Alec Bedser (South African Cricketer)
Sir Alec Victor Bedser (4 July 1918 – 4 April 2010) was an English professional 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 1963. After retirement as an active cricketer, Bedser became the chairman of selectors for the English national cricket team, and was the president of Surrey County Cricket Club. He was knighted 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 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Reading, Berkshire
Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, England, and the county town of Berkshire. It is the United Kingdom's largest town, with a combined population of 355,596. Most of Reading built-up area, its built-up area lies within the Borough of Reading, although some outer suburbs are parts of neighbouring local authority areas. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet. Reading is a major commercial centre, especially for information technology and insurance. It is also a regional retail centre, serving a large area of the Thames Valley with its shopping centres, including The Oracle, Reading, the Oracle, the Broad Street Mall, and the pedestrianised area around Broad Street. It is home to the University of Reading. Every year it hosts the Reading and Leeds Festivals, Reading Festival, one of England's biggest music festivals. Reading has a professional association football team, Reading F.C., and partici ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1997 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 1997 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries. They were announced on 31 December 1996, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1997 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and the Cook Islands, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Christopher and Nevis.St. Christopher & Nevis list: The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged by honour, with classes (Knight, Knight Grand Cross, ''etc.'') and then divisions (Military, Civil, ''etc.'') as appropriate. United Kingdom Life Peer ;Baroness * Dame Audrey Caroline Emerton, , Chief Officer, Care in the Community, and Co-Chairman, Medical Board, St. Jo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dunkirk
Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-largest French harbour. The population of the commune in 2019 was 86,279. Etymology and language use The name of Dunkirk derives from West Flemish 'dune' or 'dun (fortification), dun' and 'church', thus 'church in the dunes'. A smaller town 25 km (15 miles) farther up the Flemish coast originally shared the same name, but was later renamed Oostduinkerke(n) in order to avoid confusion. Until the middle of the 20th century, French Flemish (the local variety of Dutch language, Dutch) was commonly spoken. History Middle Ages A fishing village arose late in the tenth century, in the originally flooded coastal area of the English Channel south of the Western Scheldt, when the area was held by the County of Flanders, Counts of Flanders, va ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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British Expeditionary Force (World War I)
The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was the formation of British army on the Western Front during World War I. They were sent by Britain to France in 1914 to aid in resisting the German invasion. Originally sent as six divisions the British Army to the Western Front during the First World War. Planning for a British Expeditionary Force began with the 1906–1912 Haldane Reforms of the British Army carried out by the Secretary of State for War Richard Haldane following the Second Boer War (1899–1902). The term ''British Expeditionary Force'' is often used to refer only to the forces present in France prior to the end of the First Battle of Ypres on 22 November 1914. By the end of 1914—after the battles of Mons, Le Cateau, the Aisne and Ypres—the existent BEF had been almost exhausted, although it helped stop the German advance.An alternative endpoint of the BEF was 26 December 1914, when it was divided into the First and Second Armies (a Third, Fourth and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Royal Air Force Police
The Royal Air Force Police (RAFP) is the service police branch of the Royal Air Force, headed by the provost marshal of the Royal Air Force. Its headquarters are at RAF Honington, and it deploys throughout the world to support RAF and UK defence missions. History The RAF Police was formed on 1 April 1918, when the RAF was formed by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service. By the end of World War II there were 500 officers and 20,000 NCOs in the RAF Police. In January 1947, the RAF Provost Branch became a Specialist Branch within the RAF. In December 1950, George VI approved the badge and motto ''Fiat Justitia''. By 2009, the RAF Police had served in 66 countries around the globe. Uniform and insignia RAF Police non-commissioned officers and warrant officers are noticeable by their white-topped caps (giving rise to their nickname of "Snowdrops"), which they have worn since 1945, and by black and red flashes worn below their rank slides. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Off Spin
Off spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A bowler who uses this technique is called an off spinner. Off spinners bowl with their right-arm and a finger spin action. Their normal delivery is called an off break, which spins from left to right (from the bowler's perspective) when the ball bounces on the pitch. For a right-handed batsman, the ball breaks towards them from the off side, hence the name 'off break'. Off spinners bowl mostly off breaks, varying them by adjusting the line and length of the deliveries. Off spinners also bowl other types of delivery, which spin differently. Aside from these variations in spin, varying the speed, length and flight of the ball are also important for the off spinner. The bowler with the most wickets in the history of both Test matches and ODIs, Muttiah Muralitharan, was an off spinner. History Although rare now, in the past there were bowlers who used the off-break action who deliberately did not impart any considerable spin on t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fast Bowling
Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is a type of bowling in cricket, in which the ball is delivered at high speed. The fastest bowlers bowl the ball at over . Practitioners of fast bowling are known as fast bowlers or quicks. Also included in this broad category are bowlers who do not achieve the highest speeds, who may instead be known by a range of other terms, such as medium fast bowlers. In addition to delivering the ball at speed, this type of bowler may also use seam bowling or swing bowling techniques, to make it even harder for the batter to play the ball correctly. The mixture of speed, seam and swing that can be achieved depends on several factors, including the individual bowler's skill, the condition of the ball, and the weather. Seam and swing are particularly important for bowlers who do not achieve the highest speeds. Therefore, they might also be referred to as a seam bowler, a swing bowler, or a fast bowler who can swing it, for example, if this i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Oval
The Oval, currently named for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since it was opened in 1845. It was the first ground in England to host international Test cricket in September 1880. The final Test match of the English season is traditionally played there. In addition to cricket history, The Oval has hosted a number of other historically significant sporting events. In 1870, it staged the first representative football match between England and Scotland, although this is not deemed to be an official international by FIFA. It hosted the first FA Cup final in 1872, as well as those between 1874 and 1892. In 1876, it held both the England v. Wales and England v. Scotland rugby international matches and, in 1877, rugby's first varsity match. It also hosted the finals of the 2004 & 2017 ICC Champions Trophy ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alan Peach
Herbert Alan Peach (6 October 1890 – 8 October 1961) was an English cricketer who played for Surrey County Cricket Club, Surrey. He was an all-rounder: a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium pace bowler. Alan Peach was born in Maidstone, Kent. World War I delayed his first-class cricket, first-class debut until 1919, when he was already 28, but in a career that extended until 1931 he still managed to take 795 wickets at 26.58 and score 8,940 runs at 23.71. The highest of his four hundreds was 200 not out, made against Northamptonshire County Cricket Club, Northamptonshire at Northampton in 1920, when he shared in a stand of 171 in forty-two minutes with Percy Fender.Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 1962 Edition, "Obituaries in 1961" Retrieved 1 Sept 2022 [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lincoln's Inn Fields
Lincoln's Inn Fields is located in Holborn and is the List of city squares by size, largest public square in London. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a long series of entrepreneurs who took a hand in developing London", as Sir Nikolaus Pevsner observes. The original plan for "laying out and planting" these fields, drawn by the hand of Inigo Jones, was said still to be seen in Lord Pembroke's collection at Wilton House in the 19th century, but its location is now unknown. The West End of London, West End grounds, which had remained private property, were acquired by London County Council in 1895 and opened to the public by its chairman, Sir John Hutton, the same year. The square is today managed by the London Borough of Camden and forms part of the southern boundary of that borough with the City of Westminster. Lincoln's Inn Fields takes its name from the adjacent Lincoln's Inn, of whic ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Full Back (association Football)
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers, and wing-backs. The centre-back and full-back positions are most common in modern formations. The sweeper and wing-back roles are more specialised, often limited to certain formations dependent on the manager's style of play and tactics. Centre-back The centre-back (also known as a central defender or centre-half, as the modern role of the centre-back arose from the centre-half position) defends in the area directly in front of the goal and tries to prevent opposing players, particularly centre-forwards, from scoring. Centre-backs accomplish this by blocking shots, tackling, intercepting passes, contesting headers and marking forwards to discourage the opposing team from passing to them. Centre-backs are often tall and positioned ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Knaphill, Surrey
Knaphill is a village in Surrey, England, between Woking to the east and Farnborough to the west; to the south and north on the A322 – its western border – are Brookwood, and Bisley. Some of the village is on a hill, hence its name. History The village name was first recorded in 1225 as ''La Cnappe''. Since then there have been various spellings of the name including Nap Hill, Naphill and Knap Hill. In 958 A.D., the village was probably part of land granted to Westminster Abbey; there is clear ownership by 1278. The land passed to Henry VIII on the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1530s. The Basingstoke Canal was built to the south of Knaphill in 1794 and the railway line came in 1838. In 1859, a prison was built in Knaphill. This was later converted into army barracks. Today Knaphill has three schools: Knaphill Lower School, Knaphill Junior School and St John's Primary School. Theatre company Peer Productions is based at the Woking Youth Arts Centre i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |