Fred Titmus

Frederick John Titmus MBE (24 November 1932 – 23 March 2011) was an English cricketer, whose first-class career, mostly for Middlesex with a shortish stint for Surrey, spanned five decades. He was the fourth man after W.G. Grace, Wilfred Rhodes and George Hirst to take 2,500 wickets and make 20,000 runs in first-class cricket. Although he was best known for his off-spin (though at first he bowled medium pace as well), he was an accomplished lower-order batsman who deserved to be called an all-rounder, even opening the batting for England on six occasions. Outside cricket, Titmus was also a footballer; at one stage he was contracted to Watford as a professional, having earlier played for amateur club Leytonstone, and then for Chelsea as a junior.