Wednesday
05
February 2025
5:00 PM IST
Location
Room 019, School of Engineering and Applied Science
Central Campus
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Turning Over the Pebbles: A Life in Cricket and in the Mind
The Nalanda
Michael Brearley
Distinguished Fellow
former President
British Psychoanalytical Society
Speaker
Sudhir Pandey
Senior Lecturer
Amrut Mody School of Management
Moderator
Nalanda, a student-driven event featuring interaction with experts, hosted Michael Brearley, a former professional cricketer and a psychoanalyst. Students got the opportunity to learn about his memoir, "Turning Over the Pebbles: A Life in Cricket and in the Mind," which is a fascinating intersection of cricket and psychoanalysis. Brearley shares how these fields have shaped his identity and leadership style, navigating the psychological demands of the game while emphasising the crucial role of emotional resilience. He emphasized that sports are not merely physical but also deeply reflective and mental.
Brady explained psychoanalysis as a process of understanding oneself, noting that true freedom comes from recognising and addressing unconscious biases and patterns. He also talked about how the role of a cricket captain has evolved, especially with the rise of shorter game formats and the influence of coaching teams. The interaction revealed his reflections on the profound connection between sports, psychology, and personal growth.
Speaker
Michael Brearley
Michael Brearley is a Distinguished Fellow and former President of the British Psychoanalytical Society. He has been in private practice in London for 40 years. He has also given lectures and taught in a number of fields, especially in the Application of Psychoanalysis, the committee of which he was a member for about fourteen years, and which he chaired for six years. He worked also in a psychotherapy unit in London, as a school counsellor, and as a consultant to companies. In earlier years, he was a Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne for three years, and a professional cricketer. He captained Cambridge University, Middlesex for twelve years, and, between 1977 and 1981, England. He has been President of MCC and Chair of their World Cricket Committee. He has also written – papers on psychoanalysis as well as journalism on sport and the psychology of sport. Since retiring from cricket, amongst his published books are: The Art of Captaincy (1985), On Form (2017), and, in 2023, Turning over the Pebbles: A Life in Cricket and in the Mind.
Moderator
Sudhir Pandey
Sudhir Pandey is a faculty member in the communication area at Amrut Mody School of Management. His research areas are CSR communication, workplace communication and problem solving for social change. He collaborated for the Virtual Business Professional Project (USC Marshall Business School, University of Southern California) as an instructor in 2016-17 and 2019. He has received research projects from the National Commission for Women, ICSSR and DST. He is a recipient of the 'Chairman's Excellence in Teaching Award' at Ahmedabad University for 2016-17 and the 'Vedant Educator Excellence Award 2020' by Vedanta Foundation, Gujarat. He has a strong passion for cricket and actively participates in playing the sport regularly.
