The rollercoaster career of Tony Lock, extending over twenty-five years, is the saga of a resilient cricketer who triumphed over adversity.

He was an inspirational figure in Surrey’s seven consecutive championship wins in the 1950s when he forged a feared spin partnership with Jim Laker for both club and country. Controversy stalked Lock as a bowler during his destructive rule with Surrey and England but the return to the orthodox style of his youth brought renewed acclaim. He rejoiced in another role as captain in reviving the fortunes of Leicestershire and Western Australia, where he led the state to victory in the Sheffield Shield.

Tony Lock was, for a legion of admirers, an incorrigible showman, with boundless enthusiasm for the game. It was said of him, for instance, that when he appealed at the Oval, someone else was given out at Lord’s. Tony Lock: Aggressive Master of Spin is an engrossing study that reveals the paradox of a volatile and vulnerable man, but an astonishingly durable cricketer; his memory will endure.