He gave excellent service to Sussex and latterly to Surrey on the field. The book contains some telling comments on his playing contemporaries and it is in its honesty where it scores over similar books that I have read over many years.
Perhaps his greatest service to Sussex was when he attempted to get them back on an even keel and did so in a way that saw them become county champions, albeit after his somewhat acrimonious departure.
His comments on the challenges faced as CEO of the club are refreshingly honest, including an 'inept' marketing officer and the groundsman's wife who ran and pilfered from the club shop.
His has been a far from easy life, with tales of divorce, custody battles for his son and battling through treatment for oesophogeal cancer. He tells of the challenges of injury throughout his cricket career and at times the book is far from an easy read.
Nor is it one of the longer books I have read, but much is packed into its 143 pages, including a useful statistical section.
I have long held the view that many of the best cricket books are not necessarily about the biggest names.
This one, written with Andy Murtagh, reinforces that assertion and is well worth anyone's time.
Lester And The Deckchair Revolution: The Life And Times of Tony Pigott is written by Tony Pigott with Andrew Murtagh and published by Fairfield Books
Totally agree with you about the best books are generally about the lesser known players. I’ve only read a few books about famous players and they have always seemed pretty bland. So called journeymen players normally have a better story to tell
ReplyDeleteInteresting that his nickname was Lester because my recollection was that his name was usually pronounced as “Pie got” rather than “Pig got”. I guess you wouldn’t let that get in the way of the gag. Craig
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