MTWD keeps up with the Times

Brilliant link, enjoyable reading, Thanks Ged.

Instinctively, I'm working on other names not mentioned and can think of 2 other recent heroes worthy of 2nd X1 and one some might say make first X1. Then again, what do I know?

Barmy Kev
I'm only here for the tele

Ged!!

No Fred??

Embers instead!!

Actually the Fred or Embers decision was the toughest one on my list.

I plugged for Embers in the end because he consistently excelled himself in his Ashes appearances, whereas Fred's Ashes efforts were not his highest point. It was an article on Ashes Heroes after all.

Similarly Bill Edrich did not have an exceptional Ashes record, despite his superb showing in first class and other test appearances.

No right or wrong in this and well worth debate.

By all means put an alternative case for Fred ahead of Embers, Dingy Bags.

I can't put a rational case. It's impossible for me! I'm biased on the subject! Fred was my first cricketing hero, as I've written on here before.

That's a fair bit more rational an argument than some of the stuff we read around here, Dingy Bags!

Oh, Ged, do please say that you had Phillipe Henri Edmonds down as twelfth man, so he could annoy Brearley (I'm guessing you have Brears as captain(?)), because then, when they have their dressing room row, to parallel the original incident, we could then really have art imitating life, and have tbe two Cambridge men prised apart by none other than ..............our Bowling Coach John (JK) Lever, as was related either by Simon Barnes in his book on PHE or John Woodcock ! - A bit tenuous, as JK never played for us, but the row was an off the pitch incident anyway!

Cor.....who to leave out out or who doesn't even make the Middx Ashes Second team, once you start thinking of who else you could consider in addition to your nominees, - Nobby Cowans, Edmonds, Downton,..didn't the Aussie fast bowler Alan Connelly play a season for us ?.......John Price.....

I was told that Gubby Allen wouldn't bowl bodyline, and told Jardine that he wouldn't, so to still pick up the odd one or two really was doing it then. Wasn't it a 6 Test tour that time?

Lots of good points there, Primrose. In terms of nearly men, we haven't even mentioned Angus, who surely would be worth a second team slot.

Edmonds did appear under Brearley's captaincy in Ashes encounters, of course. Didn't Phil make his fifer on taboo in an Ashes encounter under Brears?

This would be my second X1.

Jack Hearne (also a useful bowler)
Andrew Strauss
Justin Langer
Bill Edrich
Peter Parfitt
Paul Downton (WK)
Fred Titmus
Phil Edmonds
Gus Fraser
Alan Connelly
Albert Trott ( who played both for Engalnd And Oz)

I think it was under the inter-regnum period of Tony Grieg that PHE took his fifer at Headingley, and the pitch was dug up in protest at George Davis' innocence.

- It shows you how some things live on - there's still a graffitto on a wall in Whitechapel claiming that our George was framed to this day!

Isn't he due for parole soon? George, not PHE; that is.

Some good names there, CBG, but what about Cowans, Bosenquet, Ramps........

Surely some other names spring to mind folks. then we can juggle three teams perhaps!

Gubby Allen included but not either Larwood or Mr Jardine, behave. Allen was a traitor.

If you had read the article just a little more carefully, Mr Duck, perhaps you would have twigged its fundamental premise.

Neither Larwood nor Jardine ever played for Middlesex, as far as I know.

As for Gubby Allen being a traitor, if you mean that he refused to bowl a bodyline, I suspect that 21 wickets at a reasonable rate in a winning cause during that series suggests that he might just have known what he was doing.

Ged, Mr Jardine wishes he played for Middlesex