Emburey was made vice-captain for the 1986-87 tour of Australia. In all probability he would have been appointed captain but for his South African sojourn, which the selectors held against him. In 1988-89, he finally led England against the West Indies at Lord's and Old Trafford, only to be sacked pretty soon. He set off for his second tour of the prohibited South Africa and a life ban was slapped on him.
When the ban was automatically lifted after South Africa's return to international fold, Embruey had lost much of his sting. He made a disastrous return against Australia and India. He didn't give in and helped Middlesex win the English County Championship in 1993, the sixth title to which he had made a major contribution.
In 1994, he suffered a detached retina in his right eye while reading a book in Guyana, but the same season he took 52 wickets at 27.00 for Middlesex and earned a recall for a final, his 64th, Test -- against the West Indies in 1995.
In all, he took 147 Test wickets at 37.85. As a very determined, reliable late-order batsman, he scored 1,705 runs at 22.73. He held 33 catches. He had more than 1,500 wickets to his credit in first-class cricket.
Advertisement
