Originally operating as a seam bowler for Warwickshire, Hemmings changed to bowling off-spin for Nottinghamshire, which led to Test match appearances from the age of 33.

At Brisbane during the 1982-3 Ashes series, Hemmings was mocked for his ample girth in an incident in which a group of home supporters smuggled a pig into the ground and released it onto the outfield, having scrawled "Eddie" onto one flank and "Botham" onto the other.

A change in England selection policy after this tour saw the spin department filled by left armers such as Phil Edmonds and Nick Cook in 1983.

[4] Hemmings was then recalled to the England squad in the World Cup in 1987 in India and Pakistan, and played alongside Emburey in a number of key fixtures.

Earlier that winter he was a bystander in one of the most notorious incidents in Test cricket; he was attempting to deliver the ball when an unseemly row ensued between England captain Mike Gatting and umpire Shakoor Rana.

[9] In county cricket, Hemmings was a useful lower-order batsman, who had made his only first-class century in 1982, a week before his Test debut, making 127 not out (batting at no.9) against Yorkshire.

[10] Requiring four runs off the last ball of the Benson & Hedges Cup final in 1989, Hemmings (by now aged 40) struck a boundary off John Lever of Essex to ensure victory for Nottinghamshire.

Soon after this win he was reinstated in the England side for the 5th Ashes Test match of the same year at Trent Bridge, thanks in part to the fact that several players had just announced their decision to go on a rebel tour to South Africa, including off-spinner John Emburey.

Selected as part of Graham Gooch's touring squad that winter, Hemmings played in one day internationals only – often being the most economical bowler.

However broadly speaking England selectors preferred their off spinners to be able to bat which explains why Geoff Miller, who had a superior first-class record as a batter, was often selected.