The Middlesex Ashes Top Ten

Middlesex should have been playing in the IPL Champions League this weekend and my plan had been to use that as a peg for running the following Ashes Top Ten of players who have turned out for Middlesex, written by Ged Ladd at the unofficial Middlesex Supporters Club. Even though Middlesex's tour was cancelled, I still hope you find it a good idea. Take it away, Ged.

Andrew Stoddart Played 16 tests against Australia, captaining half of them, between 1887/8 and 1897/8; his highlight being 173 in Melbourne in a winning 3-2 cause in 1894/5. A stupendous sportsman, he played both rugby and cricket for England; he also once scored 485 in 370 minutes for Hampstead against Stoics after a sleep-free night on the razz. Sadly, he found the game of middle-aged mundanity harder than elite sport; in 1915 he took his own life, perhaps due to debts and ill health.

Sir Pelham (Plum) Warner A distinguished Middlesex and England captain who led England to a 3-2 series win in Australia in 1903/4. Like several of this list, his personal record in Tests was less distinguished than his captaincy record, but Plum Warner did more than enough to get a stand at Lord's named after him.

Patsy Hendren Elias Henry Hendren scored over 57,000 first class runs between 1907 and 1938, including 51 Tests, 28 of which were against Australia. His one Test wicket was against the Aussies. An Ashes hero and a Middlesex Colossus; any man with 170 first-class hundreds to his name is something special.

Gubby Allen George Oswald Browning Allen is another Middlesex and England captain with a Lord's stand named after him. A genuine all-rounder, Allen quietly took 21 vital wickets in the Bodyline series. He also captained England in the losing Ashes series in 1936/7.

Denis Compton The Brylcreem Boy himself not only scored 39,000 first class runs and played 78 Tests (phenomenal numbers for a player whose career spanned the war), but he also regularly appeared as a winger for Arsenal. He is the third of our Middlesex Ashes heroes to have a Lord's stand named after him.

Jeff Thomson One half of the "Lillian Thomson" pairing which terrified England's batsmen on several occasions, Thommo took 100 England scalps at just over 24 in his 21 Test outings against England. Given his personal success, he was on the losing side surprisingly often for a top-ranking Aussie; the next man was a large part of the reason.

Mike Brearley A master of the art of captaincy, Brearley captained England to three Ashes series wins in the 1970s and 1980s, his only low point being a 0-3 series defeat in the "non-Ashes, aluminium bat" tour. His personal batting effort, averaging just over 22 in 19 Ashes matches, is almost beside the point in the context of that unique degree of Ashes captaincy success. Despite that, it seems unlikely that a Lord's stand will be named after him for the foreseeable future.

Mike Gatting Twenty-seven Tests against the old enemy at an average of 37+, he scored 4 tons and 12 fifties against Australia. One of Middlesex's finest, he will long be remembered as the victim of Shane Warne's "ball of the 20th century" and also (hopefully not for too much longer) as the last England captain to bring the urn back from a winning Ashes tour, 1986/7.

John Emburey A 64-Test veteran, that's a massive haul for an English off-spinner and 25 of those were against Australia. Effectively a bowling all-rounder, he also managed a Brearley-busting average of 28 in his Ashes outings; undoubtedly a man who lifted his performances for the big occasions.

Glenn McGrath England's utter nemesis for donkey's years (ask Atherton, for example), his 30 Test outings against England yielding 157 wickets at just over 20, including 10 five-fers. His encounter with a stray practice ball just before the start of play at Edgbaston in 2005 was probably the single most significant Ashes series-turning event in history.

If the editor were to allow me the indulgence of an eleventh man, wicket-keeper John Murray would make an excellent addition to the above ten to make up a complete team. I'd like to thank Seaxe Man whose excellent three-part series of articles on Middlesex's England captains provided much inspiration.

Comments

[allan massie]

One notable and shocking omission from this list: Bill Edrich DFC, a very fien batsman and as bravea competitor as you could ever wish to see. Knocked out by Frank Tyson oen day, he was back hooking him the next. "It never hurts as much as you think it will," he said.

[Howard Moon]

Great article, Ged.