571 first-class matches from 1934 to 1958. 36,965 runs. 29th on all-time lists. 86 centuries. 479 wickets. Bill Edrich was one of the biggest cricket stars of his time along with Denis Compton and Len Hutton. He even played football for Norwich City and Tottenham Hotspur. Award-winning writer Leo McKinstry recounts Edrich’s audacity both as a cricketer and an RAF pilot when his flying prowess brought him a promotion to Squadron Leader and won him the Distinguished Flying Cross. The same action-filled intensity applied to his turbulent private life. Edrich was married five times but rarely allowed his ardour to be inhibited by any wedding vows. Equally unrestrained was his fondness for alcohol and partying, with one particularly exuberant display of intoxication during a home Test match losing him his place in the England team, only to return for the famous Ashes triumph of 1953.
