Born On This Day: 16th March

Another day with two notable birthdays, a pair of very fine all-rounders who gave many years to Hampshire – for a time in the same side.

All-rounder Kevan James was born in Lambeth in 1961. He was a left-handed batsman and left-arm medium-fast bowler who played club cricket in the Middlesex area and for England Young Cricketers, before joining the Middlesex staff. He made his debut for their 2nd XI in August 1978, and his first-class debut v Oxford University in the Parks, followed by his Championship debut in 1981.

He appeared more regularly in 1983 and spent some winters in New Zealand playing for Wellington, but with a Middlesex batting average of 21.44 and 20 wickets at under 20 each, he chose to move to Hampshire in 1985 to seek more opportunities. In that first season, there were two particularly notable days; his first century (124) v Somerset at Taunton, when he and Tim Tremlett set a county record for the eighth wicket, and 6-22 v the Australians, who were ‘skittled’ for 76 in a drawn match.

Thereafter he became a valuable all-rounder in a strong Hampshire side, in both forms of the game. In 1986, he played a vital innings of 54* at the Oval, rescuing Hampshire from 95-7, and enabling them to post a total which just won the match, and crucially clinched their third Sunday League title.

In 1989, he approached 1,000 runs at 28.88 including 162 at Cardiff, which remained his highest score, but then missed almost the whole of the following season after a back operation. With the departure of Greenidge and Chris Smith, he moved up the batting order, and there were 1,000+ runs in 1991 and 1992, as well as appearances in Hampshire’s two cup-winning sides at Lord’s.

He was a very adaptable all-rounder who scored 8,189 first-class runs at 31.01 and took 359 wickets at 32.47 with a best of 8-49 v Somerset at Basingstoke in 1997. To these statistics he added 2,340 runs and 223 wickets in limited-overs matches. For many years, he has been a sports reporter on BBC Radio Solent and the ball-by-ball commentator on Hampshire’s matches.

But above all that of course, Kevan James will be remembered as the first man ever in first-class cricket to score a century and take four wickets in four balls (including Tendulkar and Dravid) in the same match – for Hampshire v the Indians at Southampton in 1996.

Off-spinner Shaun Udal, was born in Cove, Hants in 1969 and became one of Hampshire’s finest Hampshire-born, home-grown cricketers. He came from a cricketing family and played for Hampshire Colts and 2nd XI from 1987. In 1989, he made his debut in the Championship and limited-overs matches, although it was not until 1992 that he played regularly in the Championship.

He played in Hampshire’s two Lord’s trophy-winning sides in 1991 & 1992, while in 1992 he took 8-50 v Sussex at Southampton, which remained his best first-class figures. Between 1994 & 1995, he was in the England squad for the first Test after South Africa’s re-admittance, but was omitted from the final XI, and toured Australia without winning a ‘cap’, although he had played in ten ODIs, taking eight wickets, after which it seemed his international hopes had gone.

He was a very useful late middle-order batsman, with a number of half-centuries, and his best score of 117* v Warwickshire at Southampton in 1997. In the new millennium, he found himself sometimes competing for a place with Shane Warne, but took wickets regularly, particularly in 2005, when, with Warne playing in the ‘Ashes’ series, there were 44 first-class and 31 in limited-overs matches, and at Lord’s in the C&G Final, deputising for Warne, he became the first Hampshire-born player to captain the county to a Trophy.

In the following winter of 2005/6, he was selected to tour Pakistan and India with England, and when he played in three Tests in Pakistan, taking three wickets, he was the first Hampshire-born, Hampshire player to represent England for well over a century. He was not selected in India until the third and final Test, when he took 1-53, and, then, with India chasing 313 to win, 4-14, as they were dismissed for 100. It was his last international appearance but a fine way to finish.

He retired from Hampshire at the end of the 2007 season, having played in 250 first-class matches with 6,496 runs and 708 wickets – the latter placing him 11th in Hampshire’s all-time list – to which he added, 2,503 limited-overs runs and 407 wickets, and 25 T20 wickets – he is one of only ten men to have taken more than 1,000 wickets in all forms for Hampshire.

He returned to county cricket for three years with Middlesex, and in 2008 was in their side at the Rose Bowl, as they won the T20 Final. He played for Berkshire in the Minor Counties, and has worked for Sky Sports on their commentary teams.