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 of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

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

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

in 1947 as a 17-year-old lower-order batsman and

leg break Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A bowler who uses this technique is called a leg spinner. Leg spinners bowl with their right-arm and a wrist spin action. The leg spinner's normal delivery is called a leg break, which spins from ...

bowler. In his first match, against

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, 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 ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

, five for 53 in his third against

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

and five for 54 in his fourth and final match of 1947 against

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. 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 a ...

as Middlesex

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

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 Epping Forest District, Epping Forest, Essex, within the Greater London Urban Area and adjacent to the northern boundary of the London Borough of Redbridge. The area developed following the opening ...

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, club and schools cricket. Overview The magazine was founded in 1921 by Sir Pelham Warner, an ex-England captain turned cric ...

'', 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 the London Borough of Barnet Deaths from aneurysm Middlesex cricketers 20th-century English sportsmen