Middlesex Cricket celebrated the careers of a number of its greatest players at its annual Players Day at Lord’s on the Friday of the County Championship match against Derbyshire.
Mike Gatting, Clive Radley, Paul Downton, John Price and Mike Selvey were amongst the players to be awarded commemorative Middlesex caps but there is far more to the day than recognising county ‘Legends’. The day is a day to recognise, celebrate and reward all players that have represented the club. It doesn’t matter whether you have played men’s, women’s or disability cricket for the club, or whether you played one or 600 games – every player is part of the Middlesex cricket family.
Indeed, the most moving moment of the day came when Chirag Kunverji’s cap was posthumously collected by his family. Chirag, who played for Middlesex’s disability side, sadly passed during Covid, and his cap was emotionally accepted by his mother and sister.
The 2026 version of the day was slightly different to previous years, in that it took place in the Harris Garden rather than the Coronation Garden, and that MCC provided the catering rather than Denise Fraser, the wife of Angus. Middlesex Cricket would like to thank the MCC for their support of the day, which was attended by more than 90 players and their guests. We would also like to thank Ramesh Kerai for his support, without which the day would not take place, and Lisa Whybow, a former Middlesex women’s cricketer and member of the Middlesex CCC Board, for all her help in organising the day.
For many the highlight of the day is the presentation of caps, for which the Middlesex members that are at Lord’s are invited to attend. Along with the names of the cricketer, all caps have numbers on them. The numbers show which number cricketer they were to represent Middlesex. For Middlesex women and disability players there is one number on the peak of the cap, so in the case of Kate Murphy and Deepak Sharda, who have played women’s and disability cricket for Middlesex, their numbers are 62 and 10 respectively.
For the men it is slightly more complicated. The cap of Ben Scott, for example, had three numbers and a year on it. The numbers on Ben’s cap are 678, 142 and 17. This is because Ben was the 678th player to play 1st Class Cricket, the 142nd player to play List A and the 17th player to play T20 cricket for Middlesex. On the peak of Ben’s cap was the year 2007, as that was the year he was awarded his County Cap.
Mike Gatting and Carol Bryant presented players with their ceremonial caps, and the list of those who were awarded caps is below –
Middlesex Disability Teams
Mark Rochester (56)
Deepak Sharda (10)
Chirag Kunverji (11)
Middlesex Women’s Team
Laura Quinn – ne Samouel (80)
Kate Murphy (62)
Chloe Abel (155)
Middlesex Men’s Teams
Bill Merry (1st Class – 579, List A 55)
Keith Dutch (628 & 105)
Rajesh Maru (582 & 59)
Ashok Patel (578 & 49)
Paul Downton (585 & 60 and County Cap in 1981)
Harry Latchman (542 & 25 and County cap in 1968)
John Price (531 & 11 and County Cap in 1963)
Clive Radley (536 & 17 and County Cap in 1967)
Keith Brown (599 & 75 and County Cap in 1990) Clive Radley collected cap on Keith’s behalf.
Mike Selvey (560 & 35 and County Cap in 1973)
Ben Scott (678, 142 & T20 17 and County Cap in 2007
Mike Gatting (568 & 44 and County Cap in 1977)
*Below is a copy of what was read out when the players were awarded their caps.
Although the day celebrates the careers of Middlesex CCC cricketers, the day is organised and run by Middlesex in the Community. Middlesex in the Community (MITC) is the charitable arm of Middlesex CCC and oversees participation and recreational cricket within the 17 London boroughs that form the area recognised in cricket as Middlesex.
MITC wants cricket to be a safe and inclusive space for all those that want to play the game. We encourage and gets young boys and girls playing cricket, and in an academic year it will coach at hundreds of schools, especially those in underserved areas of the community.
The breadth of what MITC does is huge and, with support, we could do so much more. If you would like to support what we do please click on this link or contact Angus Fraser at [email protected]
Below is what was said about each cap recipient at the Middlesex Players Day on 15 May 2026
Mark Rochester
Our first cap presentation today will go to a player from our Disability Teams. Mark Rochester made his Middlesex debut in 2023. Along with representing Middlesex’s Disability side Mark also captains Middlesex over 50’s 1st XI.
I am not quite sure how the overseas player system works in Disability cricket, and I hope through this we are not in line for a points penalty but, through having a Jamaican father Mark has been selected for the West Indies over 50’s side that will take part in this winter's over 50’s World Cup.
Mark is an outstanding wicket-keeper who is totally committed to what we do as a Disability cricket squad.
Ladies and Gentlemen, could I ask Mark Rochester, who is the 56th player to represent Middlesex’s Disability 1st XI, to come forward to collect his Middlesex cap.
Deepak Sharda
The number on the peak of Deepak Sharda’s cap is 10, highlighting that he played in the 1st official game of competitive Disability cricket that Middlesex played. That game took place in 2013.
Deepak has been an ever-present in Middlesex’s Disability squads since 2013 and is now a fully committed and valuable member of Middlesex’s Super 9 team. This team, much to the delight of everyone concerned, were National champions in 2025. Deepak is an enthusiastic, slow left-arm bowler and an extremely popular member of the squad.
Ladies and Gentlemen, could I ask Deepak Sharda, who, as I said earlier, is the 10th player to represent Middlesex’s Disability 1st XI, to come forward to collect his Middlesex cap.
Chirag Kunverji
This cap presentation is an extremely special one because it is being awarded posthumously. Like Deepak Sharda, Chirag Kunverji was one of the players who played in Middlesex’s 1st competitive Disability game back in 2013. That his number is 11 shows that he batted below Deepak in that match.
Chirag was more of a bowler than a batter, a lovely character who was, according to a team-mate, a joy to be around.
Chirag sadly passed away during Covid and his family have highlighted how much he enjoyed playing for the team. In a letter to Middlesex Chirag’s family said – “Chirag loved every moment spent on the cricket field with his fellow team-mates, which turned to friends over the many years. The family have such fond memories, having picnics over the summer, supporting the team. He really was so proud to represent Middlesex.”
Ladies and Gentlemen, could I please a member of Chirag’s family to collect Chirag’s Middlesex cap.
Laura Quinn
Our next recipient is the first cap we will be presenting to one of our Women cricketers. Laura Quinn nee Samouel, was born in Ashford, Middlesex, which is quite close to the Surrey border, so we can forgive her for learning and playing most of her cricket at Shepperton Cricket Club in Surrey. Laura played for the club for 14 years.
Surrey selected her for their U15’s in 1997 and in her first recorded U15 game, which I found on Cricket Archive and was against Middlesex, she dismissed the great Beth Morgan, with her off-spin, stumped for 19.
Nine years later, in 2006, Laura made her Middlesex debut against Northants alongside Lorriane Poole, Beth Morgan and Danni Warren.
Laura went on to play 21 List A and 1 T20 for Middlesex, taking 24 wickets at a very good average of just over 19.
Ladies and Gentlemen could I invite Laura Quinn, nee Samouel, the 80th woman to play for Middlesex, to come forward to collect her Middlesex cap.
Kate Murphy
Kate Murphy played four games for Middlesex Women in 1999 with the same players as Laura Quinn – namely Lorraine Poole, Beth Morgan and Marilyn Smith - a couple of years later. After a summer with Middlesex, for the 1st and 2nd XI, Kate continued playing cricket for Dukesmead Cricket Club, who play in Chiswick. Kate played for Dukesmead until 2008, when I think she may have hung her boots up.
Ladies and Gents, could I please ask Kate Murphy, who was the 62nd cricketer to play for Middlesex Women, to come forward to collect her Middlesex cap.
Chloe Abel
Our final women’s recipient today is slightly different to other recipients, in that we do not have an official cap for her. This is because Chloe Abel contacted us a short while ago to say that she was in London and would love to attend.
Chloe was born and raised in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, where she played in the Women’s Big Bash League. In 2023 Chloe was in England and played for Middlesex and Sunrisers. In the season, she played a number of games for both teams.
In 2023 Chloe made her international debut for Scotland, whom she continues to represent.
Ladies and Gentlemen could I please ask Chloe Abel, who was the 155th player to play for Middlesex Women, to come forward to collect a Middlesex Cap – we will get one made as soon as possible and send it to you.
Bill Merry
Our next recipient is obviously a top bloke as he shares the same birthday as me. And I have always felt a little guilty because I think my first contract with the club came at his expense.
Bill Merry was an aggressive fast medium bowler that did an excellent job during his five years at the club as a support bowler in the brilliant Middlesex bowling attack that dominated county cricket in the late 70’s and early 80’s. as you can imagine, getting in ahead of the likes of Daniel, Selvey, Van der Bijl, Emburey, Edmonds, Thomson and Cowans was pretty hard.
When Bill did play, he did pretty well, taking 45 wickets in 26 matches at an average of 32. In limited-over cricket, he performed well, taking 33 wickets at an average of 26 in 31 matches.
After leaving Middlesex Bill played successfully for Hertfordshire for a further 10 seasons, taking almost 200 wickets for the county.
Ladies and Gentlemen, could I ask Bill Merry, who was the 579th player to play 1st Class cricket and the 55th player to play List A cricket for Middlesex, to come forward to collect his Middlesex cap.
Keith Dutch
When I sit down and think of players I used to play with that would have thrived in the modern era, our next recipient is one of them. And in a different era – a non John Emburey and Paul Weekes period – he would have played many more than the 105 games of cricket he played for Middlesex.
Like many of those being presented with caps today, Keith Dutch, who was born in Harrow, was a product of the Middlesex pathway. Keith made his debut for the 1st XI in 1993 and, before leaving to join Somerset in 2001 took 123 wickets and scored just under 1,500 runs for the club.
As his career moved on Dutchy became more of a white ball cricketer and as a canny off-spinner, destructive batter and lively fielder, he would have been well suited to the shorter forms of the game. He would be a player playing for franchises around the world.
Ladies and Gentlemen, could I ask Keith Dutch, who was the 628th player to play 1st Class cricket and the 105th player to play List A cricket for Middlesex, to come forward to collect his Middlesex cap.
Rajesh Maru
Middlesex is a county that should produce cricketers and we should be proud of the fact that a number of our cricketers, who don’t get the opportunities they are looking for here, move to another club and have long, successful careers.
Our next recipient, like Keith Dutch, did just that. He, too, was competing against high-quality spin bowlers in John Emburey and Phil Edmonds.
Rajesh Maru was born in Nairobi, Kenya and moved to the UK when he was a child. He was a Harrow boy and I remember him playing for North London Polytechnic when I was a boy at Stanmore.
Raj played 18 games of cricket for Middlesex between 1980 and 1982 and his left-arm spin allowed him to take 25 wickets. Because of Edmonds and Emburey he moved to Hampshire in 1984, where he had an excellent career. In total he played 315 games for Hampshire and took just shy of 600 wickets.
Post playing Raj has become an excellent coach, working with spinners at Hampshire and around the country and also at Lancing College in West Sussex.
Ladies and Gentlemen, could I ask Rajesh Maru, who was the 582nd player to play 1st Class cricket and the 59th player to play List A cricket for Middlesex, to come forward to collect his Middlesex cap.
Ashok Patel
The family of our next cap recipient travelled a similar path to Rajesh, in that it travelled from Kenya to London in the early 70’s. On his arrival in London Ashok Patel’s talent was instantly recognised and he began playing for Middlesex schools and Middlesex Young Cricketers in 1972/73. In 1974 he was selected to play for Young England, and did so on three occasions.
Ashok made his List A debut in the John Player League in 1977 and played his two 1st Class matches for Middlesex in 1978. In the five games he played, he scored over 100 runs at an average of 35 and took five wickets at an average of 16. Like other Middlesex cricketers of his generation, he was competing against two Middlesex greats in Emburey and Edmonds.
Ashok then moved up to Durham where he had an excellent career with them in Minor Counties cricket, being the linchpin of their side throughout the 1980’s.
Ladies and Gentlemen, could I ask Ashok Patel, who was the 578th player to play 1st Class cricket and the 49th player to play List A cricket for Middlesex, to come forward to collect his Middlesex cap.
Paul Downton
Most of the cap recipients here today have been Middlesex people developed in the Middlesex pathway. Our next recipient, however, wasn’t but he proved to be a magnificent signing.
In the same way that Raj and Keith moved on from Middlesex, Paul Downton joined Middlesex from Kent because his opportunities at Canterbury would have been limited due to the presence of the great Alan Knott. In the following 12 seasons Paul played just under 450 games for Middlesex, claiming over 800 victims behind the stumps and scoring almost 10,000 runs. These figures gained him selection for England, who he represented on 58 occasions.
Paul played a hugely important role in Middlesex’s success in the 80’s and 90’s. On top of the statistics mentioned before he was a calm, caring and selfless team mate, and he captained the 1st XI on a number of occasions when Gatt was away with England.
Post playing he returned to cricket after working in The City to become England’s MD of Cricket and then Director of Cricket at Kent.
Ladies and Gentlemen, could I ask Paul Downton, who was the 585th player to play 1st Class cricket and the 60th player to play List A cricket for Middlesex, to come forward to collect his Middlesex cap.
Harry Latchman
When I start my tribute to the next recipient by saying that he was born in Kingston, Jamaica, you would be right to think that this cricketer was a fast bowler or a swashbuckling batter. Well, he wasn’t – Harry Latchman was a leg-spin bowler in the Sonny Ramadhin mould.
Harry’s family moved to London when he was 11 years old, originally settling in Wandsworth, before moving to White City. It was the MCC who first noticed his talent when he played for their Young Cricketers. Through impressing here, Middlesex quickly signed him up and, between 1965 and 1973, played over 180 games for the club and took over 400 wickets. His 1st Class wickets came at a very healthy average of 27.5.
The arrival of Emburey and Edmonds began to limit Harry’s opportunities so he moved to Nottinghamshire, where he spent three seasons.
On retiring from cricket Harry went into coaching, ending up at Merchant Taylors School, where he spent 24 successful years. Harry, undoubtedly, is the reason for our close association with the school. Harry was President of the club just over a decade ago.
Ladies and Gentlemen, could I ask Harry Latchman, who was the 542nd player to play 1st Class cricket and the 25th player to play List A cricket for Middlesex, to come forward to collect his Middlesex cap.
John Price
When mentioning the name of our next cap recipient, people of a certain age ask ‘was he the bowler that ran in to bowl with a really long and angled run-up’. Well the answer was Yes.
Like a number of other recipients today John Price is a local man. He was born in Harrow and his club side is Wembley. Wembley is having a tough time at the moment, and when I umpired at the ground last year, there were pictures of John adorning the walls, which was lovely to see.
John is one of Middlesex’s greatest cricketers, a fast bowler that bowled genuine outswing. He made his Middlesex debut in 1961 ad went on to play 366 games for the club, taking 926 wickets at an average of just above 20. These performances earned him selection for England and he would have played far more than the 15 Tests he did but for injury.
John’s involvement in cricket did not end when he retired from playing and until recently, he was heavily involved in the Lord’s Taverners and their fundraising.
Ladies and Gentlemen, could I ask John Price, who was the 531st player to play 1st Class cricket and the 11th player to play List A cricket for Middlesex, so he played in Middlesex’s first List A game, to come forward to collect his Middlesex cap.
Clive Radley
This recipient is a Middlesex Great and a Legend of the club. Like Gatt, I could spend the next 10 minutes describing all he has done for Middlesex, MCC and cricket in general. Though he was born in Hertford Clive Radley arrived at Middlesex via Norfolk in the early 1960’s.If my memory is right, I think he was recommended to the club by the former Middlesex great Bill Edrich, who had moved out to Norfolk at the end of his career.
After a year or so in the 2nd XI he made his 1st XI debut in 1964. This was the start of a 24-year career that resulted in him playing more games of cricket for Middlesex than any other player – 920. In those games, he scored more than 34,000 runs.
Rad played for England on 12 occasions and scored 3 x hundreds – 2 in his 8 Tests and 1 in 4 ODI’s.
With Middlesex, Rad became a true legend because of the number of big games of cricket he won for Middlesex. He top-scored for the club in five Lord’s Finals, which is some achievement.
Post playing, he became a highly respected coach and was Head Coach for the MCC Young Cricketers for almost 20 years
Ladies and Gentlemen, could I ask Clive Radley, who was the 536th player to play 1st Class cricket and the 17th player to play List A cricket for Middlesex, to come forward to collect his Middlesex cap.
Keith Brown
Clive Radley was the hero of our next recipient, so could Rad stay here to present him with his cap. There is a saying relating to people you would like to be with in the trenches – when the going gets tough and this cricketer is just that sort of character. Keith Brown was born in Edmonton and made his 1st XI debut in 1984, but unlike many of his contemporaries in the late 80’s and 90’s he did not go on to play for England. This, however, does not stop him from being a Middlesex Great. Browny – Stally, was one of the most important and underrated players the club had during this period.
Like Rad Keith scored runs when they were needed most. He was reliable, brave and selfless – the sort of cricketer every team needs.
Keith’s opportunity to keep wicket came when Paul Downton was forced to retire and he performed the role brilliantly, claiming 568 victims in the 495 matches he played for the club. He also took another 150 catches when not keeping wicket, many of which were close to the bat off Philip Tufnell. Keith also scored more than 15,000 runs for Middlesex and has a first-class average of 35, the second highest – behind David Nash - for a Middlesex wicket-keeper with over 200 victims.
Ladies and Gentlemen, could I ask Clive Radley, who was Keith Brown’s hero, to come forward to collect Browny’s cap. Keith was the 599th player to play 1st Class cricket and the 75th player to play List A cricket for Middlesex.
Mike Selvey
Our next recipient, like several others, cut his teeth with Surrey before moving over the Thames to Middlesex to become a legend of the club. Mike Selvey was born in Chiswick and spent four seasons at The Oval before seeing sense and returning North.
On arriving at Lord’s, he immediately established himself in the 1st XI and became a regular member of the team that dominated domestic cricket in the 70’s and early 80’s.
Mike was a lively and skilful swing bowler who could move the ball both ways, and in 443 matches for Middlesex he took over 900 wickets at an average in the early 20’s.
Whilst he was at the club Middlesex won four county championships and two Gillette Cups.
Mike played for England and famously took three West Indian wickets, including Viv Richards, in his first 20 balls.
On retiring from cricket, Mike seamlessly moved into journalism and commentating. With The Guardian, he became one of the finest cricket writers and was an excellent pundit with Test Match Special.
Ladies and Gentlemen, could I ask Mike Selvey, who was the 560th player to play 1st Class cricket and the 35th player to play List A cricket for Middlesex, to come forward to collect his Middlesex cap.
Ben Scott
Our next recipient is a Middlesex boy who was born in Isleworth and zig-zagged across the Thames a couple of times between Middlesex and Surrey before settling in Middlesex to become one of the county’s finest wicket-keepers. In eight seasons with Middlesex Ben Scott claimed just under 350 victims in all forms of the game, a total that places him in the top 10 keepers the club has had. He also scored almost 3,500 runs. Ben played a huge role in Middlesex’s T20 success in 2008, when he stood up to the stumps to virtually all Middlesex’s bowlers. It was a tactic that caught sides by surprise and was only possible through his outstanding glove work. It is a tactic that has since been adopted by many other T20 teams.
Ladies and Gentlemen, could I please ask Ben Scott, who is the 678th player to play 1st Class cricket for Middlesex, the 142nd List A player to play for Middlesex and the 17th T20 player to play for the club, to come forward to collect his Middlesex Cap
Mike Gatting
Our Final recipient this year is undoubtedly one of the greatest players to represent Middlesex CCC. I could spend the next ten minutes listing his records and achievements and, you’ll be pleased to hear, I won’t.
He is a local man through and through. Mike Gatting was born in Kingsbury, played for Brondesbury CC and came through the Middlesex pathway.
He made his Middlesex debut in 1975, was awarded his county cap in 1977 and made his England debut that following winter in Pakistan. In total he played for England on more than 170 occasions and scored more than 6,500 runs. Gatt captained England and is one of the few England captains to win the Ashes in Australia.
For Middlesex he played 855 games of cricket and scored more than 40,000 runs. His first-class average for the club was just under 53, a staggering achievement. On top of this he captained the club through the most successful period in its history. Under his leadership Middlesex won 8 trophies.
Gatt remained around cricket after his retirement and is one of the most recognisable figures in the game.
It is safe to say that when people are writing about this club in 50 years' time, Gatt’s name is likely to be in the first couple of pages.
Ladies and Gentlemen, could I ask Mike Gatting, who was the 568th player to play 1st Class cricket and the 44th player to play List A cricket for Middlesex, to come forward to collect his Middlesex cap.
