In this first definitive history of a great national sporting institution, Simon Wilde charts the turbulent story of a team that, in its early days, lacked a home or a controlling body before being appropriated by a private club, the MCC, and deployed overseas as virtually a diplomatic arm of the empire. He traces the historic tensions between amateurs and professionals, and the team's modern battles for independence from the counties and control of players tempted to put cash-rich Twenty20 leagues before country.

Making extensive use of MCC archives, this book chronicles the crises and cock-ups that have often dogged the side, as well as uncovering the origins of the cult of the Three Lions.