Obituaries index: F-J
Goffet, Gordon, who died on July 29, 2004, aged 63, was an opening bat who played 17 matches for New South Wales in the 1960s. On his debut, against the 1965-66 MCC team, he was bowled for nought by David Brown, but the following season collected his only first-class century, 122 against Western Australia.
Griffiths, Colin, who died on September 14, 2004, aged 73, was an attacking amateur batsman who played 27 times for Essex in the early 1950s. In 1952, he spanked what turned out to be the fastest hundred of the summer, 105 in 90 minutes against Kent at Tunbridge Wells. Ten days later Griffiths hit a rapid 89 against Middlesex at Colchester which, like his century, was scored from No. 9. Promoted in the second innings, he pulled a back muscle while hitting a six. The family demolition business intruded, and he played little cricket of any kind after that. He tried mountaineering and scuba diving, and later became the chairman of the Cricketers' Club of London, a retreat with a well-stocked bar off Baker Street.
Harbin, Dr Leonard, who died in 2002 aged 87, was an off-spinner and handy batsman who played eight matches for his native Trinidad - he was part of the team that won the Inter-Colonial title in 1936-37 - before moving to England, where he made four appearances for Gloucestershire while qualifying as a doctor in Bristol. On his debut in 1949, he took nine wickets in the match against a strong Combined Services team (Peter May, with 80 and 90 not out, eluded him). However, Harbin took only one wicket in his three Championship outings in 1951, and faded from the scene. Arthur Milton remembered "a useful cricketer, with an endearing habit of rushing down the wicket for a word - cheery, not sledging - with a batsman who'd just been in trouble with his off-spin".
Harty, John Patrick, who died on April 27, 2004, aged 67, was Eastern Province's first-choice wicket-keeper for ten seasons from 1956-57, making 129 dismissals, 19 of them stumpings.
Henderson, James Douglas, who died on August 14, 2004, aged 85, was a noted Scottish all-rounder in the decade after the war. He was a left-handed bat and useful left-arm medium-pacer who played 18 times for Scotland, 14 times in first-class matches. His three best innings all came against Ireland, including his highest first-class score, a sparkling 121 at Paisley in 1954. Henderson was rooted in Forfar, one of Scotland's cricketing hotbeds, and represented Forfarshire for many years.
Hills, Captain Stuart Faber MC, who died on May 29, 2004, aged 80, was the leading run-scorer and wicket-taker at Tonbridge School in 1942. Two years later, as a tank commander, he won an immediate Military Cross for his role in the capture of a ridge above the River Noireau. Hills was later in the Malaysian Civil Service and the oil industry.
Hotchkin, Neil Stafford, died on February 6, 2004, two days after his 90th birthday. He was the last survivor of the first team fielded by the Arabs, the wandering club side founded by E. W. Swanton in 1935. At a dinner to mark his own 90th birthday, in 1997, Swanton spoke of Hotchkin in an affectionate address: "The most extraordinary thing about him is that as a cricketer he got worse and worse. In the Eton and Harrow match he made 153 in the first year [1931], 109 and 96 in the second year, and 88 and 12 in the third. So he obviously left school thinking he'd get a pair in the next year if he played on... 458 he made, and that's the most that have ever been made in the Eton and Harrow match." Hotchkin did play a little more first-class cricket than that suggests - he opened the batting for Cambridge in the 1935 Varsity match. But apart from three wartime games in India, and a handful of matches for Middlesex, the last of them in 1948, he concentrated on club cricket - and golf, in which he rose to become president of the European Golf Union. He owned the Woodhall Spa golf club in Lincolnshire, where the main course is now named after him.
Howden, Robert, who died on May 1, 2004, aged 87, played three matches for Natal in 1939-40. He made only 85 runs, 64 of them in one innings against Eastern Province. Howden's sister, Edith, married Andrew "Mac" Pollock and was the mother of Peter and Graeme, and the grandmother of Shaun.
Hyam, Judge Michael Joshua, collapsed and died of a heart attack at a legal dinner on July 8, 2004, aged 66. At Westminster School in the mid-1950s, Hyam was an accurate and persistent medium-pacer - though an unathletic fielder - who took 84 wickets for the First XI in his last three years. He later captained Cambridge Crusaders and played club cricket for many years, especially for Esher, turning into an off-spinner renowned for changing his field between every ball. Hyam was appointed Recorder of London (the senior judge at the Old Bailey) in 1998 and presided over many high-profile cases, including the trial of Jane Andrews, the Duchess of York's former assistant, who was convicted of murder. He was a humorous and highly regarded judge.
Ironton, Barry, who was killed in a road accident, aged 62, on August 7, 2004, was a popular wicket-keeper for Barnet and then a well-respected umpire in Hertfordshire. In 2003 he achieved an ambition by umpiring the national village final at Lord's. His name was mistakenly given in Wisden 2004 as Ireton.
Jayasuriya, Jaliya, was killed in the Indian Ocean tsunami in Sri Lanka on December 26, 2004. He was briefly secretary of the Sri Lankan cricket board in 2002 when an interim committee was running the game. Jayasuriya (no relation of the Test player) had previously been promotions manager for Singer, long-time sponsors of Sri Lankan cricket. He was killed with two of his sons while on holiday; his wife survived.
Jenkins, Vivian Gordon James, who died on January 5, 2004, aged 92, was an outstanding Welsh sportsman of the inter-war years. Viv Jenkins played in the 1933 Varsity Match as a late replacement, and held out, with F. G. H. Chalk, to prevent Oxford being routed after they had collapsed to 32 for six against the pace of Ken Farnes. He also appeared in 44 matches for Glamorgan in the 1930s, mainly as a wicket-keeper. Jenkins's fame rests on his rugby, however: he appeared 14 times for Wales as the prototype of a modern attacking full-back, and was vice-captain of the 1938 Lions team in South Africa. He then switched to journalism, starting with the News of the World before moving to the Sunday Times after the war. Interspersed with the rugby, Jenkins covered three MCC tours, starting in 1946-47 when he went to Australia by flying boat. Frank Keating described him as "the trail-blazing paragon" of the sports-star-turned-journalist, adding: "He was an appealingly vivid writer, the goodness of the game always paramount."
Jones, Richard Henry, see Cartwright-Jones.
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