On Thursday 22 September (7.30pm) our guest speaker will be former England, Kent and Middlesex bowler Dean Headley.

Dean played 15 Test matches for England between 1997 to 1999 taking 60 wickets at an average of 27.85. His greatest moment in an England shirt was a Man of the Match performance in the 4^th Ashes Test in 1998 at the MCG. With the home side cruising towards a 4^th innings target of 175, Dean snared four wickets in 14 deliveries to reduce Australia from 130/3 to 140/7; he finished with six for 60 as England won a thriller by 12 runs. Overall, Dean played 139 first class matches taking 466 wickets at an average of 28.52.

Dean’s story, along with his grandfather’s (George) and father’s (Ron) can be read in ‘The Headleys: Three Generations of Test Cricketers’ by John Flatley with a foreword by Michael Holding.

Last word goes to Alec Stewart, Dean’s captain during the 1998/99 Ashes tour of Australia.

“Dean was a wholehearted cricketer who never gave anything less than 100%. When he was hot he was red hot with his match-winning spell at the MCG in 1998 being the perfect example. He was a captain’s dream – always wanted to bowl and would run in all day. He was deceptively sharp with a good bouncer. A great team man – never shy of a word or two and always keen to offer an opinion on anything and everything. Injury cruelly cut his career short.”

Alec Stewart, 2021.

Dean Headley can be followed on Twitter