Playing to Win

In the early 1970s cricket was on the precipice. Apartheid South Africa was barred from competition, and the 1970/71 Ashes series in Australia had been uninspiring - more a battle of attrition than an enthralling contest. Test-playing nations were opting for risk-averse and often tedious Test cricket.

In April 1972 the inexperienced Australians, labelled the worst team ever by the English press, arrived in England full of swagger. Their newly appointed captain, Ian Chappell, announced they were playing to win. The intriguing Ashes series that followed, and the simmering disquiet about how the game was being administered, transformed Test cricket. No longer would cricket be played to stultifying draws but instead with a desire to win - no matter what was at stake, including the Ashes.

Playing to Win evocatively captures the story of that northern English summer, a series that, thanks to Ian Chappell and his team, shaped the modern game.