My friend Michael Burns, who has died aged 87, leaves a significant legacy as a cricket historian, both as film-maker and author. Cricket was central to his life – whether playing for many years for Malden Wanderers or coaching Surrey youth teams or being an often sceptical MCC member – and he had a deep understanding of the game, usually but not always transcending partisanship.
His films included histories of Surrey and Yorkshire, reviews of individual seasons, accounts of English tours of the 1950s, and a particularly evocative portrait of English cricket in the 60s. His three books culminated in Seven Summers (2022), the definitive story of how Surrey in the 50s reeled off a record seven consecutive county championship triumphs.
