While Hughes may not have had the most glamorous of careers he still lived the life of a professional sportsman and in this book he provides an unequalled insight into that life. The eighties were an exciting time for English cricket, from Botham's heroics in the '81 Ashes through victories at home and away there were any number of larger than life characters around and Hughes came into contact with most of them. This is not a biography as such, we don't learn much about Hughes' background beyond those details pertinent to his life as a cricketer. More it is a diarised history of his professional life, it is an insider's tale and while he may not have dined at the top table he did meet the Brearleys and Bothams, Gattings and Gowers on the field of play as equals and this gives the story that much more credibility than any journalist penned piece, no matter how good their source, could achieve.

The story begins in April 1980 and the young Hughes, still an undergraduate at Durham University, arrives for his first day as a professional cricketer. He is immediately met by some of the biggest names of the day: Mike Gatting, John Emburey and Mike Brearley. He is also met by his fellow rookies, young men who had come through the youth ranks alongside him they were his friends but also his competition. In a team full of internationals there are only so many chances for new players to make the grade and not all would be retained. The day was one of excitement but also one of disappointment, the atmosphere and conditions were not as rarefied as he had expected. The facilities were as run down as any club sides. Physical training consisted of running around the gym, at least for the fringe and new players - senior stars were less inclined to the activity, huddling in groups and chatting for the most part. All was overseen by Graham Barlow, one of the players. Lunch was a heavy plate of steak and kidney pudding. Pretty typical of British sport at the time I'd imagine.

There is an unpleasant and insulting cliché in sports punditry that representing your country should be all the motivation a player needs to perform at their best. While there may be an element of truth in this the fact is that top players can be just as paralysed by fear of failure and loss of confidence as anyone else and do need to handled in a sensitive way for them to play to their potential. The book names Chris Lewis and Graham Hick in this category but there are many others who could equally qualify. These two were incredibly talented cricketers from the early nineties who never managed to consistently reproduce their county form at international level and Hughes lays a substantial part of the blame at the door of the national coaches not really understanding the motivational requirements of these men, and the subsequent loss to both the player and the national team.

His family background is in show business and although he was never a flamboyant, bar emptying player he had a taste for the big stage and enjoyed the high pressure, high profile moments of games. As part of a successful side he played in his share of finals and despite being surrounded by internationals was always trusted as a 'death' bowler. That is someone who bowls the final overs of a match when the batting side are looking to take risks and score heavily, this takes guts and nerve to maintain concentration and it is a credit to his ability that he was so trusted by captains such as Brearley and Gatting. 'Death' bowlers can be either heroes or villains and Hughes has experienced both sides of the coin, relating each with clear sighted honesty.

Since retiring Hughes has moved, not surprisingly on the evidence of this book, effortlessly into journalism, writing for The Independent. He also provides excellent analysis for the cricket coverage on Channel 4 in the past and currently with Channel 5.