Franklyn Stephenson, the former Nottinghamshire all-rounder, will be a guest of the Club at Friday’s T20 Vitality Blast fixture against Birmingham Bears.
The Barbadian will be signing copies of his autobiography, My Song Shall Be Cricket, behind the Pavilion between 5pm and 6pm.
He will also be introduced on the field during the pre-match build-up at around 6.10pm.
Regarded by many as the greatest player not to have played Test cricket, his path to the international game was blocked following participation in ‘rebel’ tours of South Africa.
Test cricket’s loss was Nottinghamshire’s gain. The Barbadian began the era after Richard Hadlee and Clive Rice’s departures as the sole overseas player, a responsibility that led to a series of record-breaking performances.
In 1988, Franklyn scored 1,018 runs and took 125 wickets to achieve the domestic first-class double – a feat no-one else has achieved since, nor is ever likely to again.
Franklyn was also a member of the Notts side that achieved one-day glory at Lord’s in 1989, beating Essex in the Benson and Hedges Cup Final.
While the fixture is famed for Eddie Hemmings striking the winnings boundary off the final ball, it began with Stephenson dismissing Brian Hardie with a heavily-disguised slower ball.
In a career that took him all around the globe, winning championships, cups and plaudits, Franklyn played with and against some of the best on the planet.
His new book tells of his battles with the likes of Viv Richards and Andy Roberts, lifts the lid on life growing up in a small Barbados village, tells of his early exploits in the boxing ring, and celebrates a lifelong friendship with another Nottinghamshire great, Sir Garfield Sobers.
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There are four further opportunities to catch the Outlaws in T20 action at Trent Bridge this summer, with the next home game under the lights against Birmingham Bears on this coming Friday 2 August.