"Champions" By Mike Coward. A Book Review.

“Champions”

A Book Review by Owen Zupp

At the elite level, sport is as much about character as it is co-ordination. The finely honed skills of the best cricketers are so closely aligned that is often the mental toughness and depth of character that elevates one above another. It is these personal traits that are so critical and yet they are so often lost amidst contrived media responses and dry statistics. Mike Coward’s book “Champions” delves beyond the shallows and discovers the people behind the greats of the game.

Drawn from over 130 filmed interviews in conjunction with the Bradman Foundation, with players across different eras, Coward has highlighted the attitudes of leading players to the various aspects of the game. In doing so he offers a valuable insight into ‘what makes them tick’. That he is able to evoke such honest, candid responses is testament to the players respect for Coward. A respect earned over decades writing about cricket around the world.

This book is both entertaining and engaging and allows the reader to understand the game and its people to an even greater degree. It is a great challenge to translate a person’s true ‘voice’ into the written word. Mike Coward has done so brilliantly and allowed us to really hear the voice of the “Champions”.

“Champions”.  The World’s Greatest Cricketers Speak.

 Conversations with Mike Coward

Paperback: 288 pages

Publisher: Allen & Unwin (January 1, 2014)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1743315619

ISBN-13: 978-1743315613