Dr Vivek Sharma
“You have to try to reply to criticism with your intellect, not your ego.” Mike Brearley
Born at Harrow on 28th April in 1942, John Michael Brearley was an excellent tactical captain and an outstanding leader of players who made his first class debut for Cambridge University in 1961. He later acted, as captain in 1963 and 1964. He represented Middlesex from 1961 to 1983, as an opening batsman and specialist Slip Fieldsman, leading the county to the championship three times and once shared, playing 455 first class matches he amassed 25,185 runs with 45 centuries and with a top score of 312 for MCC. He represented England in 39 tests, with 18 victories in 31 tests as skipper, scoring 1442 runs with a top score of 91 runs versus India at Bombay in 1976/77. He toured abroad ten times and he was only the second captain after Len Hutton to regain and successfully defend the Ashes and he was first to lead England to 5 wins in Ashes series.
He never made an international hundred, but was rated as one of crickets’ greatest Captains, having led England to three successive ashes win and ICC Cricket World Cup Final.
Brearley played 39 tests for England, 31 of them as captain – In spite of averaging 22.88 with the bat it was because he was worth his weight in gold as captain. Not only did he read the game with his excellent and scholarly cricketing mind he managed to take the undeniable talent of men like Ian Botham and Derek underwood and make them script heroic tales.
Since retirement he concentrated on psychotherapy, cricket writing and teaching, the Book “The art of captaincy”, written by Brearley after his retirement has become a classic of cricket literature. He was conferred honorary doctorate by Oxford Brooks University, and scholarly mind stood him in good stead when he took pains to learn Gujarati after getting married to Mana Sarabhai, niece of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, hailed as the father of Indian Space Research and first cousin of Mallika Sarabhai of Ahmedabad.
Overall Brearley views suggest a complexity on the changing Landscape of cricket. He recognizes the challenges and pressure faced by players in modern times, but also acknowledges the positive evaluation and the need to balance tradition with innovation.
Brearley was one of England’s finest captain. He was highly successful in his academic life and head a billion dollar cricketing brain.
Ramchandra Guha on Mike Brearley –
“The cricketer who knows about life beyond the Boundary”
He considered Brearley as a wisest man in cricket.
(The writer is a consultant Paediatrician and Avid Cricket – History Reader based in Jaipur.)
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