John Sidney Ernest Price (born 22 July 1937) is a former English

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

er, who played in fifteen Tests for

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 ...

from 1964 to 1972. Distinctive for his extremely long angled run up and elaborate, though graceful, upright bowling action, Price could bowl outswingers at genuine pace, but his international career was hampered by a succession of injuries. He possessed an excellent arm in the deep, but seldom troubled the opposition with a bat in his hand. He took 734 wickets for

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 242 matches at just 22.39 each, carrying their attack in the late 1960s, having only established himself in the first team in 1963 at the age of 25, after playing club cricket with Wembley Cricket Club. He also took 192 wickets in limited overs games.

Life and career

Price was born in Harrow,

. He took 83 wickets at 22 in his first full season, earning a touring berth to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, where he took fourteen wickets in his first four Tests. Never renowned for his left-handed batting, he survived 144 minutes and scored 32 runs in partnership with his Middlesex team-mate, Fred Titmus, in the Second Test in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

. He took 5 for 73 in the next Test in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

but, in his sporadic appearances thereafter, failed to take more than three wickets in a Test innings again. He toured

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

in 1964/65, taking three wickets in the Test at

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

, but was struck down by a back injury in 1965. He returned to form and fitness in style in 1966, taking 94 wickets at 18.74 and bagging 8 for 48, the best bowling figures of his career, against

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

at Lord's. After England had lost the 1966 series against the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

, Price, then considered the fastest bowler in England, was selected for the fifth and final Test, but was unable to play due to injury. John Snow, whom he had replaced, returned to the side. Price took another 89 wickets at just 16.51 in 1968, and although age was beginning to tell against him, he took another 80 scalps in 1970. He returned to England colours at the age of 34 in 1971, after six years in the international wilderness, against

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

after

Zaheer Abbas Syed Zaheer Abbas Kirmani PP, (in Punjabi and Urdu: سید ظہیر عباس کرمانی; born 24 July 1947), popularly known as Zaheer Abbas, is a former Pakistani cricketer. He is among few professional cricketers who used to wear spectacles ...

had earlier savaged England's bowling attack. Price took 3 for 29 in Pakistan's first innings, in a rain ruined match at Lord's, and he bowled well in the subsequent series against

, opening the bowling with Snow. More good performances in 1972, including 8 for 85 against Sussex, and 6 for 34 in a Gillette Cup match against Surrey, saw him picked for what turned out to be his last Test against Australia at Lord's, a game in which he hit 19, the second-highest score, in England's disastrous second innings, as

Bob Massie Robert Arnold Lockyer Massie (born 14 April 1947) is a former Australian cricketer who played in six Test matches and three One Day Internationals (ODIs) in 1972 and 1973. A swing bowler, he had a relatively short international career but is ...

swept the tourists to victory. Price appeared in the 1975 Benson & Hedges Cup Final, before retiring at the end of the season.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Price, John 1937 births Living people England Test cricketers Middlesex cricketers People from Harrow, London Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers D. H. Robins' XI cricketers T. N. Pearce's XI cricketers