Master of the quick riposte and mischievous merrymaker.

Allan Lamb has been one of the most colourful and engaging characters in British sport. A record of over 4600 Test runs, including 14 Test hundreds and over one hundred one-day international appearances, is testimony to an outstanding talent but he is also renowned as an outspoken leader who refused to tow the establishment line.

It was Lamb who was brave enough to stand up against alleged ball-tampering in a one-day international at Lord's in 1992, while in the domestic game as captain of Northamptonshire he transformed the county from a team of underachievers to championship challengers in the space of two years. Gaining then being stripped of the England captaincy was a shattering blow; losing his Test place almost a mortal wound.

But there's more to life than cricket, as Lamby would say.

Here is a man whose infectious joie de vivre is reflected in everything he does. The popular road shows with Ian Botham and celebrity spots on television and radio. A love of country sports, particularly game shooting and fly fishing for salmon. Membership of the St Moritz Tobogganing Club and cricket's unofficial champion of the Cresta Run. Not forgetting, too, a taste for fine wines and partying until the small hours. But alongside these hedonistic pursuits lies an unswerving devotion to his family and fierce loyalty to his adopted country, England.

Characterised by a sharp wit and a puckish sense of fun, Allan Lamb's autobiography is the thoroughly enjoyable story of a personality who lives his life to the full.