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The Autobiography

The Sunday Times Bestseller

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The Autobiography

By: Sir Alastair Cook
Narrated by: Dan Connolly
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Brought to you by Penguin.

Get to know England's most-loved batsman in the compelling autobiography from Alastair Cook.

Watch. The. Ball.

It's just you. Standing at the crease. Waiting. The bowler is running. His arm swinging. The ball - 155 grams of cork, string and leather - is hurled at you. At 90 mph it travels 22 yards in under half a second . . .

Alastair Cook, one of England's most decorated players and highest test run scorer, knows what it is like to be your best under pressure. Yet at 33 he called time on his England career.

Come with him as he relives the fraught hours on the pitch, the desperate lows and astonishing highs, the paralysing anxiety that can send the best back home and the extraordinary battle of wills with yourself, the opposing players and even those supposedly on your own side.

This is cricket as you've never seen it. The view from the inside . . .

© Alastair Cook 2019 (P) Penguin Audio 2019

 Cricket Sports Sports Psychology Inspiring Biography Thought-Provoking
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Critic reviews

Bracingly honest about the brutal nature of professional cricket
He is England's greatest ever batsman...but behind that choirboy exterior, Cook is as tough as tugboats, a man who has spent his life doing one of the hardest, scariest jobs in sports - opening the batting in Test cricket. This hugely enjoyable book gives you an idea of quite how challenging it is, and makes you see that finding a replacement for "The Chef" at the top of England's batting order won't be any picnic
Hugely enjoyable
A fascinating and layered book which delves into the psychological challenges of the game . . . a timely read at the end of an exhilarating yet flawed summer for English cricket
The best books to buy sports fans this Christmas
It makes for fascinating reading, as the former England captain recounts what it took to succeed at the top of his game - and reveals what made him decide to hang up his whites at the relatively early age of 33
Reveals Cook as a teak-tough, mentally powerful competitor . . . Brutally honest insight into professional sport at the highest level
Cricket legend Alastair Cook's remarkably candid autobiography reveals the pressures of playing the sport at the highest level for more than a decade
He details the complexity of the process, from technique to mental agonies, to draining team politics . . . there are also lots of endearing behind-the-scenes details
Sir Alastair reveals his more ruthless and passionate sides in a book more probing than most sport biogs
All stars
Most relevant
brilliant book from a really intelligent, mentally tough and skilled operator. massively recommended, easy to relax and get into.

very entertaining and clevely constructed

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A fascinating insight into the life of Alistair Cook. He was clearly exceptionally committed to English Cricket and his results are there for all to see. But he is also very thoughtful and honest about his multiple huge strengths, and also his minor weaknesses. I fully recommend the book.

Fascinating insight

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Narration was so like Cook, I believed it was Chef himself. Beautiful performance and excellent insight into England's very best.

Uncanny Narration

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Not the most enjoyable book but not the least either. I was expecting to enjoy it more as I have always enjoyed listening to Alistair on TV & radio. I can’t put my finger on what I didn’t like exactly, which is book review isn’t very helpful really!

I have heard better

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This is a brilliant listen and insight into Cooky. The only slight frustration is the narrator. He sounds somewhat like Chef but you’d have thought he could have learnt how to pronounce the players and former players names. Other than that, it was great

Brilliant, honest and eliminating

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