Roger Malcolm Prideaux is an English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 former 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 in three Tests

Test cricket

Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...

 for England from 1968 to 1969.

Life and career

A talented, stroke playing opening batsman, he won blues at Cambridge University

University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

 from 1958 to 1960, and began his first-class cricket

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...

 career at 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...

. Moving to Northants

Northamptonshire County Cricket Club

Northamptonshire 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 Northamptonshire. Its limited overs team is called the Northants Steelbacks. The traditional club colour is Maroon. During the...

, he scored a thousand runs in his first season, formed a powerful opening combination with the pugnacious Colin Milburn

Colin Milburn

Colin Milburn was an English cricketer, who played in nine Test matches for England, before an accident led to the loss of much of his sight and prompted his retirement....

 and captained

Captain (cricket)

The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player...

 the county from 1967 to 1970. He marked his Test debut in 1968, against Australia at Headingley

Headingley Stadium

Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....

 with a fine 64, but missed the final Test of the series, at the Oval

The Oval

The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...

, with pleurisy

Pleurisy

Pleurisy is an inflammation of the pleura, the lining of the pleural cavity surrounding the lungs. Among other things, infections are the most common cause of pleurisy....

. His absence allowed the selection of Basil D'Oliveira

Basil D'Oliveira

Basil Lewis D'Oliveira CBE , known affectionately around the world as "Dolly", was a South African-born English cricketer. D'Oliveira was classified as 'coloured' under the apartheid regime, and hence barred from first-class cricket, resulting in his emigration to England...

, and the subsequent controversy led to the abandonment of the 1968/9 tour to South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, for which Prideaux had been selected. He played in two Tests on tour against Pakistan, but was dropped thereafter.

In 1967, Prideaux was elected as the first chairman of the fledgling Professional Cricketers' Association

Professional Cricketers' Association

The Professional Cricketers' Association is the representative body of past and present first-class cricketers in England and Wales, founded in 1967...

. Prideaux ended his long career at Sussex

Sussex County Cricket Club

Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...

, batting in the middle order

Batting order (cricket)

In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batsmen play through their team's innings, there always being two batsmen taking part at any one time...

. He also played for Orange Free State in the early 1970s, and later emigrated to South Africa.

His wife, Ruth, was also involved in international cricket, managing and coaching the England women's cricket team. Under her maiden name of Ruth Westbrook

Ruth Westbrook

Ruth Westbrook played 11 Test matches for the England women's cricket team between 1957/58 and 1963. She married England Test cricketer Roger Prideaux and they are the only married couple to have both played Test cricket. She later coached and managed the England women's team before emigrating to...

, she had earlier played eleven tests between 1957 and 1963, and they are one of the few married couples, who have both played Test cricket.