John Langridge - Sussex batting legend dies (30 June 1999)
John Langridge, who scored more first-class runs for Sussex than any other batsman, died on Sunday in a nursing home at Eastbourne at the age of 89
30-Jun-1999
30 June 1999
John Langridge - Sussex batting legend dies
CricInfo365
John Langridge, who scored more first-class runs for Sussex than any
other batsman, died on Sunday in a nursing home at Eastbourne at the
age of 89. He was born on 10 February 1910.
A loyal servant of Sussex for 27 years, John Langridge was unlucky not
to follow his elder brother James into the England team (his nephew
Richard also represented the county). The nearest he got was selection
for the party to tour India in 1939-40, cancelled due to the 2nd World
War. He was arguably the best English batsman never to play in a Test,
though he got a measure of compensation by being a Test umpire in
later life. He made his first class debut in 1928 at the age of 18,
and carried on accumulating runs for Sussex until 1955. An opener, he
scored 34,380 runs at 37.45 between 1928 and 1955, with 76 hundreds
and a top score of 250*.
He had a somewhat inelegant method, with a hunched stance, and
defending with bat close to pad at all times. He sold his wicket
dearly, and could play his shots along with the best of them at
times. His 76 centuries are a Sussex record, and his 776 catches are
the most for any county - many players were dismissed caught by John
and bowled by James. He was a specialist slip fielder, surpassed only
by Hammond amongst comtemporaries - he took 69 catches in his final
season, a remarkable figure for a man of 45. On retirement he joined
the first-class umpires list, serving with distinction until 1980, and
umpiring 7 Tests. He was awarded the MBE for services to cricket.
It was intended that Sussex players would wear black armbands on
Monday during their National League match against Northamptonshire in
memory of John Langridge, until the match was washed out.
Source :: CricInfo365