By Primrose Hillbilly
March 8 2021

Here is part 2 of Primrose Hillbilly's account on the Phil Edmonds and how he fitted in with Middlesex and the England set up.   

How many times is it not just one thing, but a multitude, that contributes to something, and let’s speculate on these. 

Phil and Brears were once Middlesex dressing room allies. Middlesex had serially underperformed throughout the ‘50’s and 60’s. For most of that time the only competition was the single division CC, leaving most teams with only pride to play for after mid July – not even the threat of relegation and replacement by a minor county. The Gillete only started in 1963. It was too cosy, and probably affected performances. Middlesex had the possibly perfect blend of players, as several played a few Tests, but weren’t quite good enough to hold down a Test spot. So, without the disruption of Test selection, those settled teams had everything in their favour. Yet they won nothing after the Compton and Edrich dominated 1948 win. 

Brearley inherited this culture in 1971. He had Russell, Titmus, the premier all rounder of the late 60’s, regularly doing the 1,000 runs, 100 wickets double, fast bowler John Price and wicket keeper J T Murray as experienced pro’s who had played for England. 

In one meeting, Titmus remarked, “There’s those of us here who know too much about cricket to be doing with this “thinking”, don’t we, J.T?”, firing a shot across his captain’s bows. So, there. They still rose 10 places in the CC, though. 

Phil played 5 matches in 1971, coming down for the long vac. He probably put some of the old guard’s backs up even then, as, later on, he remarked “Even when I had a forelock, I wasn’t prone to tugging it”, and the deferential English middle class culture of those times just wasn’t in his DNA. Also, he was a big lad and played rugby for the Uni which included against some Welsh teams. His refusal to take second best was seen as a breath of fresh air by Brearley. However, they still had to wait for the old guard to retire, as the skipper also – this is speculation – probably had to deal with an even more conservative committee then, and the old guard would have had their supporters. 

J T departed in 1975. By 1976, only Titmus remained. As well as Phil, a batch of talent was starting to break through from the Seconds, nurtured by Don Bennett. Barlow, Butcher, another Cambridge grad, called Selvey, two brothers Gatting, a bloke from Surrey called Emburey, a wicket keeper called Gould, were all knocking on the door or starting to establish themselves. Experience was provided by solid team man Radley and opener Mike Smith, a friend of Brearley’s. Brearley took responsibility for managing an allegedly difficult fast bowler called Jones who was on his third county by then, on a short term contract. They were all Brearley’s men. 

And yet, and yet ........... In the CC of those days, your first innings closed at 100 overs, and you got 4 batting points for 150, 200, 250 and 300. Scoring rates averaged about less than 2.5 an over mostly – I kid you not. You got 4 bowling points for bowling a side out. So, you got off to a good start, not losing wickets early, and then had to thrash it in the last 20 overs. Brearley was never a boundary clearer, (nor were the others, until Gatting and Butcher were in the side). So, the middle and late middle order had to compensate. Phil liked batting, and had good claims to all rounder status then – 632 runs, 64 wickets in 1976. He found it irksome that he was required to go in and start slogging straight off, when his skipper had just compiled 68 off 42........overs. 

Brearley had inherited the Titmus philosophy of “keep it tight and they will get themselves out”. However, his 1976 attack was – Selvey, Jones, Lamb, Titmus, Featherstone and Phil. In 1977, he also had the combined strike weapon, battering ram, enforcer, in the glorious Wayne Daniel, bowling against county batsmen. He refined his philosophy, knowing Wayne was unlikely to go for many, and by the time the spinners came on, the oppo would need to take massive chances. Phil reckoned he could get any batsman out every time he bowled, and would pitch it up to entice the drive. Sometimes that ball went for 4, and upset the masterplan. 

Brearley wanted to set a run saving field with only a slip and turn the screw. Phil wanted close in catchers, and a couple out for the lofted shot from the word go. 

Brearley became first choice England captain after Tony Grieg joined the Packer circus, having been vice captain for the 1976 / ‘7 tour of India that Phil did not go on. Deadly had gone to Packer too, and Phil took the opportunity, albeit against weak New Zealand and Pakistan teams, having already taken 7 – 66 in Pakistan the winter before, when his Dad stalked me, in Phil’s company car. A bloke called Emburey made his debut with Phil at the other end against New Zealand. 

. “At this point, we drift apart. A dagger you have placed, he said, right through my strawberry tart”. In 1978 – 79, Brearley led England, with Phil in the 16, on an Ashes series in Australia. 

They rowed, about as spectacularly badly as possible, in the middle of the dressing room, one lunch break. It didn’t come to blows as happened in 1973, but it they had to be forcibly parted before the vice captain was called upon to lead the side out after lunch. Brearley took exception to Phil’s fulfilling of his twelfth man duties after being left out of the first Test side. Boycott advised him to check he had his swimming trunks and plenty of sun oil, as he wasn’t going to see much cricket after that. England won the Ashes 5 – 1. Brearley established his reputation as a cricket captain, backed by Willis and Botham at their peak against a side weakened by Packer taking both Chappells, Lillee, Walters, Marsh, Walker and Mallett . A bloke called Emburey did well. 

They must have patched it up, because Phil was in the ODI side still, though, and the next year England hosted the World Cup. Phil was the stand out bowler in the final. When Collis King and Viv were putting everyone else to the sword, he bowled his 12 overs for 40, achieving the best economy rate, and took 2 wickets in a total of 286. He even made it back into the Test side against India for a 4 Test Series. 

Brearley came back to Middlesex full time, handing over temporarily to Botham. Upon hearing about an additional “once in a lifetime” additional overseas signing, that the committee hoped he’d be pleased about, he was reported to have said “I wanted someone fast and nasty, not a medium pacer”, but had to settle for an attack of Wayne, Selvey, Phil, Emburey, and this medium pacer, called Vintcent van der Bijl, 6’6” tall, built like the proverbial brick outhouse privy, generating steepling bounce and seam movement at about 80 mph, supplemented by Simon Hughes and Bill Merry. VAPvdB’s run up resembled someone running to the crease to prevent himself from overbalancing, so big was his upper body. Downton regularly took the ball at chest level or higher, standing back. The lift generated off a good length was truly frightening. A Terminator with a massive bald cranium and oversize chest was running at you, and the release of the ball always came as a bit of a surprise because there was no discernible delivery stride. Facing Vintcent and Wayne, armed with a new ball, must have been almost psychedelically terrifying. Openers must have dreamed of facing Selvey at first change. When Botham captained England against Australia in the Centenary Test, most agreed the Middlesex attack would have troubled Australia more, even though that bloke Emburey was in both. 

1980 was “that season”. Middlesex won both County Championship and the Gillette Cup. Phil took 34 CC wickets, Wayne 67, that bloke Emburey took 61 ...keep it tight......... VAPvdB took 85 and made 331 runs, with a bat looking like a child’s toy in his enormous paws. 

When Brearley returned to England, Middlesex trialled various alternates, to plan for the succession. Phil was one of them, and I saw him captain an attack including Wayne and Simon Hughes on a sun killed dead track v Gloucestershire and the bat twirling Sadiq Mohammed. Later, the eminence grise let it be known they had looked at various candidates, and decided against Edmonds. – Probably unnecessary, as Middlesex quite clearly selected someone else as captain, so decided against him, but there you go. When later asked to complete a questionnaire, including the question, “What was most positive effect on your career?” Phil wrote, “The retirement of Mike Brearley”. MiaOWW! 

After Brearley retired a second time, Fletcher took England on a terrible tour of India, where, having gone one nil down in the first Test, his cunning plan was to try to “out negative” the Indians, which suited them perfectly, so the rest of the Tests ended in draws. Phil’s rep as a “bad tourist” probably saved him, and I can’t see him buying in to that strategy, anyway. 

Willis took over, and Phil was recalled for the home series. With a firm Brearley disciple as captain, and the eyes of the establishment on him, he distinguished himself by being caught on camera offering advice from close short leg to an Indian batsmen, which – because it was him, probably wasn’t seen as the “done thing” despite the abuse the Aussie’s regularly dished out (and still do). England turned to Eddie Hemmings (oh, God ........) Geoff Miller and Vic Marks for the Tests against Pakistan, despite Phil’s record against them. 

Willis’ wanted his spinner to keep an end tight, so he, Botham and other seamers could rotate from the other. Imaginative and flexible he was not. In the 1983 second Test against New Zealand, Phil was trying to keep a rampant Richard Hadlee quiet, with England only having made 252 batting first. After Hadlee had walked down the wicket to slog him, Phil gave him something new to think about, and off his normal run up, unleashed a rapid bouncer that zipped past Hadlee’s nose, to be taken by the keeper. Then, to show who really was boss, he did it again. Unfortunately, that invoked the one bouncer an over rule, so he was no-balled, Willis was furious, and claimed Phil was failing to consider the safety of the wicket keeper ........... Phil’s rejoinder was that the keeper was Bob Taylor, the alleged best in the world, he had taken the ball safely, so what was the problem, as it had put Hadlee off his stride? He did not play the last two tests, and did not go on the Ashes tour. Willis would have been in the dressing room when Phil and Brearley had their disagreement, let’s remember. 

England selectors were unanimous on one thing for a few years, it was A B E. - Anyone But Edmonds.