John Edrich, high-scoring and fearless England batsman who was at his best in a crisis –...

[ASFN Admin]

John Edrich, who has died aged 83, was one of the most prolific, and also one of the most underrated, of all England batsmen. The 5,138 runs he scored at an average of 43.54 in 77 Tests between 1963 and 1976 exceeded the totals of all other England left-handers, with the sole exception of David Gower, who played in 40 more Tests. As an opener, moreover, Edrich had to face the full, fresh fury of Hall and Griffith, Proctor and Pollock, Lillee and Thompson, Holding and Roberts. Still more impressive, Edrich did exceptionally well against Australia, always the ultimate standard for judging any English batsman. Edrich made 2,644 runs against the old enemy, compiled at an average of 48.96. This compares with Denis Compton’s 2,111 @ 42.83 against Australia, Peter May’s 1,566 @ 46.05, Colin Cowdrey’s 2,433 at 34.26; Ted Dexter’s 1,358 @ 38.80 and Graham *****’s 2,387 @34.59. Averages, of course, do not tell the whole story, whatever Geoff Boycott may have believed – and even his average (47.50) against Australia was less than Edrich’s, despite his having temporarily retired from the fray when Lillee and Thomson were in their prime. Yet Edrich never received anything remotely approaching the réclame of the players he so often outperformed; indeed, for long periods his place in the England team was in doubt. In 1964, for instance, he made a century in his first Test against Australia, only to be dropped after two more Tests. In 1965 it required an extraordinary glut of runs (1,001 runs in eight innings at an average of 166) for Edrich to regain his place for the third Test Match against New Zealand at Headingley. Though it took him half an hour to get off the mark, he seized his opportunity to the extent of making 310 not out. Ted Dexter, writing on this innings, commented on “a power and certainty of timing that even Bradman might have envied”. But the purists were never satisfied by Edrich. They complained that his technique was unsound; that he lacked classical elegance; that he did not move his feet; and that he played and missed too often outside the off stump.

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