Breaking Barriers

Product details

Published June 2 2025
ISBN 978-1-915237-55-2
Format Hardback, Hardback Signed, eBook
Pages 240
Dimensions 234 × 156 mm

Breaking Barriers

Barbados to England ... And Back

Roland Butcher

Price range: £4.99 through £25.00

England’s first black cricketer Roland Butcher opens up about his life on and off the pitch.

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Description

Born in St Philip on the east coast of Barbados, Roland Butcher created history in 1980 when he became the first Black cricketer to represent England. He made three Test appearances the following year against the West Indies, including a debut in the country of his birth.

An attacking and often thrilling batter who amassed more than 17,000 runs and 18 centuries in professional cricket, he will forever be remembered as a cricketing trailblazer but this new book is about much more than his most famous achievement.  As Butcher himself puts it, “More than just a story of cricket, Breaking Barriers is an exploration of identity, belonging, and the enduring power of perseverance”.

With honesty, warmth and humour, Butcher opens up about his life beyond the pitch, including the many obstacles he has overcome. Charting and exploring his Barbadian roots, moving to England, the highs and lows of representing England, his ongoing battle against prejudice, his return to Barbados and his life beyond cricket, Breaking Barriers is an honest and thoughtful memoir that offers fresh insight into one man’s unique career and the era in which he played.

About the Author

The first black player to represent England, Roland Butcher made history when he was picked to play an ODI against Australia at Edgbaston in 1980. Selected for the winter tour to the Caribbean that followed, he made his Test debut in Barbados, the country of his birth. An attacking and often thrilling batsman he also represented Middlesex, Barbados and Tasmania in a playing career that ran from 1974 to 1990. Since hanging up his boots, he has undertaken coaching and leadership roles within cricket and other sports and worked as a commentator.

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