1 review for Tossell, David – Sex & Drugs & Rebel Tours

1. 

   Ken Piesse – June 23, 2015

   THIS IS THE PUBLISHER’S ‘PROMO’:

   It was a tumultuous decade, one in which England enjoyed the highs of three Ashes victories and reached a World Cup final yet twice suffered the humiliation of 5-0 series defeats against the West Indies and not so quietly worked their way through 10 different captains, including four in one series.

   Off the field, it was a time of tabloid scandals, notably embroiling two of those captains as Ian Botham, who began the decade establishing cricketing immortality in the summer of 1981, was suspended for smoking marijuana and Mike Gatting was sacked after an alleged dalliance with a barmaid.

   For Gatting, in particular, it was an extraordinary decade, involving a famous Ashes win in Australia, an infamous row with an umpire in Pakistan and a decision he would later regret to lead one of the decade’s two England rebel tours, which resulted in a three-year ban from playing in Tests.

   David Tossell, a one time executive sports editor of the Today newspaper, has interviewed many of the principal characters. The book is published by Pitch, which has also had recently releases in the biographies of Barry Richards and Jack Crawford.