We'll Get 'Em in Sequins

Book excerpt: A truly unique and fascinating look at the changing nature of masculinity and manliness, told through the lens of a series of Yorkshire County Cricket Club player portraits through the ages. George Hirst was a man of his time. His apocryphal quotation "We'll get 'em in singles"epitomises his no-fuss approach to all matters, and his distate for excess or ostentation. His stiff upper lip was a requisite part of his Edwardian manliness. Fast forward a century or so to Darren Gough's besequinned victory on Strictly Come Dancing or to Michael Vaughan's final teary press conference, and the different versions of what it means to be masculine are worlds apart. It is one of the oldest cliches in sports writing to say that sport mirrors life. And yet, in this instance, the world of Yorkshire cricket has so faithfully mirrored the outside world that the cliche is unavoidable. Yorkshire, sobrest of counties, has given us some remarkable characters over the years - Len Hutton, Geoffrey Boycott, and Fred Trueman to name just a few. Through portraits of these and other Yorkshire players, and the values that they shared with their contemporaries, this wonderfully original book maps the contours of a sexual revolution whose tremors are still being felt today.