Cricket Captains of England 1979 - 2025

He begins this volume by reflecting on the idiosyncratic genius of Alan Gibson,whom he befriended in the writer's later years. With a foreword by Gibson's son Anthony, the joinbetween the two books is perfect. From Brearley to Stokes, there is almost more change in cricket and society in the 46 years coveredhere than in the 102 years spanned by the previous volume - and there are just as many characters andincidents. How could it be otherwise with a cast list that includes Ian Botham, David Gower, AndrewFlintoff and Kevin Pietersen? In his own gentle and ever perceptive way Vic Marks tells the story andreflects on the successes and failures, providing a quiet treatise on captaincy. Where Gibson ended by questioning whether Test cricket would survive a further 100 years, Marks strikesa more upbeat note, suggesting that no-one in recent decades has done more than Ben Stokes 'to keep aformat, still beloved by so many, alive.' Published as a matching pair with Gibson's original volume, it contains 16 pages of photographs and an11-page appendix of biographical notes.