Philip Ian Bedford (11 February 1930 – 18 September 1966) was an English

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 officia ...

er who had a sensational start to his first-class career with

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

in 1947 as a 17-year-old lower-order batsman and leg break bowler. In his first match, against

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

, he was the fourth spin bowler used in the Essex first innings, but took four wickets for 81 runs. He then took four for 65 in his second match against

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

, five for 53 in his third against Surrey and five for 54 in his fourth and final match of 1947 against

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

. He was less successful in subsequent seasons, and returned to club cricket in 1951 while working for a construction company, until he succeeded

John Warr John James Warr (16 July 1927 – 9 May 2016) was an English cricketer. A successful county player for Middlesex County Cricket Club, he took part in two Test matches for England. Warr was known for his sense of humour and made many humorous ...

as Middlesex captain in 1961 and 1962. He was a popular captain, who often declared boldly in an effort to achieve a result. Bedford played in 77 first-class matches between 1947 and 1962, taking 128 wickets at an average cost of 32.87, with a personal best of 6/52. He died following a brain aneurysm, while batting for Finchley C.C. at

Buckhurst Hill Buckhurst Hill is an affluent suburban town in the Epping Forest district of Essex, England. It is part of the Greater London Urban Area and adjacent to the northern boundary of the London Borough of Redbridge. The area developed following the o ...

in 1966. He was 36. He left a wife and four young daughters.J. W. Levy, "Ian Bedford", ''

The Cricketer ''The Cricketer'' is a monthly English cricket magazine providing writing and photography from international, county and club cricket. The magazine was founded in 1921 by Sir Pelham Warner, an ex-England captain turned cricket writer. Warner ...

'', October 1966, pp. 19–20.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bedford, Ian 1930 births 1966 deaths English cricketers Middlesex cricket captains Combined Services cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers North v South cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers Cricketers from Greater London Deaths from aneurysm Middlesex cricketers