Faces on a Wall: An English County’s Curious Collection of Captains

The ‘faces on a wall’ in this book are Northamptonshire’s captains since 1878, whose portraits appear together in the pavilion at Wantage Road. An astonishingly diverse bunch encompassing cricket no-hopers, solid professionals and top internationals, they represent the changing face of the county game over the past century and a half.

"He took over as official archivist in 2015 and has been instrumental in both the club''s Hall of Fame - as a tangible way of remembering the greats - and the captains'' wall in the Spencer Pavilion which has inspired his forthcoming book Faces on a Wall."

"This is a fascinating work of history. It is a pleasure to be reminded of Northamptonshire stars and of others."

"Faces on a Wall is a look at Northants through the prism of captains. Radd writes elegantly and contextualises the days of the double-barrelled amateurs especially well. Radd has known and interviewed virtually all the key figures since the 1970s, and of the eras before that his research is excellent."

The ‘faces on a wall’ in this book are Northamptonshire’s captains since 1878, whose portraits appear together in the pavilion at Wantage Road. An astonishingly diverse bunch, they represent the changing face of the county game over the past century and a half.

As cricketers, they range from cheerfully hopeless to solidly competent, to world-beating. As characters they are an astoundingly varied group, encompassing a peer who went bankrupt, the husband of a famous artist’s favourite model, an England football international, an outstanding bowler (but with woods and jack), a gallant leader who died on active service, the man who revitalised both Northamptonshire and England teams after the Second World War and the shrewd skipper described by Mike Selvey as the best county leader of his time.

This book reflects the unique flavour of county cricket and the remarkable assortment of individuals who have led Northamptonshire over nearly a century and a half.

• | Author: Andrew Radd
• | Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd
• | Publication Date: Jun 24, 2024
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language:
• | Binding: Hardback
• | ISBN-13: 9781801507288
• | ISBN-10: 1801507287