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Clive Radley established himself as a busy, bustling number three bat
for Middlesex in the mid 1970s, becoming the master of the weighted shot
and the short single. He was playing overseas when Mike Brearley broke
his arm in Pakistan in 1977-78, so was called up to reinforce the
England side. From Pakistan the team went on to New Zealand, and Radley
made his debut in the second Test. He made his mark in third, scoring a
marathon 158, taking eight hours to reach his century. Radley's form
continued in 1978 and he made 106 in the first Test against Pakistan at
Edgbaston. He was consistent in the series against New Zealand that
year, scoring 49 at the Oval, 59 at Trent Bridge, and 77 at Lord's.
That
gained him selection for Mike Brearley's team to contest the Ashes in
1978-79, but the fast and bouncy Australian pitches showed up his
weakness against the short ball. He was hit on the head by Rodney Hogg
in a warm-up match and took no part in the Test series. His injury lead
to the England Test team wearing helmets for the first time. In the ODIs
of 1978 Radley scored 79 against Pakistan at Old Trafford and 117 not
out against New Zealand at the same ground. He made 41 in the
international played at Scarborough. In 1965 he and Fred Titmus shared a
sixth wicket partnership of 227 for Middlesex against the South
Africans. He was later MCC chief coach at Lord's, taking responsibility
for the MCC Young Cricketers. (Bob Harragan)
He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours for services to cricket.
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