In Sunshine and in Shadow: Geoff Cope and Yorkshire Cricket

Another excellent book from Stephen Chalke. His story of Geoff Cope is moving, informative and amusing at times . Geoff always gave of his best under trying circumstances . MCC don't come out of this with much credit. Cope has battled through professional and personal issue setbacks with great courage and determination and comes across as a very likeable man as anyone who has spoken to him at Headingley can attest. As usual Stephen Chalke is spot on with his subject. He is one of my favourite Sport biographers.

A good read, made you feel as if you were with him as he grew up. Honest telling of his career. Listened to him as well and Mr Brearley is not on his Christmas card list!!!

great product and service

Good book by a genuinely good guy

Excellent service & proved to be a very good read.Highly reccommended.

Interesting book. I never knew that Geoff had raised so much for Guide Dogs

I was at the Oval this year when Moeen Ali took the hat-trick to beat South Africa in the 3rd test. Commentators made much of the fact that this was the first English spinner to take a hat-trick since Tom Goddard in 1938. But for some honesty by Mike Brearley (or possible unnecessary diplomacy), it would have been the first hat-trick since Geoff Cope took three wickets in a row in his very first Test match in Lahore in 1977. The umpires gave it out, but Brearley thought that he might not have caught the ball cleanly and called the batsman back. This is just one of the mesmerising stories related in Stephen Chalke's latest masterpiece (I have read them all), but this book is slightly different in that Geoff Cope, a wonderful raconteur with extraordinary recollection of detail, does most of the writing/talking (i.e., large sections are given over to him speaking). Cope has had more than his fair share of troubles: he was called up three times for alleged "throwing" (he is an off spinner), when the evidence was never clearcut. He should have played many more times for England but for appalling communication and management. Tony Greig told Cope that he was going to be selected to play for England but not to tell anyone, not even his wife but, when the team was announced, Cope was not on the team sheet and Greig never explained what happened. Cope had the misfortune to be caught up in some dreadful club politics at Yorkshire, which he later himself sorted out but only after he retired. Then, there is his deteriorating sight, brought on by retinitis pigmentosa. But Cope never gives up and comes across as one of the most genuinely nice and interesting first-class cricketers. Did you know, for example, that he took more wickets than any other spinner in the 1976 county championship? As always, Chalke is a master of weaving narrative and statistics, making this yet another compelling read - and not just for those of us who love cricket. The question remains: did Mike Brearley really think that he had not caught that ball cleanly?

Thanks