Faces on a Wall
An English County's Curious Collection of Captains
Published on 24. June 2024
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-1-80150-728-8 (ISBN)
Description
The 'faces on a wall' in this book are Northamptonshire's captains since 1878, whose portraits appear together in the pavilion at Wantage Road. An astonishingly diverse bunch, they represent the changing face of the county game over the past century and a half.
As cricketers, they range from cheerfully hopeless to solidly competent, to world-beating. As characters they are an astoundingly varied group, encompassing a peer who went bankrupt, the husband of a famous artist's favourite model, an England football international, an outstanding bowler (but with woods and jack), a gallant leader who died on active service, the man who revitalised both Northamptonshire and England teams after the Second World War and the shrewd skipper described by Mike Selvey as the best county leader of his time.
This book reflects the unique flavour of county cricket and the remarkable assortment of individuals who have led Northamptonshire over nearly a century and a half.
As cricketers, they range from cheerfully hopeless to solidly competent, to world-beating. As characters they are an astoundingly varied group, encompassing a peer who went bankrupt, the husband of a famous artist's favourite model, an England football international, an outstanding bowler (but with woods and jack), a gallant leader who died on active service, the man who revitalised both Northamptonshire and England teams after the Second World War and the shrewd skipper described by Mike Selvey as the best county leader of his time.
This book reflects the unique flavour of county cricket and the remarkable assortment of individuals who have led Northamptonshire over nearly a century and a half.
Reviews / Votes
"Faces on a Wall is a look at Northants through the prism of captains. Radd writes elegantly and contextualises the days of the double-barrelled amateurs especially well. Radd has known and interviewed virtually all the key figures since the 1970s, and of the eras before that his research is excellent." * The Cricketer * "He took over as official archivist in 2015 and has been instrumental in both the club's Hall of Fame - as a tangible way of remembering the greats - and the captains' wall in the Spencer Pavilion which has inspired his forthcoming book Faces on a Wall." -- Jeremy Blackmore * The Cricket Paper * "This is a fascinating work of history. It is a pleasure to be reminded of Northamptonshire stars and of others." -- Charles Barr * Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Hove
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 222 mm
Width: 145 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
388 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80150-728-8 (9781801507288)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
06/2024
Pitch Publishing Ltd
€11.99
Available for download
Person
Born in Northampton, Andrew Radd watched his first county match at Wantage Road aged nine and began reporting on Northamptonshire cricket in 1984. His publications include the club's official history (with Matthew Engel), the authorised biography of David Steele and an acclaimed life of George Thompson, and he has contributed to more than 30 editions of Wisden. The club's official archivist since 2016, this is his eighth book.