Book Review: Cricket's Black Dog: The Story of Depression Among Cricketers by Andrew Murtagh

I am of an age where I remember Andrew (or Andy as he was then known) Murtagh playing cricket. He wasn't a regular for Hampshire, but he was often enough in their teams for a young cricket fan like me to take note and file away the name for future reference..

Uncle of the long-serving Middlesex opening bowler, Tim, he was released by Hampshire in 1978, subsequently becoming a school teacher, then well-regarded writer and cricket historian. 

I had no idea when I watched him - why would I, any more than anyone else - that he was facing mental health challenges, that continued through his retirement. 

This book, like Luke Sutton's Back From The Edge which he often refers to, despite somewhat surprisingly admitting he had never heard of the former county stalwart, is not an easy read. How can it be, when it documents the challenges he has faced, his times in The Priory, the torment faced on at times a daily basis? 

There are studies of well-known former players who faced similar challenges throughout their careers, far too many taking their own lives when they could no longer cope with their life without the game. There is an especially good in-depth look at Wally Hammond, a troubled soul and largely unpopular man, despite being one of the greatest players to play the game. He seemed to change in personality after the tour of the Caribbean in 1925-6 and there appears little doubt that the treatment he received for syphilis at the time was a contributory factor. 

It is not new territory of course, the subject area covered admirably by David Frith in By His Own Hand, while David Foot revealed the real reason for Hammond's ill-health in his superb Wally Hammond: The Reasons Why.

The author doesn't come up with the answer to his central question - is cricket to blame, or are cricketers more susceptible to clinical depression? Perhaps input from clinical psychologists may have got him closer, or perhaps there is no one answer to the question. 

People's lives, circumstances and environments are all different and perhaps it is an unfortunate melting pot of these that causes someone, every now and again, to become the latest sad statistic.

What it should do, however, is again make supporters, especially those happy to anonymise their unpleasant output on social media, to be more aware of what they say. You never know the challenges faced by those that we watch, admire and hero worship, but a greater appreciation that they are no different to so many others would do no one any harm. 

This is certainly a book that is well worth reading.

Cricket's Black Dog: The Story of Depression Among Cricketers is written by Andrew Murtagh and published by Pitch Publishing

Book Review: Touched by Greatness - the story of Tom Graveney, England's much-loved cricketer by Andrew Murtagh

Those of a certain age will recall Andrew Murtagh as a bustling, whole-hearted seam bowler for Hampshire in their successful period of the 1970s. With this book on the legendary England batsman, Tom Graveney, he proves himself an even better writer.

My earliest televised memory of cricket was a Test match in which England were playing the West Indies in 1966. It was the final match of the series in which we has been soundly beaten by a Sobers-inspired team of fine players. Yet for that last Test, Brian Close was recalled as captain and England recovered from a parlous 166-7 to make 527, largely thanks to Graveney, who made a quite magnificent 165, sharing a huge partnership with John Murray, who made 112. We then went on to win the game, which didn't happen that often against the West Indies side of that era.

I still recall the easy, languid style of Graveney as I watched on my uncle Geoff's old black and white television. That high back lift and high grip on the bat, as well as a technique that looked comfortable and organised. He always seemed to have so much time, a sure sign of a good player and his record confirms that he was much more than that.

48,000 first-class runs and nearly 5,000 in Test matches, both at a mid-forties average. Yes, he could play, but it was not so much the runs that he made as the way that he made them - it ain't what you do, it's the way that you do it, as the old song goes. Tom Graveney had style, grace, elan and the ability to make a dull day's cricket that much better, simply by taking guard.

The surprise is that he didn't play more for England, but as we in Derbyshire know all too well, the selection of England sides for  many years after the Second World War was riddled with bias and snobbery. A man prepared to stand his ground, Graveney upset officialdom at times and their response was to omit him from teams, in favour of others who weren't in the same league.

It was England's loss, but very much his county's gain, as Graveney gave first Gloucestershire and then Worcestershire sterling service. While some international players coasted through their county commitments, Graveney was often the difference between his county winning and losing games, his form for Worcestershire a major reason for their championship successes of the 1960s.

He later became a respected commentator, very much in the Jim Laker vein of letting the pictures do much of the work and chipping in when it was worthwhile.  Then, and somewhat ironically in the light of much of what had gone on before, he was elected president of the MCC, where his genial nature and willingness to talk to everyone, irrespective of their background, won him many more friends.

A book on a player of such importance is long overdue and it is to the credit of both author and publisher that it has seen the light of day. Tom Graveney is 87 and not in the best of health but the easy conversational style of the author and the excellent collection of photographs transports the reader back to a time when the player was in his pomp and the game seemed far more innocent than it does today.

A worthy addition to any cricket library and perhaps my favourite book of this summer.

Touched by Greatness - the story of Tom Graveney, England's much-loved cricketer is written by Andrew Murtagh and published by Pitch Publishing. It is available from all good book shops and is currently on Amazon priced £18.99