The comedian-cum-cricketer whose bowling average is worst for a former England Test player
John Warr is arguably the cricketer with the best sense of humour in the dressing room.
John Warr is arguably the cricketer with the best sense of humour in the dressing room. John James Warr was an English cricketer who was a successful county player for Middlesex County Cricket Club. He represented England in just two Test matches but was better known for his many humorous after-dinner speeches.
Cricketing Career
There is not much to highlight about Warr's silverware for his achievements on the cricket field. On the contrary, a few astonishing and giggling facts might make you jolly.
Warr played in two of the five Test matches, with the worst debut bowling performance in Test cricket, taking no wickets but conceding 142 runs, a record which stood until 2009 when Australian Bryce McGain went wicketless while conceding 149 runs against South Africa. As of 2016, his bowling average remains the worst of any retired England Test player; only Ravi Bopara has a worse average. According to the 1952 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, Warr "tried hard and cheerfully, but he could not be regarded as Test class."
Warr's county career was quite average though. Warr played for Middlesex as a right-arm fast-medium bowler, in 260 First-Class matches between 1949 and 1960. He took 703 wickets for the county at an average of 20.75, with personal best figures of 9 for 65 against Kent in August 1956. Playing for both Middlesex and the University of Cambridge, he took 87 wickets in the 1950 season which ranked him 32nd on the list of wicket-takers in the first-class season. Warr captained Middlesex between 1958 and 1960. He took 100 First-Class wickets twice – in 1956 and 1959.
Some titles gained in life though
After retirement, he wrote for The Sunday Telegraph and worked as a discount broker. He later became a member of the Jockey Club in 1977 and was chairman between 1989 and 1993.
Warr became a popular after-dinner speaker and was asked to become Australia’s Board of Control's representative in England after one such appearance, a position he held until 1987. He was President of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) from 1987–88 and was made honorary life Vice-President in 1996. He became president of the Berkshire County Cricket Club in 1990
An MCC president is born. John Warr would rather be remembered for that than his Test bowling average - it was 281. And his strike rate was a wicket every 584 balls - or 97 overs.
