Once a Pear…: My Cricket Journey

by Daryl Mitchell

Once A Pear... is the enthralling cricketing story of Daryl Mitchell - the ultimate 'one-club man'. Daryl graduated from the village game to become the first Worcestershire captain born in the county since 1925. He turned down offers from other, more famous counties to play for the club for 17 years in a turbulent career that saw five promotions, five relegations and short-form triumphs in the Pro40 competition and the Twenty20 Blast. A club legend, 38 first-class county hundreds put him sixth in the all-time list of Worcestershire centurions, while his 295 catches place him eighth in the fielding records. Four years as chairman of the Professional Cricketers' Association speaks volumes for the esteem he is held in by fellow professionals. In Once A Pear... Daryl reveals what it takes to be a successful county cricketer, and the impact on a player's mental health, while exploring how the game has changed in the last 20 years. This is the story of a true cricket man.

256 pages, Hardcover

Published August 25, 2022

Reviews

[Gary Causer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book covering Daryl’s career and development as player and a person during his 20 years as a loyal servant to Worcestershire and the PCA.

[Brian Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and well written book about Worcs CCC all rounder , who went on to captain the team for several years . Daryl's journey was not the usual private school background but from a local Worcs village where he entered the county pathway and then on to the national cricket stage as Chairman of the PCA during a particularly stressful time (covid) . From a personal point of view very interesting to read the inside track on my county .