Brian Langford
Encyclopedia
Brian Anthony Langford is a former English first-class
cricket
er 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
.
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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
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.
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who played as an off-spin bowler for Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of 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
Jack White (cricketer)
John Cornish White, known as "Farmer" or "Jack", was an English cricketer who played for Somerset and England. White was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1929...
and Arthur Wellard
Arthur Wellard
Arthur William Wellard was a cricketer who played for Somerset and England. A late starter in county cricket, having been told by his native county, Kent, that he would be better off taking up a career as a policeman, Wellard played on into his late 40s...
.
Langford made his debut for Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
in 1953
1953 English cricket season
The 1953 English cricket season saw a tight Test series between England and Australia that was settled, after four drawn matches, in the final Test at The Oval, where England won to reclaim The Ashes for the first time since the Bodyline series of 1932/33....
at the Recreation Ground, Bath with an unremarkable appearance against Lancashire
Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then...
, taking just one wicket in an innings and 24 run loss. In the next match against Kent
Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of 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. At only 17 years and 5 months, this ten-wicket haul made him the youngest player to do so in the County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
, a record that stood until May 2007, when James Harris
James Harris (cricketer)
James Alexander Russell Harris is a cricketer who is on the staff of Glamorgan. An all-rounder, Harris is a right arm seam bowler and right-handed batsman. He was the youngest person ever to play for Glamorgan 2nd XI, aged 14 years and 353 days and the youngest person to have played for Wales...
completed the feat a few days after his 17th birthday. A third game without break on the ground against Leicestershire
Leicestershire County Cricket Club
Leicestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Leicestershire. It has also been representative of the county of Rutland....
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. 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.
In a game against Lancashire
Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then...
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
Essex County Cricket Club
Essex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Essex. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles, their team colours this season are blue.The club plays most of its home games...
at Yeovil: 8 overs, 8 maidens, 0 runs, 0 wickets.