Bill Edrich: The Many Lives of England’s Cricket Great

Record-breaking England cricketer, wartime RAF hero, Tottenham Hotspur footballer, and husband to five wives... this is the captivating life of one of England’s most remarkable yet often overlooked cricketing heroes.

571 first-class matches from 1934 to 1958. 36,985 runs. 29th on all-time lists. 86 centuries. 479 wickets. Bill Edrich was one of the biggest cricket stars of his time along with Denis Compton and Len Hutton. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1940 and played association football for Norwich City and Tottenham Hotspur during the 1930s.

In the first biography for 30 years, award-winning writer Leo McKinstry recounts Edrich’s audacity both as a cricketer and RAF pilot. Edrich’s flying prowess won him the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) and a promotion to Squadron Leader after his part in a courageous daylight raid over Cologne in August 1941.

After the war, Edrich’s life took a few wrong turns as he married an impressive five times and repeatedly clashed with the cricket hierarchy. As a consequence, he was left out of the tour of Australia in 1950-51 which ended up costing the team greatly. Edrich redeemed himself a few years later as he drove the victory home in the 1953 Ashes and helped to bring back the trophy in his last tour of Australia in 1954-55.

A history of cricket victories, explosive controversies, wartime glory and a life lived to the fullest, this compelling biography reveals the story of one of cricketing’s greatest characters.

Leo McKinstry has been a professional writer since 1995, working for the Daily Mail, the Daily Telegraph and the Sun. He has also been a columnist and feature writer for the Daily Express for the last 17 years. McKinstry has written major biographies of two English batsmen, Geoff Boycott and Jack Hobbs, and among his other books are award-winning biographies of the footballing brothers Jack and Bobby Charlton and the World Cup-winning manager Sir Alf Ramsey.