from James Lillywhite, promoter and manager as well as captain, to Mike Brearley who‘ illumined the art of captaincy’. Along the way there are characters and incidents aplenty – the towering WG Grace, the complex Stoddart, Jardine of Bodyline repute and the professional Hutton, Gibson’s own favourite. They are all brought to life against the fascinating backdrop of English social history. No-one with any feeling for cricket can fail to be intrigued and enchanted by this study of a group of men who, in holding the responsibility of leading England, have, in Gibson’s words, ‘produced more pleasure than pain, and even (not quite the same thing) done more good than harm’ As well as reproducing the original text, this new edition contains 16 freshly chosen pages of pictures and a 14-page appendix of notes and biographical details of all the captains.