William John Edrich (26 March 1916 – 24 April 1986) was a

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

er who played for

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

(MCC),

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Edrich's three brothers,

Brian Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word meani ...

Eric The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

and Geoff, and also his cousin,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, all played first-class cricket. Locally in Norfolk the Edriches were able to raise a full team of eleven. In 1938 a team composed entirely of Edriches beat

in a one-day match.

Life and career

Born in

Lingwood Lingwood is a village and former civil parish, east of Norwich, now in the parish of Lingwood and Burlingham, in the Broadland district, in the county of Norfolk, England. In 2011 the built-up area had a population of 2,719 and the built-up area ...

, Bill Edrich was an attacking right-handed batsman and right-arm fast bowler. Playing first for Norfolk in the

Minor Counties The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes unde ...

at the age of 16, he qualified for Middlesex in 1937 and was an instant success, scoring more than 2,000 runs in his first full season. The following year, 1938, he scored

1,000 runs before the end of May A batsman has scored 1,000 first-class runs before the end of May in an English cricket season on only eight occasions. In five of these occasions, the batsman reached 1,000 runs with innings played in April and May, but three scored 1,000 runs ...

and made the first of 39

Test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

appearances, though with little success. In fact, Edrich achieved almost nothing in Tests until the fina
"Timeless Test"
of the 1938–39 tour to South Africa at

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, where his 219 enabled England to reach 654 for five wickets, at which point the Test was left drawn to enable the tourists to catch their ship home. Having finally achieved Test match success, Edrich was promptly dropped for the 1939 series against the

West Indians A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...

. Even so, he was a

Wisden Cricketer of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...

in the 1940 edition of ''Wisden''. Edrich played

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

as an amateur for

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

and

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

during the 1930s. At the outbreak of

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

Edrich joined the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

, in which he attained the rank of

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

, operating as a pilot for

RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...

. On 12 August 1941 he participated in a low-level daylight attack by

Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until ...

bombers against power stations in the

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

area, described by ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' as "the RAF's most audacious and dangerous low-level bombing raid". Of the 54 Blenheims sent on the mission, twelve were shot down. For his part in the war he was awarded the DFC."Fields of glory."
''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'', 6 November 2005."Obituary of Wing Commander Tom Baker."
''

'', 10 April 2006. He had "an immense relief that he survived" the war and as a result loved to party and lived for the day.

Frank Tyson Frank Holmes Tyson (6 June 1930 – 27 September 2015) was an England international cricketer of the 1950s, who also worked as a schoolmaster, journalist, cricket coach and cricket commentator after emigrating to Australia in 1960. Nicknamed "T ...

(2004) ''In the Eye of the Typhoon''. Parrs Wood Press. pp. 187–188. .Peter Arnold (1985) ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of World Cricket''. W. H. Smith. p. 20. . When cricket resumed after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he quickly became a regular in the England team, batting at No. 3 and sometimes opening the bowling. He scored centuries against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in the

1946–47 Ashes series The 1946–47 Ashes series consisted of five cricket Test matches, each of six days with five hours play each day and eight ball overs. Unlike pre-war Tests in Australia, matches were not timeless and played to a finish. It formed part of the M ...

, two against the South Africans in 1947, another against Australia in 1948 and a final one against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in 1949. A gutsy batsman he was "almost indifferent to his own safety. No bowler is too fast to hook; no score too large to defy challenge" and was badly bruised standing up to the bouncers of Lindwall and

Miller A miller is a person who operates a Gristmill, mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Mill (grinding), Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surname ...

in 1946–47 and

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

. The postwar years were Edrich's heyday and in 1947 he broke

Tom Hayward Thomas Walter Hayward (29 March 1871 – 19 July 1939) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Surrey and England between the 1890s and the outbreak of World War I. He was primarily an opening batsman, noted especially for the qual ...

's record, scoring 3,539 runs in the season and not being much overshadowed by

Denis Compton Denis Charles Scott Compton (23 May 1918 – 23 April 1997) was an English multi-sportsman. As a cricketer he played in 78 Test matches and spent his whole cricket career with Middlesex. As a footballer, he played as a winger and spent most o ...

, who scored 3,816. Compton's and Edrich's aggregates remain the highest ever in an English cricket season, and with the reduction in the number of first-class matches seem likely never to be overtaken. In addition to his runs, Edrich also took 67 wickets in the same season. Edrich's Test career continued until The Ashes tour of 1954–55, but he played less regularly after 1950, when he appeared to have little answer to the West Indian spinners

Sonny Ramadhin Sonny Ramadhin, Chaconia Medal, CM (1 May 1929 – 27 February 2022) was a West Indian cricket team, West Indian cricketer, and was a dominant bowler of the 1950s. He was the first of many West Indian cricketers of Indo-Trinidadian, Indian orig ...

and

Alf Valentine Alfred Louis Valentine (28 April 1930 – 11 May 2004) was a West Indies cricket team, West Indian cricketer in the 1950s and 1960s. He is most famous for his performance in the West Indies' 1950 tour of England cricket team, England, which was ...

. When England retained the Ashes at

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

in 1954–55 the team consumed over 56 bottles of champagne and Edrich – the life and soul of any party – climbed the marble pillar in the lounge of Glenelg's Pier Hotel and sang "Ginger". All told, Edrich played in 571 first-class matches between 1934 and 1958, scoring 36,985 runs, with a highest score of 267 not out. His run total puts him 29th on the all-time lists. He scored 2,440 runs for England in his 39 Test matches, with the 219 not out at

his best. A professional before the Second World War, he turned amateur afterwards and captained Middlesex jointly with Compton in 1951 and 1952, continuing in sole charge from 1953 to 1957. After retiring from Middlesex, he returned to Norfolk and played

Minor County cricket The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes unde ...

until he was 56, captaining the county until 1971. A famously convivial man, Edrich was married five times and had two sons, Jasper and

Justin Justin may refer to: People * Justin (name), including a list of persons with the given name Justin * Justin (historian), a Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527), or ''Flavius Iustinius Augustus'', Eastern Rom ...

. He died following a fall at his

Chesham Chesham (, , or ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordsh ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

home on 24 April 1986, aged 70. The MCC named the twin stands at the Nursery End at

Lord's Cricket Ground Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

, in his and Denis Compton's honour. Cricket writer, Colin Bateman, noted, "it is a dull, practical structure which does little justice to their mercurial talents and indomitable spirits".

Bibliography

Books by Bill Edrich

* ''Cricket Heritage'', Stanley Paul, 1948 * ''Cricketing Days'', Stanley Paul, 1950 * ''Round the Wicket'', Muller, 1959 * ''Cricket and All That'', Pelham, 1978 (with

)

Books about Bill Edrich

Ralph Barker Ralph Hammond Cecil Barker (21 October 1917 – 16 May 2011) was an English non-fiction author with over twenty-five books to his credit. He wrote mainly about the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and Royal Air Force (RAF) operations in the First and ...

, ''The Cricketing Family Edrich'', Pelham, 1976 * Alan Hill, ''Bill Edrich: A Biography'', Andre Deutsch, 1994 * Jerry Lodge, ''Bill Edrich'', Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians, 2003

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Edrich, Bill 1916 births 1986 deaths Military personnel from Norfolk

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

People from Chesham English cricketers England Test cricketers Middlesex cricket captains Norfolk cricketers Royal Air Force cricketers Wisden Cricketers of the Year English footballers Norwich City F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force squadron leaders People from Lingwood and Burlingham Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Minor Counties cricketers North v South cricketers Players cricketers Gentlemen cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers Over 30s v Under 30s cricketers Sportspeople from Norfolk L. H. Tennyson's XI cricket team English cricketers of 1919 to 1945 Association footballers not categorized by position Chelmsford City F.C. players Northfleet United F.C. players H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI cricketers Middlesex cricketers T. N. Pearce's XI cricketers Royal Air Force pilots of World War II British World War II bomber pilots