Phil Edmonds's fairy-tale debut for England in 1975

Here in 1975, introduced by John Arlott, is Phil Edmonds in his blond Adonis phase, making his test debut. In his first 12 overs for England he took 5 Australian wickets for 17, his victims including both Chappell brothers.

He was to bowl much better than this for England, but never with so much luck. Still, his sudden appearance on the test scene was part of the revitalisation of the team under Tony Greig's captaincy.

From his debut until his last test, against Pakistan in 1987, Edmonds only played 51 of a possible 126 games for England.

In part this was because we rarely played two spinners, though Edmonds and John Emburey were fixtures in two successful Ashes series in the 1980s. But it was also because he came to be seen as a difficult character.

Sometimes the selectors went to ridiculous lengths to avoid picking him. In 1982 Edmonds took 80 first-class wickets for Middlesex, but three off spinners (Eddie Hemmings, Vic Marks and Geoff Miller) were taken to Australia that winter and there was no place for him.