The timing of this book could not be happier. It deals with rebels and subversives who have sought to undermine the cricketing establishment. This summer English cricket has been convulsed by the case of one such individual. Kevin Pietersen is unquestionably the most brilliant and charismatic English batsman of his age, but he has very publicly refused to conform to the expectations of the England team’s management. Should he have been brought back into the team to play Australia? Almost everyone has a view. For some, Kevin Pietersen is a romantic genius, for others a selfish brat. John Lucas’s book enables the debate about Pietersen’s rebellion to be placed in its proper context.

Lucas argues that ‘some cricketing rebels are truly disinterested, doing what they do for sound ethical reasons’. As an example, he points to Tom Cartwright’s refusal to accept a place in the English touring