Born On This Day: 6th February

Fidel Edwards, the latest in a succession of fine Caribbean fast bowlers at Hampshire, was born in Barbados in 1982, and made his debut for Hampshire in 2015, having played in all three formats for the West Indies (55 Test Matches).

In 2015, his 45 Championship wickets at 20.88 played a major part in ensuring that Hampshire (just) escaped relegation, while in the following season when they were reprieved only by the Durham penalty, he suffered an injury in a pre-match warm-up and took just three wickets, missing all but the first two games.

He returned in 2017 and took 33 wickets, then in 2018 was Hampshire’s leading Championship wicket-taker with 54 at 26.72.

2019 proved to be his final season and his 48 wickets at 25.83 took him to 185 career wickets for the county at 25.35.

His best figures for Hampshire remained 6-88 in the vital match at Trent Bridge that ended the 2015 season. He was expected to return in 2020, but the COVID-19 crisis intervened and his county career came to an end with 36 wickets in limited-overs matches and eight T20 wickets.