Many cricketers have written – or at least lent their names to – books throughout the ages but few will have penned anything quite so esoteric as Vintage British foot pumps 1900-1950: design, overhaul and maintenance topics, self-published by former Nottinghamshire all-rounder Gordon Edwards in 2017.
Edwards, born on 17 September 1947 at Glapton in Northamptonshire, qualified to play for Nottinghamshire whilst studying for BSc and PhD degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Nottingham. He had a distinguished career in engineering research, working for the Shell company in the Netherlands and in Brunei, and eventually set up his own higher education consultancy. He has since retired and has a small hobby business reconditioning vintage car foot pumps.
In his one season with Notts, 1973, he played in nine First-Class matches, scoring 191 runs at 15.91 and with a top score of 46no; with the ball he took 12 wickets at 18.66 with a best return of 5-44. In his one List-A match he did not bat and bowled his full allocation of eight overs, taking 1-38.
His son Andrew Edwards, born whilst his father was working and living in Holland, has played non First-Class cricket for Herefordshire and Gloucestershire.
May 2020
Nottinghamshire First-Class Number: 466