David Lloyd: The Autobiography: Anything but Murder - Tapa dura

‘He’s never been slow to speak his mind, often at a cost’
Daily Telegraph

In what promises to be the most eagerly awaited cricket book for some years, former England coach David Lloyd tells the full story about his time in charge of a struggling team, his clashes with authority and the difficult characters he has managed in his career.

For three turbulent and frequently controversial years, David Lloyd has suffered the diatribe of press and public alike as coach to an England team that has become the laughing stock of world cricket.

His autobiography is not your run-of-the-mill celebratory jaunt through a trophy-laden career in sport. It is a warm, witty yet painstakingly honest appraisal of Lloyd’s attempts to rebuild a tarnished England team, to raise morale and strive to modernise what had become an outdated approach to playing the game in this country.

His was not a smooth or straightforward assignment. He clashed repeatedly with the counties in his efforts to change the structure of the game, he was hounded by the press for his less than subtle style of man-management, and he was severely reprimanded more than once by the England Cricket Board over his passionate outbursts in defence of his team.

Accounts of these political battles alongside his remarkable frankness in recalling his relationship with key personnel – Phil Tufnell, Andy Caddick, Nasser Hussain and Graham Gooch to name a few – provide a fascinating and at times damning picture of the strengths and weaknesses of cricket in this country.

Now, as he contemplates a future in television commentary, all the stories that could never be told while he was in the England job can be revealed once and for all.