Mike Brearley | A Life in Cricket and in the Mind
Sat 18 Nov 2023 | 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Mike Brearley is not your average sportsman. Hailed as England’s greatest cricket captain he went on to train, and continues to work, as a psychoanalyst. His deeply thoughtful ‘memoir of the mind’ seamlessly blends all aspects of his life and delves into his private passions and candidly examines the shifts, conflicts, and triumphs of his extraordinary life on and off the field.
In conversation with cricketer and writer, Ed Smith.
Venue: TTP Stage (Cambridge Union)
Duration: 1 hour
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Author biography
Mike Brearley was educated at Cambridge, where he read classics and moral sciences, and captained the university. He played for Middlesex County Cricket Club intermittently from 1961 to 1970, and regularly from 1971, captaining the side until his retirement in 1982. He first played for England in 1976 and captained the side from 1977 to 1980, winning seventeen test matches and losing only four. He was recalled to the captaincy in 1981 for the Ashes home series, leading England to one of their most famous victories. From 1981, he trained and continues to work as a psychoanalyst, and is a lecturer both on leadership and on psychoanalysis. He is the author of the bestselling The Art of Captaincy, On Form, On Cricket, Spirit of Cricket and has written on cricket and the psychology of sport for the Sunday Times, Observer, The Times and Prospect. He lives in London.
Chair biography
Ed Smith is the author of five books, including Making Decisions, published by William Collins. As a professional cricketer, Ed played for Kent, Middlesex and England. He is Director of the Institute of Sports Humanities and Contributing Writer for the New Statesman.
