The Cricketing Family Edrich
In the 1930s the Edrich family burst on the sporting world from the comparative obscurity of a minor county by making a century against an international touring side. Stemming from the Norfolk soil, with an ancestry that predates William the Conqueror, the family was facing extinction when the last inline, Harry Edrich, restored its fortunes by raising a family of 13 children, nine boys and four girls. Of the grandchildren, four brothers and a cousin have played first class cricket and two have played for England.
After tracing the origins of the Edrich passion for cricket, Ralph Barker follows each one of the five grandchildren through the peaks and troughs of his career, paying special attention to the spectacular successes and failures of Bill and John, but faithfully investigating the triumph over adversity of Geoffrey, who made 24 centuries for Lancashire, the brief ebullience of Eric, oldest of the four brothers, who once scored a century in a Roses match, and the cheerful persistence of Brian, who promised to be the greatest of the four brothers but whose development was interrupted by the war.
In presenting their story as a single coherent saga, Ralph Barker penetrates the facade of each man to provide a fascinating insight into their individual skills, paying special attention to those characteristics, whether displayed against the Lindwall/Miller or Thomson/Lillee combinations at Test Match level, or in the county game, which have made the name of Edrich synonymous with defiance, resolution and courage.
Other Books by Ralph Barker