In this biography of an extraordinary sportsman, his views on the current state of cricket are pithy and pungent but never curmudgeonly, for he has great generosity of spirit. Of all the century's cricketers, he is one of the few who made the game seem fun, and it should not be forgotten that he was also a first class footballer, and won an FA cup winners medal with Arsenal - and if this seems less than remarkable, imagine one D. Beckham batting for England in the summer as well as doing the day job all winter.