Ashley Giles: The King of Spain and I - Surviving cricket, depression and the greatest ever Ashes - Part of Summer Derby Book Festival 2026

Description

As a player and administrator, Ashley Giles has seen it all. 

From hitting the winning shot in the decisive Test of the greatest Ashes series, to steering a sinking ship through choppy waters as the pandemic threatened to submerge the whole game, Giles has been at the heart of some of English cricket’s biggest moments this century. 

Documenting how the game roused itself in the build-up to the 2005 Ashes, Giles brings an astute eye to the madness of that unforgettable summer, offering the inside track on a series that would irrevocably change the course of English cricket.

At times poignant and heartrending, this is a deeply intimate portrayal of a sportsman on the edge, surviving the enemies of self-doubt and imposter syndrome to remain a constant presence in the combustible dressing rooms of Pietersen, Flintoff, Vaughan and Hussain. 

Based on personal writings stretching back to his early days as a rookie at Warwickshire, this is the story of a singular cricketer, one whose resilience and inner steel propelled him time and again to the gates of sporting history.