomplish all he could have done in his England shirt. According to Fletcher, Illy probably never realised he was treating him in anything but an ordinary way, such was the Yorkshire attitude. His attempt at overall power control tarnished his cricketing reputation and put international cricket back a good two years.

Keith goes on to say "I believe Illingworth saw the position of chairman of selectors as only a temporary one and a good opportunity to see other parts of the world. It seemed to me that he treated the role as a means of obtaining a free holiday. When he came to Australia in 1994/95, he didn't watch the matches we played in Brisbane, preferring to stay in Sydney and go up the coast. All the while he was making criticisms whenever he saw fit."

He tells how he started out in the game as a youngster and how he would spend hours standing in front of a mirror honing his technique while reading Sir Donald Bradman's "The Art of Cricket". Meeting up with the great man years later in Australia, the supremo seemed pleased that he had had such a positive affect on Fletcher.

Michael Atherton, former England captain and friend of Fletcher's wrote the forward to the book, describing Keith as “cricket's most loyal and highly regarded of men, having a deep knowledge of the game and a tactical grasp bettered by few”. On the subject of Atherton, Fletcher believed that the then England captain made the worst decision of his reign during the Fletcher era when he declared leaving Hick on 98 not out at th SCG in 1994/5.

“Hick should have been given more specific instructions and not scratched around as he did, but he was too sensitive over the whole issue. Atherton didn't consult me over his declaration, which I was somewhat peeved about, but Hick hardly spoke to me for a month. He thought I was party to this decision and I never disabused him because I felt I had to stand by the captain's declaration”.

Centrally contracted players is openly discussed, Fletcher commenting that players such as Trescothick have benefited greatly from receiving a central contract. Players are given more time to produce the goods after a poor start wouldn't have happened in his day. The Ashes victory in 1970/1 should have been the highlight of his career but because of the lack of unity in the set up it wasn't. He believes that with the introduction of the central contracts, Test teams are more like County teams, the players know each other inside out rather than meeting up for one day's practice on the Tuesday, team dinner on Wednesday in preparation for the first day's play on Thursday.

Throughout the book Keith Fletcher comments on players both past and present. All the usual players are there as you would expect. He openly discusses his relationship with fellow team mates such as Tony Greig and Geoffrey Boycott, how players such as Gooch and Botham approached training or lack of, his admiration for Atherton and of course the terrible twosome of Lillee and Thompson in the mid 70's. Fletcher doesn't shy away from his comments and gives a frank and honest assessment of his cricket encounters. The book is a refreshing change and leaves no stone unturned.

Although suffering heavy defeats at the hands of Lillee and Thompson in 1974, he admits he found coaching in the early 90's harder than playing for England, especially as the majority of the players under his charge for England weren't up to the task of Test cricket.

Fletcher's international career spanned 1968-1982 and was regarded as one of the top middle-order batsmen in the world during the 1970's. Made captain in 1981 for the Indian tour he led his county Essex to three championships in the 70's and 80's. Still employed by the county he is involved with the development of excellence, identifying future talent for the county.

Finishing the book with an honest outlook on England's future, Fletcher takes a look at the current crop of players including the new wonder boy Pietersen, who he claims will struggle in Test cricket if his head continues to over-balance to far towards cover.

I have to be honest, I didn't think I would enjoy this book at all. That said, when it landed on my desk I opened the book enthusiastically, hoping to learn more about the man that had so much to offer English cricket but simply didn't have the support to fulfill all of his destiny. One of the easiest books I've read this year, I revelled in its honesty and frankness throughout, taking a close look at cricket in the past, present and future.

Highly recommended, the book, released by Headline to coincide with this summer's Ashes series against Australia, is certainly one of the better books released this year. The timing of its release is only bettered by the man himself. Excellent read.

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