Wasted?

Cricketer Paul Smith's life fell apart after he received a drugs ban in 1996, which effectively ended his career. He was made a scapegoat and still believes he was singled-out while several other, favoured players were allowed to continue their careers. Paul lost his house, his marriage, his children and, of course, his job. How does a man come back from that? In this extraordinary autobiography, Paul Smith tells the story of the rock star lifestyle of a top cricketer, who produced Man of the Match performances at Lord's to help Warwickshire to an unprecedented domestic treble of trophies, which set him on the slippery slope to oblivion. He then describes the torment of being an outcast, losing everything and facing the stark choice of how to go on. This is a modern morality tale with no holds barred and no quarters given as Paul reveals the incredible sexual attraction that goes with being a sports star, his descent into drug taking, the hero-worship that fans gave him after his match-winning performances made Warwickshire the 'Manchester United of Cricket' and how he struggled to cope with this heady and potent mix of adulation and demands on his time, body and emotional energy. It tells the story of how, eventually, his life fell apart...but also how he rebuilt it, via work with the Prince's Trust in Britain and the USA.