Born at Ealing, Middlesex in 1927, John 'JJ' Warr was a right-arm fast medium bowler and right-handed tail end batsman. He attained blues all four years between 1949 and 1952 whilst at Cambridge University and he captained the side in 1951. 'JJ' represented Middlesex 260 times between 1949 and 1960 taking 703 wickets (av. 20.76) with a best performance of 9 for 65 against Kent at Lord's in 1956. He scored 2,744 runs (av. 10.80) with a highest score of 51 and he held 91 catches. Captaining the county between 1958 and 1960, he exceeded 100 wickets in a season twice with a best of 116 (av. 18.17) in 1956. He played two Tests for England with a best of 1 for 76, his only wicket being that of Australian Ian Johnson, caught by Godfrey Evans behind the wicket. He toured abroad five times with M.C.C. to Australia and New Zealand in 1950/51, Canada in 1951, East Africa in 1957/58, E.W. Swanton's XI to West Indies in 1955/56 and with the Duke of Norfolk's XI to Jamaica in 1956/57. In 1991 he was elected a Trustee of M.C.C. and in 1987/88 he served as President of the club. Retiring from first-class cricket in 1960, he concentrated on a career in the City and is a member of the Jockey Club, is a senior steward at Goodwood and a highly respected and fun after-dinner speaker.
