Mike Brearley: A Life in Cricket and in the Mind

Mike Brearley was one of England’s finest captains, for whom cricket wasn’t just a physical activity but also an intellectual game.  When his cricketing career came to an end, he rejected sporting commentary for a career as a psychoanalyst.  Reflecting on sport, philosophy, literature, religion, leadership, psychoanalysis, music and more, Brearley delved into his private passions and candidly examined the various shifts, conflicts and triumphs of his extraordinary life and career, both on and off the field.  He was interviewed by his publisher, Andreas Campomar (OW) prior to a Q&A session.

Mike Brearley was educated at Cambridge, where he read classics and moral sciences, and captained the university. He played for Middlesex County Cricket Club intermittently from 1961 to 1970, and regularly from 1971, captaining the side until his retirement in 1982.  He first played for England in 1976 and captained the side from 1977 to 1980, winning seventeen Test Matches and losing only four. He was recalled to the captaincy in 1981 for the Ashes home series, leading England to one of their most famous victories.  From 1981, he trained and continues to work as a psychoanalyst, and is a lecturer on both leadership and psychoanalysis. He is the author of the bestselling The Art of Captaincy, On Form, On Cricket, Spirit of Cricket and has written on cricket and the psychology of sport for the Sunday Times, Observer, The Times and Prospect.  He lives in London.

Andreas Campomar (C 1984-89) was educated at Cambridge University, where he read modern history. He worked as a financial journalist and banking lawyer before pursuing a career in publishing.  He is currently publisher at Little, Brown Book Group, where he publishes non-fiction and international fiction. He is also a Latin American specialist.  He has written and reviewed for, among others, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Daily Telegraph, Guardian, Financial Times, Literary Review, Times Literary Supplement, Spectator and Standpoint. He is the author of Golazo! A History of Latin American Football.