The Mental Keys to Hitting: A Handbook of Strategies for Performance Enhancement - Harvey Dorfman

This is a baseball book – but don't be frightened, cricket people! I use it a lot in coaching. I have recommended it to lots of youngsters and players that I have worked with. It is extremely useful. Rather than try to explain its contents, let me just say that it is a challenging and fascinating read. Sometimes, the most accepted means and methods are the most blinding. Look beyond the accepted.

Into Thin Air: a personal account of the Everest disaster - John Krakauer

This is a tragic story of an Everest expedition in 1996. An account of climbing Everest in one of the worst years ever, and overcoming adversity on a desperately tough expedition. All my life I have been fascinated by 'the struggle', wherever it may be. Learning how people survive and prosper in adverse conditions helps in many ways to 'coach', not just in cricket.

Jonny Wilkinson - My World

He worked his way to the very top of his profession which, ultimately, came down to the single second he had to land the drop-goal which would win the World Cup. A lifetime's work summed up in a single second. The similarities between his moment and that of my great childhood friend, Joel Stransky's, who won the 1995 World Cup, made Wilkinson's story a compulsive read. But the accounts of his work ethic were deeply informative. You really can make your own success if you re prepared to put in the hours.

Good to Great - Jim Collins

This is a business leadership book about how to develop high level leadership. It's about how to maximise individual performance, how to help your employees, and those around you, to optimize their performance. I am a practical person and, while I am not averse to talking 'theory', I particularly enjoy practical work.

Winning! - Clive Woodward

This is a fascinating book about high level coaching. I learned so much about building plans, creating strategies which players can 'buy into' and about what is required to attain the 'buy-in' from a group of elite but diverse professional athletes. The professional unit in team sports is crucial.

How Life Imitates Chess - Garry Kasparov

I love true stories and reading about how people overcome difficult circumstances. The Kasparov story shows how you can strategise for success, not only in a career sense but also in a 'life' sense. Although I only play chess sporadically, and very badly, I found this book particularly relevant to my work.