Paul Nicholas Weekes could be described as a legend of Middlesex County Cricket Club after starring during a 16-year period between 1990 and 2006.
Weekes was an extremely talented allrounder – working his magic with the bat at the top of the order and bowling more-than-handy right-arm off break with the ball.
The Hackney man amassed over 19,000 runs across all three formats – scoring 29 centuries in the process. This goes alongside more than 600 wickets and five five-wicket hauls.
With the bat, Weekes’ finest week Middlesex came in the summer of 1996, where he scored a career-best 171 not out in the County Championship encounter against Somerset at Uxbridge.
In the same match, he went on to score 160 – becoming one of only very few batters to score a century in each innings of a first-class match.
Middlesex came in the game off the back of wins against Lancashire, Hampshire and Nottinghamshire in August and early September.
Somerset captain Peter Bowler won the toss and elected to bat. It was a great decision in the end as the west country outfit piled on 485 in their first innings.
In reply, Weekes was 51 not out by the close of play on day two and added a further 120 on day three to end up on 171 before Mike Gatting declared on 350 for three.
Time was running out in the match and with a result trying to be forced, Somerset raced to 258 for three in 61 overs before the second declaration of the game came. 394 was Middlesex’s target and they came oh so close in the end, reaching 357 for eight before the game ended… Weekes hit 160 off 217 balls and was backed up by Mark Ramprakash, who scored 110 off 156 balls.
Weekes’ best day with the ball came in the earlier in the same summer, against Glamorgan at Lord’s. Weekes took 8/39 on the final day to bowl the visitors out for 141, helping to set up a nine-wicket victory.
Everyone except Steve James, Adrian Shaw and Steve Barwick was dismissed by Weekes’ off-breaks. Steve James (33) was the only player to provide any resistance but was trapped LBW by Phil Tufnell.
Amazingly, Weekes was the club’s fifth bowler of the innings and finished up with bowling analysis of 20-5-39-8 at Lord’s and is one of only 16 Middlesex bowlers to take eight wickets in an innings at the Home of Cricket. He was backed up by Tufnell, who took 2/39 in 25.2 overs including the wicket of Barwell.
