Cricket, more so than most sports, is a family game, and building a reputation in the shadows of a parental great can be tough – for Josh de Caires, son of Michael Atherton, one of England’s most storied captains and respected voices, you’d think it would be impossible.

There is a strong familial facial resemblance, and de Caires came into the game with a reputation as a doughty opening batter – remind you of anyone? And yet, 10 games in, he has carved his own niche in cricketing folklore, not with the bat, but as an off-spinner.

De Caires has been around the Middlesex team for a while, making his debut in 2021, but this story really gets going in June. He came into the 2023 season with career figures of 1-160, and didn’t play in the County Championship this year until Middlesex’s trip to Hampshire. Over the course of four and a half sessions, he compiled figures of 7-144, much to the astonishment of those watching.

Middlesex lost that game by an innings, and de Caires claimed just four wickets over his next three appearances. “That wasn’t really anywhere on my radar,” he said after the Hampshire spell. “I’m not getting carried away.”

It’s not unheard of for a part-timer to have a day out and then return to being just that. Perhaps this was to be de Caires’ fate.

But then he turned up to Chelmsford and wreaked havoc again. Title-chasing Essex put up 122 for the first wicket, with Alastair Cook and Nick Browne making half-centuries, but de Caires saw off each of those, and six other batters, none of whom made it to 40, on his way to figures of 8-106, the best post-War innings figures for Middlesex against Essex.

There were some beauties in there, notably to Tom Westley, bowled leaving by one that turned significantly, and also some helping hands from the Essex batters, with Paul Walter leaving a straight one in somewhat comical fashion.

It’s also worth noting that de Caires’ two significant hauls have come on pitches that have favoured spin. In the Hampshire game, Liam Dawson trumped de Caires with match figures of 12-130; and while Essex’s early in-roads have been made with seam, Chelmsford is famous for being a haven for slow bowlers, notably Simon Harmer, who has built up a record as county cricket’s most prolific bowler over the past half decade.

Nonetheless, it has been a stunning start to life as a twirler, filled with statistical quirks. Fifteen of de Caires’ 20 wickets have come in two innings. He now has better best figures than England great Graeme Swann, and as many career seven-fors. His bowling average has come down from north of 40 ahead of the Essex game, to less than 30 now.

“I’m quite proud of work that’s gone into my spin over the last few years,” de Caires said earlier this season. On the evidence so far, he has every right to be.

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