Brian Statham

(John) Brian Statham (born June 17, 1930, Manchester; died June 10, 2000, Stockport, Cheshire) was one of the finest bowlers in the history of cricket. Initially a bowler of a brisk fast-medium pace, Statham was able to remodel his action to generate enough speed to become genuinely fast. This, together with unflagging accuracy and the ability to make the ball - new or old - break back, made Statham a consistent force both for Lancashire in the County Championship and in Test cricket, where his strikepower helped give England its strongest attack of the twentieth century during the 1950s. In all, he took 252 wickets in Test matches, a tally bettered only by Freddie Trueman at the time.

Noteworthy feats

• Statham's first-class career bowling average of 16.37 is the lowest among any bowler since 1900 who has taken over 2000 first-class wickets.
• His average of 10.91 in the 1960 County Championship is the third lowest by any bowler playing more than ten matches in that competition since 1894.