Considered to be an excellent
all rounder, Fred Titmus is
unique in the
post war era, as he played
first class cricket for
Middlesex in five different
decades (1949 - 1982, from the ages of just 16 to 49). He is also the only player since the
Second World War to
score more than 10,000
runs. His best
season with Middlesex was 1955 when he took 158
wickets.
He also played for England between 1955 and 1975, during which he took 153 wickets in 53 matches. He was initially dropped from the international team, having played two Test Matches against South Africa and only scoring 39 runs and taking one wicket. He was recalled in 1962 when Pakistan visited England and although he didn't particularly shine in those two Tests, the selectors gave him a place on the Australian tour the following winter; here he scored an impressive 182 runs and took 21 wickets in five Tests. His score line continued in a similar vein, thus earning himself a permanent place on the English team.
Titmus was chosen to skipper Middlesex in 1965 but resigned during the 1968 season. In 1977 he moved to Surrey (as coach) but he left in 1979, having played just one match for the county. He went on to play sporadically for Middlesex in 1979, 1980 and 1982.
His career was interrupted when he lost four toes in a boating accident during the 1967/68 tour of the West Indies.
He scored more than 500 wickets for his county (again the only post war player to do so) and counting his Test match record, did the double (1,000 runs and a 100 wickets in a season) eight times, a record only equalled (by Trevor Bailey) but never surpassed.
After his retirement from playing, he served on the Middlesex committee and was a test selector between 1986 and 1988.
As an aside, Titmus also had played professional football with Watford and was awarded the MBE by the Queen for services to cricket.
Sources:
http://www.middlesexccc.co.uk
http://www.cricket.org
http://news.bbc.co.uk