Amidst a closely fought Ashes series, Barney Douglas’ documentary feature gets a timely release. It charts the rise of the England test cricket team from a particularly low ebb of being bowled out for 51 by the West Indies in Jamaica in February 2009 to their rise to number 1 in the rankings two and a half years later. It also shows how the stress put on the players in the team in achieving that feat caused it to fall apart in quick fashion soon after.
Being a huge test cricket fan, there was nothing surprising in this story for me, though it will probably be eye opening for more casual followers. What it does have is excellent access to most of the players as well as the driven, and slightly scary coach, Andy Flower. The interviews make up much of the running time, and it is easy to see how the memories of that period are still fresh, or in some cases, still quite raw. It really shows how the more well rounded characters like Alastair Cook and Jimmy Anderson were able to cope with the pressure and thrive in the years to come whilst others, notably Johnathan Trott became consumed by the process.
It is a shame that some tougher questions were not asked of the players, particularly surrounding the Kevin Pietersen controversy in 2012 but that probably explains why the access was so good. Also, Toby Jones’ narration is a bit too florid at times.
Overall though a well made telling of a fascinating sporting period.
Rating: 8 out of 10