Book Of The Year Award > 2010 > Testing Times
TESTING TIMES In Pursuit of The Ashes
Andrew Strauss with Scyld Berry

An offering from the current England captain is the latest to hit the shelves following the Ashes success of 2009. It is not merely an account of that season but starts much earlier when the captaincy was an unthought-of dream and Strauss's main worry was whether he could hold onto his place in the England team.

The opening chapter title, 'Recovery and Redemption', while being somewhat hyperbolic, gives an accurate insight into Andrew Strauss's mind. Omitted from the tour to Sri Lanka, he went to New Zealand for some cricket as a last resort when other chances fell through; it gave him some chance of being selected for the England touring party and if not, to be on hand as a willing substitute in case of injury. The days there are covered in extracts from Strauss's personal diary which does tend to read a little like a self-help and motivation reader. This is explained by its origins as an 'encouragement' by Rodney Marsh during the first Academy squad's stay in Adelaide in 2001. Encouragement seems to be a euphemism for compulsory and the style does not readily lend itself to narrative, it more being a sort of aide-memoire for days when you were down in the dumps. References to positive thinking abound, including a book by Justin Langer and a scary book called 'The Secret' which posits that if you think positive thoughts, then those positive thoughts will happen. Simples! Or, possibly, a bit too simples.

The book gets back on track with a Test career-saving 177 and it is one of the many occasions that for all England's multitudinous back-up staff, it is Paul Collingwood who comes up with some support and sound, simple advice that puts Strauss in the right frame of mind for the innings. With his Test career now resumed, Strauss becomes notably more relaxed and offers another view of the Stanford debacle from his vantage point with Middlesex, noting how much more disciplined the West Indies side were when confronted with the prospect of a million dollars.

For anyone expecting explosive revelations, there is likely to be disappointment, the author's position as Test captain would rule that out but he does offer views on Michael Vaughan's resignation, noting that on the day of that resignation, he was phoned by Kevin Pietersen asking for Strauss's views on the fact that KP had been offered the England captaincy. Strauss advised acceptance but doesn't seem to be surprised that the selectors had not rung him to at least, discuss the matter, if not to consider him for the role, he. being a man, who had already filled the role before. It was a different matter when the shadowy Hugh Morris spoke to Strauss and most of the senior England players to discuss a) how things were going with the team and b) how they could be made better. I believe those are known as leading questions in most circles. The next contact came when Hugh Morris (again) rang Strauss to say that the ECB were having a Board meeting to discuss options and would Andrew Strauss be interested in becoming the new captain, should the situation arise. While he was considering the matter, Kevin Pietersen rang to say he was on his way back from South Africa and was going to resign. To an outsider that this all resembles an Alfred Hitchcock production directed by Fred Karno but the overriding feeling is one of relief that eventually the right decision was made with Strauss assuming the captaincy as to the manor born.

The remainder of the book comprises the story of that 2009 Ashes victory with insights and reflections by the captain. There are no startling revelations but Strauss, together with the excellent Scyld Berry, conveys to the reader the feeling that you are there in that dressing-room experiencing the highs and lows of that memorable few months. The always reliable Victor Isaacs is responsible for an exemplary statistics section that comprises Andrew Strauss's full career match by match in Test, ODI and Tweny20 cricket, together with Ashes scorecards and averages.

This, like many other books in 2009, is a decent book by a decent man. It rises above the standard Ashes series book with its insights into the captain's leadership of the team and that prologue when thoughts of Ashes victory were so far away as to be invisible and saving a career was the prime motivator. Proof this, that taking one thing at a time can lead to the greatest prize of all in cricket, both for the team and on a personal level. This is a fine effort and one can hopefully expect more from this partnership in years to come.

review by John Symons

Publisher
Hodder & Stoughton,
338 Euston Road,
LONDON
NW1 3BH
£19.99