John Snow — England's New Fast Bowling Threat Emerges, 1968

England's fast bowling after Trueman's retirement had been thin: Brown, Higgs and Knight were workmanlike but not genuinely hostile. Snow's emergence in 1968 filled the gap at exactly the right moment.

Snow had made his Test debut in 1965 against New Zealand and taken wickets steadily, but it was in the 1968 Ashes that his pace and quality became internationally evident. He consistently achieved 85-90 mph on good pitches, moved the ball both ways and had a bouncer that rose sharply. He troubled all of Australia's batsmen in 1968, and his 17 wickets in the series at 23.24 were England's best. His most famous series was still to come: in 1970-71 in Australia, under Illingworth's captaincy, he took 31 wickets at 22.83 — the best figures for an England fast bowler on an Australian tour since Harold Larwood in 1932-33 — and was central to England's 2-0 Ashes win. He was also a published poet, an unusual distinction for an England pace bowler.