Believing the psychology of the game to be vital, Brearly applied to train at the Institute of Psychoanalysis. Initially denied, he was accepted into the program after it was learned that he was the captain of a prominent cricket team (Middlesex). Brearly applied seeking to improve not only his physical skills but his mental ones as well. He believed “Cricket is a psychological game — a lot goes on in the head in terms, for example, of shrewdness, resilience, bluff, individualism and team spirit”. “Captaining calls for a down-to-earth sense of what makes players tick, both to help get the best out of one’s own team and to probe the weakness of the opposition. People ask me if psychology helped me in this role. It did, but the reverse applied equally: cricket helped me to be more psychologically aware.” The investment he made into himself through the program paid huge dividends when, in 1977, his qualities of great captaincy were noticed. In 1977, he was selected as the captain for England’s national cricket team.
According to historical data found on the ESPN website, Brearley captained England to the final of the 1979 Cricket World Cup, scoring 53 in the semi-final against New Zealand and 64 in the final against the West Indies. However, his opening partnership of 129 with Geoff Boycott in the final used up 38 of 60 allotted overs; Preemptive efforts of thwarting the potent pace attack of Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Colin Croft, and Joel Garner were first needed for such achievements to be recorded. Diluting Brearley’s leadership efforts, Garner bowled a spell of 5 wickets for 4 runs to induce a drastic collapse and hand the West Indies the match and the World Cup by 92 runs.
The loss did not keep Brearley from continued prominence on and off the field. He was well known for his people soft skills, being a captain, he would select the best of players for the team to play. Brearley was the captain when the incident of the aluminum bat had occurred. He was quite innovative when it came to cricket equipment; he used to wear a skull cap which was made from plastic that protected his head and skull. This was then made famous by an Indian batsman and later, commentator, Sunil Gavaskar.
Brearley lost captaincy of the team in 1980 and the reigns handed over to Ian Botham. However, on the resignation of Ian Botham from captaincy. This perceived changing of the guard was short-lived, however. Brearley joined in again as England’s team captain after a year. Brearley was considered the best captain as his strategies gave fruitful results than that of Botham. After retiring from cricket captaincy, he took up writing, motivational speaking and also a psychotherapist. He was awarded a PH. D degree by Oxford Brookes University. He also worked as a journalist for The Times and published a book named The Art of Captaincy. Brearley’s captaincy abilities remain highly respected and his book is considered a staple of cricket literature. He was selected as leader of MCC; he had replaced Doug Insole for the same position.
References:
"The British Psychoanalytical Society: Psychoanalytic Technique Today" (PDF). Retrieved from web.archive.org.
Mike Brearley: Captaincy and the human mind The Australian (2017). The Australian. Mike Atherton
URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/cricket/mike-brearley-captaincy-and-the-human-mind/news-story/5db5aaedabb0fa58c01240caeb906bfe
"1st SF: England v New Zealand at Manchester". Retrieved from ESPN Cricinfo: http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/8039/scorecard/65061/england-vs-new-zealand-1st-sf-prudential-world-cup-1979.
"Final: England v West Indies at Lord's". Retrieved from ESPN Cricinfo: http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/8039/scorecard/65063/england-vs-west-indies-final-prudential-world-cup-1979
Return to the previous page| Birth Date: | 28 Apr, 1942 |
| Age: | 78 yrs |
| Occupations: | Cricketer Psychoanalyst |
| Citizenship: | United Kingdom |
| Birth Place: | Harrow |
| Education: | St John's College |
| Gender: | Male |
| Description: | Cricket player of England |
| Net Worth 2021: | 5 million |
