Brian Langford

Birmingham born, offspinner Brian Langford was nevertheless a Somerset man through and through, having moved to Bridgewater at the age of four. He made his county debut as a 17-year-old in the famous Bertie Buse benefit match at Bath which ended in a day, but in the next fixture on the same ground he took 8 for 51 and 6 for 41 against Kent. His remarkable start was interrupted by National Service and, briefly, it seemed he would move elsewhere as cash-strapped Somerset offered him poor terms. He stayed, and developed into a more than useful offspinner with lovely flight and control - had England not had an abundance of the same kind of bowlers, and had he played for a more fashionable county, he might have had international recognition. As it was, he took 100 wickets in a season five times, and captained Somerset between 1968 and 1971 when he oversaw their climb from perennial whipping boys to a top ten side. In 1969 he carved out a place in the history books that is unlikely to matched when he returned figures of 8-8-0-0 in a Sunday League match at Yeovil. He retired at the end of 1974 and remained connected with the club, becoming chairman in the 1980s, although his tenure coincided with the bitter row which led to the departure of Ian Botham, Viv Richards and Joel Garner.
Martin Williamson