Alec Bedser

Sir Alec Victor Bedser (4 July 1918 – 4 April 2010) was a professional English cricketer, primarily a medium-fast bowler. He is widely regarded as one of the best English cricketers of the 20th century.

Bedser played first-class cricket for Surrey from 1939 to 1960 alongside his identical twin brother Eric. He took 1924 first-class wickets in 485 matches. He played Test cricket for England from 1946 to 1955, taking 236 wickets in 51 Test matches. He passed Clarrie Grimmett's world record for Test wickets in 1953. He held the record until his final tally was passed by Brian Statham in the 1997 New Year Honours.

Early life and career

Bedser was born in Reading, Berkshire, ten minutes after his identical twin brother Eric (1918–2006). His father was a bricklayer, but had been stationed in Reading with the Royal Air Force during the First World War. The brothers remained inseparable through their lives: they often dressed identically, and shared a bank account; neither married.Rob Steen, ‘Bedser, Sir Alec Victor (1918–2010)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, January 201
accessed 14 February 2014
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Within six months the family moved to Horsell, Surrey, where, at the age of seven, the brothers played their first organised cricket. The family moved to Knaphill, Surrey and then to a house they helped their father to build in Woking. They were educated at Maybury Junior School and then Monument Hill Central School in Woking. Over the next decade, the twin brothers played cricket together for Monument Hill School and Woking Cricket Club. They also both played football for Monument Hill School, both as full backs.

After leaving school, Eric and Alec became clerks at the same firm of solicitors in Lincoln's Inn Fields. They were spotted practising in the nets for Woking Cricket Club by Surrey coach Alan Peach, and he recruited them to the staff at the Oval in 1938. Initially, they were both medium-fast bowlers, but (after Alec won a toss of a coin) Eric became an off spinner instead. They made their first-class débuts for Surrey against Oxford University in June 1939.

Second World War

Their cricket careers were soon interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War. They both joined the RAF police, and were sent to France with the British Expeditionary Force. They both narrowly escaped being shot before being evacuated from Dunkirk, and later served in North Africa, Italy and Austria.

Eric was promoted to Warrant Officer, but Alec refused a similar promotion, staying a flight sergeant so they could continue to serve together. They were demobilised in 1946.

Playing career

Alec Bedser's performances during war-time cricket matches were impressive: in games for the RAF he took 6 wickets for 27 runs (including a hat-trick) against the West Indies and 9 for 36, featuring another hat-trick, against a Metropolitan Police team.

In his first full season for Surrey, in 1946, he passed 100 wickets before July and established himself as a bowler in the England Test team. In each of his first two Tests, against the visiting Indians, he took eleven wickets: 11 for 139 in his début at Lord's, including 7 in the first innings, and 11 for 96 in the next game at Old Trafford, Manchester. His amazing season resulted in his nomination as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1947. He was selected for the 1946–47 Ashes series in Australia and for most of the next decade "carried England's bowling attack".

In Australia he was overbowled and exhausted and found that his natural in-swingers were liked by Australian leg-side batsmen like Sid Barnes. To counter this he gripped the ball across the seam like a spinner and the result was an in-swinging leg-break which would be known as Bedser's "Special Ball". Don Bradman wrote "the ball with which Alec Bedser bowled me in the Adelaide Test Match was, I think, the finest ever to take my wicket. It must have come three-quarters of the way straight on my off-stump, then suddenly dipped in to pitch on the leg stump, only to turn off the pitch and hit the middle and off stumps."

Meanwhile, his brother Eric became an all-rounder in the Surrey team, concentrating on his batting as the team also included spinners such as Jim Laker and Tony Lock. The two were difficult to tell apart, both 6'3" tall and just over 15 stone. Playing for Surrey against an England representative team in 1946, they are reputed to have shared an over – Alec bowling the first three balls and then swapping with Eric fielding at mid-on for Eric to complete the over – without being detected by the batsman, Frank Woolley.

In the 1950-51 Ashes series, Alec began his dominance of Australian batsmen, taking 30 wickets at an average of 16.06 and 10 for 105 in the Fifth Test when he ended Australia's unbeaten run of 26 Tests since 1938. In 1953 at 35, an age by which many fast bowlers have retired from first-class cricket, Bedser demonstrated his longevity by helping England regain the Ashes. He took 39 wickets at an average of 17.48 at home to Australia, including career-best match figures of 14 for 99 in the Nottingham Test.

Bedser founded his success on accuracy of line and length, bowled at a medium pace from a short run-up, using his powerful shoulders and large hands to achieve sharp inswing and surprising batsmen with occasional leg cutters.

Bedser was aged 36 by the first Test of the 1954–55 tour of Australia. He took 1 for 131 as seven catches were dropped off his bowling, including Arthur Morris (153) before he had scored – and England lost by an innings. He was subsequently diagnosed as suffering from shingles and despite a recovery and a green wicket tailor-made for his bowling in the second Test he was dropped from the side, and watched as the younger Frank Tyson and Brian Statham

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