With a burgeoning reputation as one of the
fastest bowlers in the land, Ellcock’s hopes of playing Test cricket for England were cruelly thwarted by
injury. Plunged into depression and forced to pursue another career, a childhood interest in aviation was
to be his salvation. Ellcock relocated to the USA and qualified as a commercial airline pilot, becoming
the first black captain with Virgin Atlantic.
Ellcock’s autobiography is unsparing and hard-hitting, revealing as it does a lifetime spent overcoming
biases, prejudices and racism, not to mention being saved from death by receiving four life-saving
brain operations in the space of eight weeks. Balls to Fly charts one man’s extraordinary story of
determination, endeavour and resilience.
The book is a fascinating journey through the ups and downs of Ellcock’s singular story, describing how
• He used to be driven to school by the Prime Minister of Barbados
• He rapidly went from bowling a cricket ball to his friends to earning a scholarship at one the UK’s
most prestigious public schools at just 15 years of age
• The reaction of county team-mates when he turned up to make his first-class cricket debut whilst
wearing school uniform
• The cruellest of luck with injury sabotaged his hopes of playing Test cricket for England
• The dedication involved in retraining as an airline pilot and the pride in becoming Virgin Atlantic’s
first black captain, as well as being in US airspace just before the 9/11 terrorist attacks
• How he was saved from death by four brain operations within eight weeks
• Biases, prejudices and racism, Ellcock is often excoriating and unflinchingly honest