Brian Statham

John Brian "George" Statham, CBE (17 June 1930 – 10 June 2000) was one of the leading English fast bowlers in 20th century English cricket. Initially a bowler of a brisk fast-medium pace, Statham was able to remodel his action to generate enough speed to become genuinely fast. This, together with unflagging accuracy and the ability to make the ball – new or old – break back, made Statham a consistent force both for Lancashire in the County Championship and in Test cricket, where his strikepower helped give England perhaps its strongest attack of the 20th century during the 1950s and early 1960s. He overtook Alec Bedser's record of 236 Test wickets in the Fourth Test at the Adelaide Oval in 1962–63. This new record of 242 Test wickets (24.27) was rapidly overtaken by his famous new-ball partner Fred Trueman two months later in New Zealand. Statham finished with 252 Test wickets (24.84).

Statham was remarkably gentlemanly for a fast bowler and would rarely bowl a bouncer (and would warn the batsmen beforehand if he did), but his straight, full-length bowling could easily hit a batsman on the foot. Statham was also a brilliantly athletic out-fielder who was well suited to the one-day game when it emerged in the latter part of his career.

Brian Statham (footballer)

Brian Statham (born 21 May 1969) is an English former professional association football player, best known for his spells with Tottenham Hotspur and Brentford. He also represented the England under-21 team.

Career

Statham was born in Harare, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and later lived in Saudi Arabia before his parents returned to Essex. The namesake of a former England international cricketer, he was himself a talented cricketer as a teenager, and represented the Essex county schools team. He chose to concentrate on football, however, after being offered an apprenticeship with Tottenham Hotspur. He turned full-time professional with the club in 1987 and soon made his debut for the club's first team. A defender who was good in the air despite being only 5' 9" tall, he made 24 appearances for "Spurs" and performed well enough to be selected for the England under-21 team on three occasions. His time at White Hart Lane was affected by injuries, however, and, after short spells on loan to Reading and A.F.C. Bournemouth, he moved to Brentford in 1992 for a transfer fee of £70,000.