Lives in Cricket No 10 - John Shepherd

taking ten hours to compile. In hot weather Shepherd and the others stuck at their task trying to break down obdurate batting from Boycott, Graveney, Edrich and D’Oliveira. Late in the innings the ball started to swing and Shepherd took five wickets in his first-ever bowl in a Test match (including his friend Alan Knott for a duck), and his name stands today proudly on the honours board in the old Pavilion to commemorate this feat. In fact until very recently 49 this performance by Shepherd stood as a record as the best by a West Indian bowler on debut. Shepherd had bowled 58.5 overs in oppressive heat in that first England innings and was taking a well-earned bath in the changing room late in the afternoon on the second day when there was a tap on his shoulder and he was told to pad up. The West Indies were 72 for four and it looked like he was going to be needed to bat (at No.8). Two more wickets fell and Shepherd, still a little damp from his bath and playing his first-ever Test innings, was 5 not out and the West Indies 104 for six when stumps were drawn. Overall the match was unfortunate for the West Indies who were dismissed for 147 and following Testing Times 45 The West Indian line-up for their match with Lancashire at Old Trafford in early May, 1969. Standing (l to r): Roy Fredericks, John Shepherd, Maurice Foster ,Charlie Davis, Pascall Roberts, Michael Findlay, Grayson Shillingford and Phil Blair. Seated: Clive Lloyd, Jackie Hendriks (wk), Lance Gibbs (captain), Basil Butcher and Steve Camacho. Of these players, only Gibbs and Shepherd had previously played a full season of first-class cricket in England. 49 Darren Sammy, in his Test debut versus England at Old Trafford in 2007, took seven for 66 in the second innings.