The Tour

The Story of the England Cricket Team Overseas 1877-2022

Simon Wilde

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
• Year: 2023
• eBook ISBN:
  9781471198496
• Print ISBN:
  9781471198502

WINNER OF THE MCC / CRICKET SOCIETY BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 
WINNER OF THE HEARTACHES' CRICKET BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD
LONGLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK THE YEAR AWARD 

An England cricket tour is a unique phenomenon, with its own pressures, challenges and remarkable highlights. It presents its participants - shorn of the usual support networks they enjoy at home - with a prolonged test of skill, physical stamina and mental resilience. Now Simon Wilde, author of the acclaimed England: The Biography, examines in The Tour the delicate chemistry that makes for a successful tour and why others disintegrate so badly.
 
Since the 19th century, England has been sending its cricket teams around the world to take on their rivals. Initially, these trips were undertaken by boat, meaning players could be away for many months, often in alien conditions. With air travel reducing journey time and facilities much improved, the challenges still remain: homesickness, isolation, hostile crowds - not to mention an opposition determined to win at all costs. For some, the experience can be too much, while others thrive in the heat and dust of battle.

The Tour looks at all aspects of the history of England's cricketers abroad, including the burden placed on the captain, who is expected to combine on-field acumen with the deft touch of an ambassador off it. There have been diplomatic incidents aplenty, from Douglas Jardine’s Bodyline tactics to Len Hutton’s tour of the Caribbean, as well as the special pressures of playing in countries such as India and Pakistan during periods of unrest. Touring has never lost its romance. There have been serious scrapes, from court cases to car crashes, but also much fun, whether joining in with the Barmy Army or David Gower famously taking a Tiger Moth for a spin. Wilde explains how this seemingly anachronistic activity has been adapted from an instrument of imperial soft power to a relentless cricket circus that never ends.
 
Simon Wilde has once again created a masterpiece of insight, information and entertainment, an aspect of cricketing life that few will ever forget: the tour.
 

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Note on the Text
• Preface
• Chapter 1: The Fragile Machine: Why Touring Is So Tough
• Chapter 2: Staying Sane: Another Bloody Tour
• Chapter 3: Why Tours are Arranged: Gate Receipts and TV Deals
• Chapter 4: How MCC Ran Tours: The Exploitation of Players
• Chapter 5: Picking the Right Man: The Selection of the Captain
• Chapter 6: Picking the Tour Party: Finding the Right Balance
• Chapter 7: Final Days, Final Minutes: How Teams Prepare Before Departure
• Chapter 8: The Outward Journey: The Perils of Travel
• Chapter 9: Board and Lodging: The Need for Unity
• Chapter 10: The Political Dimension: How England Tours Perpetuated White Supremacy
• Chapter 11: The Build-Up: Acclimatisation and the Early Warm-Up Matches
• Chapter 12: The Shock of the First Test: Barbed Wire and Glassy Pitches
• Chapter 13: The Role of Crowds: Players Under Fire, Umpires Under Pressure
• Chapter 14: Players as Reporters: How the Early Tours Were Chronicled
• Chapter 15: The Rise of the Press and TV: The Relationship with the Media and Ex-Players
• Chapter 16: Births, Marriages and Deaths: Wrong place, Wrong Time
• Chapter 17: Christmas and New Year: Packed Houses, Parties and Plum Pudding
• Chapter 18: Crimes and misdemeanours: Car Crashes, Curfews and Cover-Ups
• Chapter 19: The Great Comebacks: The Value of Crisis Meetings
• Chapter 20: The Wheels Come Off: The 2021–22 Ashes and Other Debacles
• Chapter 21: The Final Test, The Final Reckoning: How and Why England (Sometimes) Win
• Chapter 22: The Homecoming
• Photographs
• Afterword
• Statistical Appendix
• Acknowledgements
• Bibliography
• Sources in the Text
• Index
• Copyright