John Ernest Emburey (born 20 August 1952) is a former 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 played for

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 ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

, Western Province,

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He was a part of the English squad which finished as runners-up at the

1987 Cricket World Cup The 1987 Cricket World Cup (officially known as the Reliance Cup 1987 for sponsorship reasons) was the fourth Cricket World Cup. It was held from 8 October to 8 November 1987 in India and Pakistan – the first such tournament to be held outsid ...

. According to cricket writer Colin Bateman, Emburey's participation in two

South African rebel tours The South African rebel tours were a series of seven cricket tours staged between 1982 and 1990. They were known as the rebel tours because the international cricketing bodies banned South Africa from competitive international cricket througho ...

"cost him six lost years as far as Test cricket was concerned... and, more significantly, probably an extended run as England captain, a job for which he was better suited than some who held the position post-

Mike Brearley John Michael Brearley (born 28 April 1942) is a retired English first-class cricketer who captained Cambridge University, Middlesex, and England. He was the captain of the English squad which finished as runners-up at the 1979 Cricket World ...

Playing career

Emburey was a right arm spin bowler and a slightly eccentric but useful lower-order batsman with the style of a grafter. He was more notable as an economical performer than a "demon" spin bowler, but on his day could leave the best batsmen groping outside off-stump. One of his dangerous balls was his arm ball outswinger. Emburey was named a

Wisden Cricketer of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based "primarily for their influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...

in 1984. Emburey played an understated but significant role in England's storied victory in

the Ashes The Ashes is a Test cricket series played biennially between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, '' The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, ...

in 1981, notably in the important fourth Test at

Edgbaston Edgbaston () is a suburb of Birmingham, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It lies immediately south-west of Birmingham city centre, and was historically in Warwickshire. The Ward (electoral subdivision), wards of Edgbaston and Nort ...

, where he contributed runs and wickets as England took the lead in the series for the first time. According to the ''

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

'' report on the match, while

Ian Botham Ian Terence Botham, Baron Botham (born 24 November 1955) is an English cricket commentator, member of the House of Lords, a former cricketer who has been chairman of Durham County Cricket Club since 2017 and charity fundraiser. Hailed as one of ...

"was again named

Man of the Match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

... Emburey would have been the choice of many". In all Emburey featured in four Ashes series won by England, in 1978–9, 1981, 1985, and 1986-7 (as well as in two defeats in 1989 and 1993). He also played for England (on the losing side) in the 1987

Cricket world cup The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup is a quadrennial world cup for cricket in One Day International (ODI) format, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The tournament is one of the world's most viewed sporting events and consid ...

final. Emburey was briefly made England Test captain in 1988, the notorious " Summer of four captains". Mike Gatting was sacked after the first Test match against the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

and Emburey was appointed for two matches, both of which were lost. Emburey too was fired and was replaced by

Chris Cowdrey Christopher Stuart Cowdrey (born 20 October 1957) is a former English cricketer. Cowdrey played for Kent, Glamorgan and England as an all-rounder. He is the eldest son of the cricketer and life peer, Colin Cowdrey, Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge. H ...

for the fourth Test. Cowdrey lasted just one match, replaced in turn by

Graham Gooch Graham Alan Gooch, (born 23 July 1953) is a former English first-class cricketer who captained Essex and England. He was one of the most successful international batsmen of his generation, and through a career spanning 1973 until 1997, he was ...

. While not a successful Test captain, Emburey had some successes captaining England in one-day international cricket, leading them to victory (in the absence of Gatting and Botham) in the Sharjah Cup in 1986–7. Emburey was the only cricketer to go on both the England rebel tours to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in 1981/2 and 1989/90; the rebels were banned from

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

matches because of the

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

régime, although it both cases Emburey was eventually restored to the England test team (respectively in 1985 and 1993). Emburey said of his decision to join the second rebel tour: "In hindsight it was a mistake. But at the time my decision was purely monetary. I'd lost my benefit money in a building society in Australia." According to Graham Gooch's published tour diary, Emburey had dressed up as a member of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

at a fancy dress party on tour just before the news of the first rebel tour broke. Later in his Test career, Emburey tended to be picked for single Tests in England, as happened in 1993 against Australia, when statistically, he was the leading all rounder in the country, and 1995 against the West Indies. Broadly from 1987 his bowling was less effective in test cricket, although his batting became more successful; from February 1987 his Test wickets averaged almost twice as much as they had before. At county level, Emburey's

career coincided with that of

Phil Edmonds Philippe-Henri Edmonds (born 8 March 1951) is a former cricketer who represented England at international level and Middlesex at county level. After retiring he became a successful, albeit controversial, corporate executive. He was a part of th ...

. The right and left arm spin combination was a powerful contribution towards Middlesex's successes in the 1980s. They also combined at England level, although the pair also sometimes competed for the same place in the Test team. A highlight of Emburey's Middlesex career was taking 12 wickets in a single day in a championship match at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...

in 1980. He scored the winning runs from the last ball as Middlesex won the final of the

NatWest Bank Trophy The Friends Provident Trophy was a one-day cricket competition in the United Kingdom. It was one of the four tournaments in which the eighteen first-class counties competed each season. They were joined by teams from Scotland Scotland ...

in 1984, and was

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

when Middlesex won the

Benson & Hedges Cup The Benson & Hedges Cup was a one-day cricket competition for first-class counties in England and Wales that was held from 1972 to 2002, one of cricket's longest sponsorship deals. It was the third major one-day competition established in Engla ...

final in 1986 (in both cases defeating

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

). Between 1977 and 1993, the County won the

County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...

outright five times, with one shared title in 1977. Emburey holds the dubious distinction of being the highest England Test run-scorer never to have made a Test century. Emburey held the batting record for the highest innings made entirely from boundaries. Despite his chronic lack of footwork, he scored 46 for the England XI against

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

in 1986–87, with ten fours and a six. Whilst not the most agile in the field, he seldom dropped anything, pulling off many a stunning catch, often at gully, and had an excellent arm in the deep.

Coaching and other activities

Emburey coached the England A cricket team to a 3–0 win in India in 1995, and was considered for the position of manager for the senior side, but lost out to David Lloyd (whom he assisted for two test series in the

and

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

). He subsequently coached

Northamptonshire County Cricket Club Northamptonshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Northamptonshire. Its limited overs team is called the Northa ...

from 1996 but was sacked in 1998 after a string of poor results. In 2001, he became coach for

Middlesex County Cricket Club Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Middlesex which has effectively been subsumed within the ceremonial ...

, but was sacked in 2008. In 2007, after

Greg Chappell Gregory Stephen Chappell (born 7 August 1948) is a former cricketer who represented Australia at international level in both Tests and One-Day Internationals (ODI). The second of three brothers to play Test cricket, Chappell was the pre-eminent ...

left his position as India head coach, Emburey was shortlisted for the job, but declined it. In February 2008, he signed on as the coach of the Ahmedabad Rockets, one of the expansion teams in the second season of the

Indian Cricket League The Indian Cricket League (ICL) was a short-lived cricket league that ran from 2007 to 2009. It was sponsored by Zee Entertainment Enterprises, a media company. The ICL had two seasons, featuring four international teams and nine domestic teams ...

. As of May 2018, he works as a scout for the

England and Wales Cricket Board The England and Wales Cricket Board, aka ECB, is the Sports governing body, national governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was formed on 1 January 1997 as a single governing body to combine the roles formerly fulfilled by the Test ...

Personal life

Politically, Emburey is a Conservative, and once appeared on stage at a Conservative Party conference in the 1980s alongside England teammate Bill Athey. In May 2014, he stated that he had

skin cancer Skin cancers are cancers that arise from the Human skin, skin. They are due to the development of abnormal cells (biology), cells that have the ability to invade or metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. It occurs when skin cells grow ...

, attributing it to playing cricket without

sunscreen Sunscreen, also known as sunblock, sun lotion or sun cream, is a photoprotection, photoprotective topical product for the Human skin, skin that helps protect against sunburn and prevent skin cancer. Sunscreens come as lotions, sprays, gels, fo ...

or a hat. He is married, with a wife and has two daughters.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Emburey, John 1952 births Living people English cricket coaches Middlesex cricket coaches Presidents of Middlesex County Cricket Club England One Day International cricketers England Test cricketers English cricketers of 1969 to 2000 20th-century English sportsmen England Test cricket captains Berkshire cricketers English cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Middlesex cricketers Northamptonshire cricketers Western Province cricketers Wisden Cricketers of the Year People from Peckham Cricketers from the London Borough of Southwark Cricketers at the 1987 Cricket World Cup Test and County Cricket Board XI cricketers D. B. Close's XI cricketers D. H. Robins' XI cricketers Young England cricketers