Case file · Series 2, Episode 3 · Season 2, Episode 3
Dead Man's Eleven
A village cricket match continues around a body and a grand estate whose family history refuses to stay in the pavilion.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
Cricket, class and a formidable guest performance make this a distilled piece of early Midsomer.
- Best for
- Cricket · Country estate · Family history
- Mood
- Classic
- Team
- DCI Tom Barnaby with DS Gavin Troy
- Spoiler guidance
- Read the premise freely; open the marked sections only after watching. Check the linked provider advisory for further viewing information.
Why it matters
Cricket, class and a formidable guest performance make this a distilled piece of early Midsomer.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
The scorecard matters less than a concealed family connection and the lengths taken to control an inheritance.
Spoiler-safe viewing companion
Three questions to carry into the episode
Use these spoiler-safe prompts to notice the setting, the investigation and the details that may matter.
- Place
How does Fletcher's Cross shape what people say openly, delay, or leave unsaid?
- Theme
Which details seem to carry more than one meaning, and what might be a red herring?
- Teamwork
Compare how DCI Tom Barnaby and DS Gavin Troy gather information: who watches the room, and who presses the conversation forward?
More episode detailsProduction, cast, deaths and filming information
Credits, context and checked facts
Production and cast
- TV series
- Series 2
- Episode number
- Episode 3
- Written by
- Anthony Horowitz
- Directed by
- Jeremy Silberston
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 12 September 1999
- Reported filming period
- May–June 1999
- Detective
- DCI Tom Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Gavin Troy
- Pathologist
- Dr Dan Peterson · Toby Jones
- Principal setting
- Fletcher's Cross
- Casebook tone
- Classic
Check the credits, then follow the source trail for production and filming details. Counts below describe this archive’s records.
The fictional setting and the real filming sites are separate pieces of information. The location desk currently connects it to 3 broader filming areas and 1 exact on-screen site identity.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer credits6 episodes credited to Anthony Horowitz
- Director credits9 episodes directed by Jeremy Silberston
- Release positionCase 8 of 144
- Story characterClassic · Cricket · Country estate
- Location evidence1 exact screen-use match
Sources for the production file
Published episode chronology and credits ↗Official ITV programme page ↗Filming-location reference index ↗The chronology is the reference for the credits shown here. A programme homepage does not independently verify a filming date or every production detail. Where multiple transmission dates are listed, territory attribution needs checking. Story, teleplay and adaptation distinctions require the original credit wording; links to external synopses may reveal plot details.
Selected episode credits
Dead Man's Eleven cast
These selected cast entries link to their published profiles. They do not include every name shown in the end credits.
Robert Hardy
Robert Cavendish is the imposing head of a local family whose estate and cricketing world frame the investigation. Hardy brings patrician authority to a household in which appearances and loyalties are under pressure.
Open actor profile →
Imelda Staunton
Christine Cooper belongs to the close-knit village circle surrounding Fletcher's Cross and its cricket club. Staunton plays the social detail precisely, helping a seemingly cosy community feel observant, competitive and brittle.
Open actor profile →Jane Wymark
Laura Howard
Toby Jones
Eileen Davies
Terence Corrigan
Annabelle Apsion
Terence Rigby
Amanda Walker
Hilda Braid
Susan Field
Anthony Calf
Duncan Preston
Felicity Dean
Ella Jones
Delia Lindsay
Joss Gower
Zoë Hart
Penelope Beaumont
The performers behind this case
Core cast
Actor profiles for the detective, investigating partner and pathologist credited to this episode.
John Nettles
Tom Barnaby · Detective Chief InspectorAn English actor, author and narrator who was already a household name as Jersey detective Jim Bergerac. After Bergerac he spent five seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company and later returned to television drama in Poldark.
- Bergerac
- Poldark
- Royal Shakespeare Company
Daniel Casey
Gavin Troy · Detective Sergeant · later InspectorAn English stage and television actor also known for Our Friends in the North, Steel River Blues, EastEnders and Emmerdale. He later returned to the Midsomer world to play Tom Barnaby in the first professional stage adaptation.
- Our Friends in the North
- Steel River Blues
- Midsomer Murders on stage
Toby Jones
Dr Dan Peterson · Locum pathologistAn acclaimed English character actor across theatre, film and television. His work includes Infamous, Detectorists, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, the voice of Dobby in Harry Potter and an Olivier-winning performance in The Play What I Wrote.
- Detectorists
- Mr Bates vs The Post Office
- Infamous
Portraits are used only where a reusable licence or public-domain release has been verified. Publicity stills and stock photographs are not copied into this independent guide.
Forensic desk
Dr Dan Peterson
- Credit
- Locum pathologist
- Played by
- Toby Jones
Peterson covers a brief early-series spell during Bullard's absence and brings a brisk, precise manner to the forensic work.
Meet the Casebook pathologists →Spoiler-controlled deaths desk
Deaths recorded in this case
5 people die in this case, according to the linked death record.
Break the seal: reveal the death ledger
- Matthew Draper
Accidental, natural or other · Explosion
Performer check- Matthew Draper: Joss Gower
- Tara Cavendish
Murder · Blunt force
Performer check- Tara Cavendish: Felicity Dean
- Emily Beavis
Murder · Other recorded death · historical or before the main case
Performer check- Emily Beavis: Susan Field
- Charles Jennings
Murder · Stabbing or impalement
Performer check- Charles Jennings: Terence Corrigan
- Patricia "Trish" Smith
Accidental, natural or other · Stabbing or impalement
Performer check- Patricia “Trish” Smith: Zoë HartThe body-count ledger shortens the name to Trish Smith; the published cast record supplies the credited form.
Break a second seal: reveal the verified killer
Verified killers
Mrs Wilson · Patricia "Trish" SmithMrs Wilson killed Emily Beavis and Tara Cavendish while pursuing revenge for Matthew Draper's death. Her daughter Patricia killed Charles Jennings as part of the same scheme; Patricia's own fatal stabbing during the final struggle remains classified as accidental.
Verified motive
Mrs Wilson and Patricia pursued revenge against the people they blamed for Matthew Draper's fatal quarry accident and its concealment.
Source: detailed episode synopsis ↗Verified important clue
Archive case 8 · checked 16 September 2026The old quarry linkTara Cavendish's death site points back to Matthew Draper's fatal quarry accident and helps identify the concealed event that connects the revenge targets.
Clue source: detailed episode synopsis ↗Verified decisive clue
Archive case 8 · checked 17 September 2026Patricia Smith's identity as Matthew Draper's daughterEstablishing Patricia's parentage turns Mrs Wilson's grievance into a two-person revenge scheme rather than a sequence committed by one offender. It explains Patricia's access to the targets and resolves why she, not Mrs Wilson, wielded the knife against Charles Jennings after Stephen Cavendish was framed.
Decisive-clue source: detailed episode synopsis ↗Verified red herring
Archive case 8 · checked 17 September 2026The blackmail note in Stephen Cavendish's possessionA note typed by the second victim is found among Stephen's possessions, making him appear to connect both present deaths and strengthening the case against him. The older quarry accident supplies the real link: Mrs Wilson and Trish select the people they blame for Matthew Draper's death and its concealment.
Red-herring source: detailed episode synopsis ↗Verified death and discovery order
Archive case 8 · checked 16 September 2026- deathMatthew Draper dies at the quarry
Matthew's accidental death and its concealment provide the grievance behind the later revenge scheme.
- discoveryThe past is reconstructed
The investigation identifies the quarry death as the event linking the selected present-day victims.
- deathTara Cavendish is killed
Mrs Wilson kills Tara while pursuing revenge for Matthew.
- discoveryTara becomes the present case
Her body is found and the inquiry begins to expose the older quarry secret.
- deathCharles Jennings is killed
Patricia kills Charles as part of the same revenge plan.
- discoveryMother and daughter are linked
The second present death reveals separate physical responsibility within the shared scheme.
- deathPatricia dies in the struggle
Patricia is fatally stabbed by accident during the final confrontation.
- discoveryThe final account preserves the accident
The resolution records Patricia's death separately from the murders committed by her and her mother.
Real place → fictional identity
What was filmed where?
The Lions of Bledlow
Used as: The working pub is one of the real exteriors used around fictional Fletcher's Cross and has appeared under Midsomer pub identities including The Queen's Arms.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.Sources support the listed site uses; they do not establish every filming location in an episode.
Wider filming areas
Places connected to this file
Old Amersham
Historic streets and period buildings repeatedly become Causton, village centres, shops and institutions.
Open location →Bledlow
The church, village hall and Lions of Bledlow pub recur as the social centre of several fictional villages.
Open location →
Littlewick Green
Its green, Cricketers pub, church and village hall support episodes involving cricket, film, insects and scarecrows.
Open location →