The biggest unfulfilled talentLike so many South Africans during the isolation years, Le Roux had no choice but to pursue his career in county cricket. He joined Sussex, where for many seasons he shared the new ball with the great Imran Khan. At Western Province he was partnered by the finest swing bowler I have seen, Stephen Jefferies.
Newlands is famous for its Cape Doctor, the south-eastern wind, and Le Roux ran in with the wind blowing over his right shoulder towards third man, which naturally aided swing away from the right-hander. Jefferies ran into the wind, which suited his inswing. This made them an exceptionally difficult pair to deal with.
The Cricket Web Uncapped XI | Cricket WebRemembered mainly as the identical twin brother of England’s legendary medium pacer of the immediate post war years, Sir Alec Bedser, it is often forgotten that Eric was a fine cricketer in his own right. He was a mainstay of the Surrey side that won seven consecutive County Championship titles in the 1950s and his place in the team was always secure, even when all of Surrey’s England contingent were available. Over a 17 year career, which did not begin, due to the war, until he was 27, he scored almost 15,000 runs at 24. Those figures may not, at first glance, look too impressive but his home wicket at the Oval was a sporting one through most of his career, and he played many valiant and invaluable innings there. As a bowler Eric took to off spin and accounted for more than 800 victims over his career at less than 25 runs each. For a man who had to play second fiddle to the great Jim Laker, and who also had Tony Lock in his way to getting the ball, it is an impressive record. The Bedser twins were, of course, inseparable so Eric never left Surrey, but he would surely have played for England had he put his own career first, and gone off to one of the weaker counties where he could have been a dominant figure.
Great pick. He was next on my list. Denmark's finest!Ole Mortensen, the big bad Danish bowler from Derbyshire to open the bowling with Rice.
CricZo XI
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3. Amarjeet Kaypee /
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7. Clive Rice o /
8. Jack Newman o /
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10. Padmakar Shivalkar o
11. Ole Mortensen o
This close to picking him.....