The Greatest Player of Every Decade

The 1950s:

Laker's action was unremarkable, but his results were extraordinary

Jim Laker (ENG)

The 1950s had some flamboyant players. The Three W's: Everton Weekes, Frank Worrell and Clyde Walcott ushered in a new generation of West Indies cricket, with Walcott possibly being the greatest batter of the decade.

Ryan Harvey also entertained with the bat, a classical batsman who cricket fans swooned over whenever he took to the crease.

The 1950s also saw Richie Benaud popularize the art of leg-spin, while England also excited with pace, as the likes of Fred Trueman, Brian Statham, Alec Bedser and Frank Tyson terrorized batters at various stages of the decade.

These players all had great records, but one only needed to watch a few balls to see their exceptional talent. It is, therefore, a peculiarity that the most effective player of the 1950s was a tidy off-spinner with an unremarkable action.

At the start of the 1950s, Laker was struggling to cement a place in the England side. His first-class record was impeccable, but in his early Test cricket performances, he was unable to show the full measure of his talent. This was partly due to his own inconsistent performances, and also due to the hesitance of the English selectors to give Laker a prolonged run in the side.

Laker only played a single Test in 1950, and a single Test in 1955, having been selected and dropped several times in between. Yet despite this, Laker was still the second highest wicket-taker of the 1950s after Richie Benaud, taking 162, just behind Benaud's 165. For the last four years of the decade, Laker essentially became the bowling equivalent of Bradman.

Something clicked for Laker. His simple and functional action seemed the same, but the potency of his deliveries changed greatly. From 1956 to 1959, Laker took 107 wickets at just 15.95. To put this in perspective, Australia's great left-arm quick, Alan Davidson, didn't even take that many wickets in the entire decade.

Laker's finest moment was, of course, his 19/90 against Australia. Even today, these are comfortably the best figures a bowler has taken in a single match, both in first-class cricket and in Test. In fact, apart from Laker, only one player has managed to take 17 wickets in a first-class game post World War Two.

Making his figures even more impressive is that in the match before, Laker took 11 wickets, meaning he had taken 30 wickets in two Tests. In the five-match series, no other player managed to take more than 21.

Laker was therefore quick to make up for the early years in the 1950s, as he was peerless for the latter half of the decade.