With England taking the field at Edgbaston later today as the number one Test side it would be conveniently easy to forget that it hasn't always been milk and honey for the team's loyal supporters.
The 1990's were the decas annus horribilis of English cricket. From being crushed in every Ashes series to a host of horrific batting collapses and a haphazard selection policy, the last decade of the twentieth century was not a good time to be an England cricket fan.
The last year of the millenium when England were knocked out of their own World Cup a day before the official song was released and a Test series was lost at home to a poor New Zealand side to slip to the bottom of the rankings - below even Zimbabwe - thankfully proved to be the nadir.
The Plan by Telegraph scribe and former Glamorgan and England opener Steve James describes how English cricket rose from the canvas and describes the pivotal roles that the two Zimbabweans Duncan Fletcher and Andy Flower played in the renaissance.
James writes from a unique perspective. As the former batting partner of ECB managing director Hugh Morris, a player under Fletcher at Glamorgan and Flower's closest confidant in the press corps, James is able to both relate and analyse the reasons behind the rise.
He is also a very good and engaging writer; as we perhaps should expect from a contemporary and fellow Cambridge blue of that doyen of cricket scribes Mike Atherton.
As such The Plan is a hugely enjoyable and engrossing read and comes highly recommended. It is the perfect book to teach an alien (or an American) about how English cricket rose to the force it is today demolishing India at home and winning two successive Ashes series. The latter would have been unthinkable before Fletcher took the reins of a demoralised side in 1999.
At the end of the book, James ponders who is the best coach between of the two. We won't spoil your enjoyment by revealing here the conclusion James reaches. If you want to find out who gets the vote you’ll have to buy the book.
Where next?
Chasing Sachin by Adam Carroll-Smith | Book Review
Cricket heroes: Andy Flower and Duncan Fletcher
Kevin Pietersen's retirement from limited-overs cricket: the case for the defence
If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep
An excellent book and courageous in the way it revisits and interrogates the opinions of the moment. The Plan is rich in unfamiliar detail and even the sideways glances are penetrating.
Posted by: Tow Truck | Monday, January 14, 2013 at 06:26
oh after reading your book review I think I will try to get that book to read it since I am very interesting in it now! thanks for the review my friend!
Posted by: pay per head reviews | Friday, February 01, 2013 at 00:07
I bought this after loving his first book. This one is almost as funny. I like his books and the way he uses humor to make his points subtly. You don't see that much in Christian fiction.
Posted by: Auto Repair Bellevue | Thursday, February 07, 2013 at 11:00