Brian Langford

Brian Langford

Personal information
Full name	Brian Anthony Langford
Born	17 December 1935 Birmingham, England
Died	12 February 2013 (aged 77)[1] Birmingham, England
Batting style	Right-handed
Bowling style	Right-arm offbreak
Role	Spin bowler
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1953–1974	Somerset
First-class debut	6 June 1953 Somerset v Lancashire
Last First-class	31 August 1974 Somerset v Derbyshire
List A debut	22 May 1963 Somerset v Glamorgan
Last List A	11 July 1973 Somerset v Leicestershire
Career statistics
Competition First-class List A Matches 510 66 Runs scored 7588 441 Batting average 13.59 12.97 100s/50s 0/14 0/1 Top score 68* 56 Balls bowled 89275 2585 Wickets 1410 65 Bowling average 24.79 24.24 5 wickets in innings 83 0 10 wickets in match 16 n/a Best bowling 9/26 4/73 Catches/stumpings 229/– 19/–
Source: CricketArchive, 7 October 2009

Brian Anthony Langford (17 December 1935 – 12 February 2013) was an English first-class cricketer who played as an off-spin bowler for Somerset. He captained the county from 1969 until 1971 and his career tally of 1390 wickets ranks him third in the county's history, behind only Jack White and Arthur Wellard.^[2]

Langford made his debut for Somerset in 1953 at the Recreation Ground, Bath with an unremarkable appearance against Lancashire, taking just one wicket in an innings and 24 run loss.^[3] In the next match against Kent, starting the following day on the same ground, he took 8/96 in the first innings, bowling a 41 over spell to see the innings through. He helped secure victory for Somerset with another 6 wickets in the second innings.^[4] At only 17 years and 5 months, this ten-wicket haul made him the youngest player to do so in the County Championship, a record that stood until May 2007, when James Harris completed the feat a few days after his 17th birthday.^[5] A third game without break on the ground against Leicestershire brought further success for Langford, although his 6/53 in the first innings and 5/81 in the second weren't enough to prevent Somerset from slipping to a 144 run loss.^[6] Unfortunately for Somerset and Langford, the 26 wickets he took his opening three matches for the county accounted for just over half of his season's total, as he took just 25 more in the remaining 15 matches in 1953.^[7]

In a game against Lancashire in 1958, Langford finished the match with 15 wickets for 54 runs. This is the second best match figures for Somerset and his first innings' 9/26 is the third best performance in an innings. He finished the year with 116 wickets, a career best.

In 1969, he had the following remarkable analysis in the John Player League (40 over List A match) against Essex at Yeovil: 8 overs, 8 maidens, 0 runs, 0 wickets.^[8] He remains the only person to have bowled a full complement of overs in a List A match without conceding a single run.

External links

• Player profile: Brian Langford from ESPNcricinfo
• Player profile: Brian Langford from CricketArchive

Notes

1. Somerset mourns loss of former cricket captain Brian Langford, thisisthewestcountry.co.uk, 12 February 2013
2. "Most Wickets for Somerset". CricketArchive. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
3. "Somerset v Lancashire". CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
4. "Somerset v Kent". CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
5. James, Steve (12 June 2007). "Scouting report: James Harris, Glamorgan". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
6. "Somerset v Leicestershire". CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
7. "First-class Bowling in Each Season by Brian Langford". CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
8. "Somerset v Essex". CricketArchive. Retrieved 7 October 2009.