When a leading Test player rang up Simon Hughes late one night to ask him for his advice on why it was that he kept on failing to convert good starts into centuries, Hughes (top score 53) was taken aback. But, as 'The Analyst' on television, he has built a career on closely assessing players' techniques, and explaining to the nation the finer points of what players are doing right or wrong. Now he had a chance to put that experience into practice.
As they spoke, Hughes began to think more deeply than ever before about what it was that singled out the truly great batsmen from the merely very good. This book is the fascinating result. Along the way, he recalls some of the highlights from his own experiences, whether it was trying to work out where to bowl to Viv Richards, or how to face up to Joel Garner when he was tearing in and trying to knock him over. Learning from some of the greatest players of all time, he builds up a composite of the perfect batsman, while at the same time providing plenty of useful tips on how to improve your own skills and some brilliant stories from the eternal conflict between batsman and bowler.
