About Young Lions Sometimes Roar

What is Young Lions Sometimes Roar?

Young Lions Sometimes Roar is a book that will be published in the summer of 2026.

It’s about the England men's cricket team in the 90s, but also my equally unsuccessful attempts to play cricket as a teenager, inspired by a doomed quest to rekindle my love affair with the sport by sitting in the icy stands of Headingley and watching county cricket in the cold.

Why the name?

Anyone who watched Sky’s coverage of England’s overseas tours back then may remember its ‘Young Lions’ promo, or at least the accompanying music, a short clip of which was to be heard during every break for adverts.

‘Young lions are going to roar…’ promised the song’s lyrics. ‘YOUNG LIONS ARE GONNA ROAR!’

Even as an 11-year-old then unfamiliar with cricket’s nuances and subtleties, it was clear that this was not an appropriate soundtrack for England’s 1993 tour of India. The lions were not especially young, nor did they at any point threaten to roar, as the home side cantered to a 3-0 Test series win.

Quite how this performance came to be the basis for a lifelong love of cricket, I’m not entirely sure. But, as the captaincy soon passed from Gooch to Atherton during an equally disastrous home Ashes summer, the lions were young again, and they even roared (sometimes).

The frequency of the roaring during the 90s was pretty much the bare minimum amount to keep enthusiastic teenage fans such as myself from completely losing hope: a creditable draw here, an unlikely victory there, but nothing that ever quite crystallised into a consistent period of success.

Who are you and how do I know you can write about cricket?

I was born and raised in Yorkshire, and am back living there again following a long period away (and a pandemic-inspired attempt to change my life for the better).

Over the last few months I've been writing profiles of the major players, pundits and characters in English cricket during the 90s over on Substack.

All of these posts are free, but I'll also be publishing them here, in case you aren't a fan of Substack or don't want to sign up for any reason.

Although there is some overlap, these posts, unless specifically marked otherwise are extracts from the book. But, if you’re wondering ‘Who the hell are you to write a book about cricket?’ then this is my chance to show you. If you enjoy my writing here, I think you'll also enjoy the book, and I hope you'll buy a copy.

Some of my other writing can be found at Brand Building with Ben Richards, which is available here, but that’s on hold while I focus on this project.

I’ve also written a book about working in Higher Education, but don’t let that put you off.

When will the book be released and how can I buy it?

Young Lions Sometimes Roar is coming very soon, and you'll be able to buy it in paperback or eBook via Amazon.