John Emburey (ENG)
Another new recruit to Lashings for 2008, "Embers" is one of a rare breed - a spinner who plied his trade in international cricket in the 1980s! At his peak, he was probably the best off-spinner in the world and certainly the best in England for a considerable time. His first class career lasted an incredible 24 years, during which he played well over 1,000 First Class and List A games and took 2,255 wickets with a best of 8/40. He was certainly no mug with the bat either, with seven first class centuries to his name and a top score of 133. Not bad for someone who was once described in the media as having three attacking shots: the nurdle to third man, the Chinese cut and the swipe through midwicket! One of Wisden's five Cricketers of the Year in 1984, he also played 64 tests and 61 ODIs for England (either side of a couple of bans for joining rebel tours to South Africa) and was even appointed England captain for a couple of Test matches in 1988. In the last couple of years of his playing career, he was player-coach at Northants, then moved into coaching full time and spent another six years coaching at Middlesex, the county where spent the vast majority of his playing days. However he announced his departure from Middlesex at the beginning of 2008 and joined Lashings as player-coach for the tour to Abu Dhabi in February 2008. On that tour, we discovered that he has most definitely kept himself fit and is still a bowler that cannot be underestimated, picking up a wicket against the Abu Dhabi CC Chairman's XI and then scything through the middle order of the Etihad XI at the Emirates Palace Hotel the following day, finishing with impressive figures of 4/11. He has also taken on a position with the Indian Cricket League, coaching the Ahmedabad Rockets so he's still keeping himself busy, but we're looking forward to seeing him in action once more at Lashings matches this season.
Click here for John's profile on Cricinfo (opens in new window)
