Sir Alec Victor Bedser biography
Sir Alec Victor Bedser, English cricketer (born July 4, 1918, Reading, Berkshire, Eng.—died April 4, 2010, Woking, Surrey, Eng.), was one of many all-time biggest of English fast-medium bowlers and the mainstay of the England assault in the course of the post-World War II years; his 236 Test wickets stood as a world report from 1955 till 1963. Bedser and his identical-twin brother, Eric (who died in 2006), joined the Surrey floor workers in 1938, and Alec made his first-class debut the next summer time. After service in World War II, Bedser returned to Surrey in 1946 and, with solely 12 first-class matches behind him, was chosen for the Test sequence towards India. In the primary Test, at Lord’s, Bedser took 11 wickets, adopted by one other 11 within the second Test at Old Trafford, ending the sequence with 24 wickets. On the winter tour to Australia in 1946–47, by which he took 16 wickets, he developed a leg cutter, which he used with nice impact. Bedser took 30 wickets within the 1950–51 Ashes sequence and 39 within the 1953 sequence, together with 14 for 99 within the first Test at Trent Bridge, by which England regained the Ashes for the primary time since 1932–33. Against Australia, he took 104 wickets in 21 Tests, together with 6 towards Don Bradman, twice for nought. Illness ended Bedser’s Test profession in 1955. He and his brother had been important members of the Surrey workforce that received seven successive county championships between 1952 and 1958; the next season Bledser served as captain within the absence of Peter May. In first-class cricket Bedser performed 485 matches, taking 1,924 wickets (common 20.41), with a best-bowling evaluation of 8 wickets for 18 runs. He made 5,735 runs in 576 innings (common 14.51), with one century, and took 289 catches. In 51 Test matches, he took 236 wickets (common 24.89), with a best-bowling evaluation of seven wickets for 44 runs. He scored 714 runs in 71 innings (common 12.75) and took 26 catches. After retiring from first-class cricket in 1960, Bedser served as an England selector for a report 23 years (1961–85), 13 as chairman (1968–81). He additionally managed the 1974–75 and 1979–80 excursions of Australia and was president of Surrey in 1987. Having been made OBE (1964) and CBE (1982), Bedser was knighted in 1997 for providers to cricket.