Brian Statham, English cricketer (b. 1930)
John Brian Statham, (17 June 1930 – 10 June 2000) was an English professional cricketer from Gorton, in Manchester, who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club from 1950 to 1968 and for England from 1951 to 1965. As an England player, he took part in nine overseas tours from 1950–51 to 1962–63. He specialised as a right arm fast bowler and was noted for the consistent accuracy of his length and direction.
Statham is perhaps best remembered for the fast bowling partnerships he formed at international level with, first, Frank Tyson and then, more famously, with Fred Trueman. Unlike the latter, Statham did not make the ball swing in flight but, by pitching it on the seam, he could achieve very fast deviation off the pitch which accounted for many a batsman's wicket. In 1963, he briefly held the world record for the most wickets taken in Test cricket and, having been overtaken by Trueman, he ended his international career with 252. His first-class career tally of 2,260 is nineteenth in the all-time list and he has the best (lowest) average of all the top twenty bowlers. His total of 1,816 wickets taken in first-class matches for Lancashire is the club record.
A natural athlete, Statham was an outstanding fielder who operated in deep positions, usually on the boundary where his running speed and the accuracy of his throwing were great assets. He batted left-handed, invariably as a tailender, and was occasionally effective when stubborn resistance was required. He captained Lancashire for three seasons from 1965 to 1967. He became a member of Lancashire's committee from 1970 to 1995 and was elected club president in 1997 and 1998. After his death in 2000, part of Warwick Road alongside Lancashire's Old Trafford Cricket Ground was renamed Brian Statham Way in his honour and the south end of Old Trafford is called the Brian Statham End.