Get to know England legend Alastair Cook in his fascinating and remarkably honest autobiography

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER & TELEGRAPH BOOKS OF THE YEAR

'He is England's greatest ever batsman . . . a hugely enjoyable book' Daily Mail, SPORTS BOOKS OF THE YEAR
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Watch. The. Ball.

It's just you. Standing at the crease. Waiting. The bowler is running. His arm swinging. The ball - 155 grams of cork, string and leather - is hurled at you. At 90 mph it travels 22 yards in under half a second. You can barely see it and you've got to be swinging your bat before it's halfway towards you. Because you are in its path . . .

Alastair Cook, one of England's most decorated players and highest test run scorer, knows what it is like to be your best under pressure. Yet at 33 he called time on his England career.

Come with him as he relives the fraught hours on the pitch, the desperate lows and astonishing highs, the paralysing anxiety that can send the best back home and the extraordinary battle of wills with yourself, the opposing players and even those supposedly on your own side.

This is cricket as you've never seen it. The view from the inside . . .

LONGLISTED FOR THE TELEGRAPH SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AUTOBIOGRAPHY AWARD
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'Fascinating, timely. Delves into the psychological challenges of the game' Guardian

'Bracingly honest' Times

Alastair Cook the worlds greatest cricket player, tells his intimate life story of the man behind the success.

About the Author

Alastair Nathan Cook was born in Gloucester, December 1984. He is an English cricketer. He plays for Essex County Cricket Club and previously for England. Cook is the fifth highest Test scorer of all time.

He is regarded as England's most successful batsman ever and now he is an icon and role model in sport.

Outside of cricket, Alastair has written columns in the Telegraph and Metro, he is a talented saxophone player and donates his time to raising money for cancer charities and the David Randall Foundation. He is now married with three children.

Reviews
Bracingly honest about the brutal nature of professional cricket * The Times *
He is England's greatest ever batsman...but behind that choirboy exterior, Cook is as tough as tugboats, a man who has spent his life doing one of the hardest, scariest jobs in sports - opening the batting in Test cricket. This hugely enjoyable book gives you an idea of quite how challenging it is, and makes you see that finding a replacement for "The Chef" at the top of England's batting order won't be any picnic * Sports Books of the Year Daily Mail *
Hugely enjoyable * Sport Books of the Year, Daily Mail *
A fascinating and layered book which delves into the psychological challenges of the game . . . a timely read at the end of an exhilarating yet flawed summer for English cricket * Guardian *
The best books to buy sports fans this Christmas * Daily Telegraph *
It makes for fascinating reading, as the former England captain recounts what it took to succeed at the top of his game - and reveals what made him decide to hang up his whites at the relatively early age of 33 * Radio Times *
Reveals Cook as a teak-tough, mentally powerful competitor . . . Brutally honest insight into professional sport at the highest level * Press Association *
Cricket legend Alastair Cook's remarkably candid autobiography reveals the pressures of playing the sport at the highest level for more than a decade * Choice *
He details the complexity of the process, from technique to mental agonies, to draining team politics . . . there are also lots of endearing behind-the-scenes details * Strong Words *
Sir Alastair reveals his more ruthless and passionate sides in a book more probing than most sport biogs * Daily Mirror *



Book Information
ISBN 9780241401446
Author Sir Alastair Cook
Format Paperback
Page Count 384
Imprint Penguin Books Ltd
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 291g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 24mm