'An evening with Athers' was the title of what turned out to be an intimate insight into the life of one of England's finest cricket captains. Taking the form of an armchair conversation, anecdotes and humorous recollections formed the basis of the question and answer session as part of the annual Dunford lecture.
Aimed not only at cricketers, Michael Atherton spoke about the values of leadership, mental toughness, preparation, and his career in the media. Starting from his time at Manchester Grammar School, he humbly spoke of his record breaking 3,500 runs and 170 wickets commenting, "well if you play enough games you are bound to get runs". Atherton then discussed his career for Cambridge and later, England.
A mixture of personal and career related questions were asked from both the audience and Mr Briers, to which Atherton responded with effortless wit and professionalism; One answer even revealed that Mr Ratcliffe in his former days as a professional was coach to Michael, "I turned out alright, so he can't have done that bad a job". The evening was highly entertaining and was my personal highlight having seen the last five years of Dunford speakers.
