7 England players who were called up as replacements during an Ashes series

'Lord' Ted in action

Ted Dexter (1958-59)

Dexter was summoned when Raman Subba Row (groin), Arthur Milton (hand) and Willie Watson (knee) all succumbed to injury. It was a forgettable trip for the English cricketers as very few things went well for them. Dexter batted four times in the two Tests he played in Australia, managing a meagre 18 runs. He then went to New Zealand though and scored his maiden century there. He went on to have a long and successful career with England, even serving as the captain of the cricket team and later, the chairman of selectors.

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John Mortimore (1958-59)

Mortimore was an off-break bowler who served Gloucestershire for 25 years. A few matches into the 1958-59 tour, the England team management realised that they needed additional spin resources to support Tony Lock who had a bad knee. At the recommendation of Laker, they called up Mortimore to join the team as an additional spinning option. He only managed to play in one of the Test matches but batted well, scoring 55 runs and being dismissed only once. However, he didn't make his mark with the ball.

Despite that, he played eight more Test matches for England.