Wisden
1984

Obituaries in 1983

ALVA, B. CHANDRAHASA, who died at Bangalore on November 6, 1982, at the age of 59, was a competent all-rounder, a sound right-hand batsman and a reliable medium-paced bowler. He played for Madras and Mysore in the Ranji Trophy between 1944 and 1959, captaining both teams. He scored 1,082 runs at an average of 30.33 and took 57 wickets at 23.71 apiece. In 1950-51 he played in two unofficial Tests against the Commonwealth team which toured India. An engineer by profession, Alva occupied influential positions in the Mysore, later Karnataka, state service.

AUSTEN, DR ERNEST THOMAS, who died in Melbourne on June 21, 1983, aged 82, played twice for Victoria in 1928-29. He might have thought that once would have been enough, for at Melbourne in his first match, having fielded through a New South Wales innings of 713 for six declared, he became, in Victoria's second innings, one of Hooker's four victims in successive balls.

BADCOCK, CLAYVEL LINDSAY ( JACK), who died at his birthplace, Exton, Tasmania, on December 13, 1982, aged 68, was something of an infant prodigy, making his début for Tasmania in 1929 when still under sixteen. A right-handed batsman, Badcock was sturdily built and a punishing driver. He was also a fine cutter of the ball, especially square of the wicket. He played nineteen matches for Tasmania before transferring to South Australia for whom he played until his early retirement, owing to lumbago, in 1941. He had an insatiable appetite for runs. Playing for South Australia against Victoria at Adelaide in 1936 he made 325, his highest score. He also scored 271 not out for South Australia against New South Wales in 1938-39 and 236 against Queensland in 1939-40. His highest score for Tasmania was 274 against Victoria at Launceston in 1933-34.

For such a prolific scorer in Sheffield Shield cricket Badcock had a disappointing Test record, scoring only 160 runs in twelve innings, despite making 118 against England in only his third Test, at Melbourne in 1936-37. He toured England in 1938 and enjoyed considerable success outside the Test matches, his aggregate of 1,604 runs (average 45.82) being inferior only to those of Bradman and Brown. Self-effacing and immensely popular, he scored 7,571 runs in first-class cricket at an average of 51.54 and hit 26 centuries.

BADHAM, PETER HENRY CHRISTOPHER, died at Upton, near Poole, on April 10, 1983, aged 72. After a humble record in the Winchester XI in 1930, he made such rapid progress as an all-rounder that he had several trials for Oxford and in 1933 played for Leicestershire, for whom he had a birth qualification, against the University. He also played with some success for Buckinghamshire and later for Dorset. He was a fast-medium right-hand opening bowler with a high action.

BARLOW, ALFRED, who died on May 9, 1983, aged 67, kept wicket very neatly for Lancashire in 74 matches between 1947 and 1951. He was capped in 1950, a year in which Lancashire shared the Championship with Surrey, and in the winter of 1950-51 he toured India with a strong Commonwealth side. All told he made 104 catches and 46 stumpings, most of the stumpings coming off Tattersall and Hilton. Quite a useful tail-end batsman, he was prominent in the tied match between Lancashire and Hampshire at Bournemouth in 1947. When Hill of Hampshire began the final over Lancashire's last pair, Ikin and Barlow, were together, with the scores level. In trying a sharp single Barlow was run out.

BEESON, F. EDWARD, who died on April 10, 1982, was a hard-hitting batsman who played occasionally for Buckinghamshire. For some years he was groundsman at High Wycombe Grammar School.

BLUNDELL, NEIL, who died in Adelaide on September 24, 1983, aged 53, was Assistant Secretary of the South Australian Cricket Association from 1970 until 1978 and Secretary from 1978 until 1980. He had been a cricket umpire and a linesman with Davis Cup experience.

BROWN, LENNOX SIDNEY, who died in Durban on September 1, 1983, aged 72, toured Australia and New Zealand with H. B. Cameron's South African side in 1931-32, playing one Test in each country. Against Australia he took one for 100 and against New Zealand at Wellington two for 89. He could bowl effectively at two paces--medium and slow. On his first-class début, for Transvaal against MCC at Johannesburg in 1930-31, he took seven wickets in the match, including Hammond's twice, and he had played only one more first-class game when, at the age of twenty, he was chosen for the Australasian tour. In the Currie Cup he played first for Transvaal and later for North-Eastern Transvaal, for whom, against his former province in 1937-38, he took ten wickets in the match. He finished his career with Rhodesia, having also played Lancashire League cricket for Church and professional football for Huddersfield Town and Oldham Athletic. Altogether he took 147 first-class wickets. His top score was 75, for North-Eastern Transvaal against the 1938-39 MCC side.

BUCKLE, FRANK ( SANDY), who died in Sydney on June 4, 1982, aged 90, was, at the time of his death, the oldest surviving New South Wales player. A right-hand bat, he played one game for the state in 1913, in which he scored 10.

CARLISLE, KENNETH RALPH MALCOLM, who died on July 23, 1983, aged 75, was in the Harrow XI in 1925, 1926 and 1927. In 1925 he made 45 at Lord's, in 1926 62 and in 1927, playing for Sussex in their last match against Essex at Hove, made 34, top score, in the second innings. Making 108 in the Freshmen's Match at Oxford next year, he received two invitations to play for the University: the first he had to refuse through injury, the second did not reach him in time. Meanwhile his substitute had made runs in each match and his own chance was gone. He did not make runs later that year for Sussex, nor in a trial or two for the University in 1929. He was an aggressive batsman, an attractive off-side player, with a good straight drive, who could also score well off his legs. His father captained Oxford in 1905.

COLLINSON, JOHN, who died at Hove on August 29, 1979, aged 67, appeared in two matches for Middlesex in 1939 and in his first innings for the county, against Gloucestershire at Cheltenham, was second-highest scorer with 34. In 1946, having gone as a master to Malvern, where for some years he ran the cricket, he played one match for Worcestershire. He had a solid defence, but was a very slow scorer.

COOMBES, MAXWELL JAMES, who died at Longley, Tasmania, on March 10, 1983, aged 71, was a right-hand bat who played ten times for Tasmania between 1932-33 and 1938-39. He scored 361 runs for them at an average of 24.06. He had a brother, G. A., who also played for Tasmania.

COOK, GEOFFREY GLOVER, who died on September 12, 1982, aged 72, was a right-hand bat and medium-pace bowler who played 68 matches for Queensland between 1931 and 1947. He made 3,453 runs (average 29.76), took 125 wickets (average 35.50) and held 33 catches. His highest score, 169 not out, was made in 1946-47 against W. R. Hammond's MCC team. In 1938-39 he had helped W. A. Brown make 265 for Queensland's first wicket against New South Wales in Sydney. This remained a Queensland record until 1983. Cook, who scored three first-class centuries, was the son of Barney Cook, himself a former Queensland player.

CORBETT, LEONARD JAMES, died on January 26, 1983, aged 85. Better known as one of the great rugger three-quarters of his day, who had sixteen international caps and twice captained England, he was also a good cricketer, who, in nine matches for Gloucestershire between 1920 and 1925, made 373 runs with an average of 20.72, his highest score being 55 in the August Bank Holiday match against Somerset in 1923 at a time when the side was doing very badly. Perhaps one who well remembers fielding in a club match while he made a hundred may be allowed to say that if he had the opportunity to play regularly he would have been invaluable to the county. Moving with all the ease of a natural games player, he had beautiful strokes and made batting look very simple; moreover he was, as one would expect, a superb field. In later life he wrote well both on rugger and cricket for the Sunday Times.

COY, ARTHUR H., OBE, who died at Port Elizabeth on May 15, 1983, was a prominent member of the South African Cricket Association during the days of strictly segregated cricket, being its President from 1953 to 1955 and again from 1957 to 1959. He had captained Eastern Province before the Second World War, in which he served with the Royal Engineers, and was much in the news at the time of the D'Oliveira affair in 1968.

CROLE-REES, ANTONY, who died suddenly at Hove on October 8, 1983, aged 58, was for 24 years on the Sussex Committee and for seven years its Chairman. He had been in the Charterhouse XI and was a useful all-round games-player until crippled by arthritis.

DE SARAM, FREDERICK CECIL (DERRICK), died in Colombo on April 11, 1983, aged 70. Strange things happened in the world of cricket at Oxford in the 30s, few stranger than that De Saram, one of the finest bats at either University between the wars, should have had only one trial in The Parks in his first two years. Coming up from Royal College, Colombo, he played in the Freshmen's Match in 1932 without success and was not seen again until the Seniors' Match in 1934, when he probably owed his place to a fine record for Hertfordshire the season before. Making 64 in this match, he was picked for the University's opening fixture against Gloucestershire, in which, on his first-class début in England, he made 176 in three hours. A few weeks later he scored 128 against the Australians, treating Grimmett with a disrespect of which few Test batsmen had shown themselves capable: the Oxford total was 216 and the next highest score 16. In all for Oxford that summer he scored 1,119 runs with an average of 50.86, his highest score being 208 against a weak bowling side of H. D. G. Leveson Gower at Eastbourne. Like some other outstanding batsmen, he failed against Cambridge. In 1935 Schools prevented him from playing regularly or getting into form, but in the first innings at Lord's, when things were going badly, he got 85 in two and a half hours, easily top score in a total of 221, and, when he was out, he received an ovation. That was the end of his first-class cricket in England, but for Hertfordshire in the vacation he had an aggregate of 904 runs and an average of 90.40, figures believed at that time to be a record for Minor County cricket. He continued to play with great success in Ceylon, whom he captained from 1949 to 1954: indeed in 1954 he made 43 against MCC on their way to Australia. He also did much for the game off the field as an administrator and selector. A complete batsman with lovely wrists, all the strokes and at the same time a strong defence, he was a fierce competitor who, had he been born 50 years later, would have been a godsend to the present Sri Lankan side--unless politics had intervened. In 1962, as formidable in public life as on the cricket field or lawn tennis court (a game at which he also represented Oxford), he was sentenced to a long term of imprisonment for conspiring against the Government of the day.

DEWFALL, ERNEST GEORGE, who died in November 1982, aged 72, played two matches for Gloucestershire in 1938 as a fast bowler without much success.

EDGSON, CHARLES LESLIE, died suddenly in hospital on June 28, 1983, aged 67. A heavy scorer at Stamford School, he played occasionally for Leicestershire from 1933 to 1939 and against Derbyshire at Chesterfield in 1934, when only nineteen, played two invaluable innings of 49 and 43. Going up to Oxford he made 57 in the Freshmen's Match in 1936, but did not get a trial for the University. Altogether for Leicestershire he scored 321 runs with an average of 13.38. Later he was for years a master at Brentwood School, where he was in charge of the cricket.

EGGAR, JOHN DRENNAN, who died aged 66 on May 3, 1983, while playing lawn tennis, was three years in the Winchester XI and captain in 1935, but neither then, nor in his first two years at Oxford, did he do anything outstanding, though his friends knew him to be a good player. However, in 1938 he followed a hundred in the Seniors' Match with 51 not out early in May out of a total of 117 against the Australians. As he had Schools that summer, he could not play again for the University until the match against Lancashire in The Parks six weeks later, when an innings of 125 made it clear that he must be in the side, even though it meant relegating to twelfth man E. D. R. Eagar, who had a good record. At Lord's Eggar, who had meanwhile made 98 against Sussex, justified his selection: a stubborn second innings of 29 ensured that Oxford saved a match that they could easily have lost. Later that summer he appeared twice for Hampshire, but after the war, being a master at Repton, he played for Derbyshire in the summer holidays, regularly until 1950 and occasionally until 1954. His record of 1,385 runs with an average of 31.48 shows how valuable he was. In 1947 he and C. S. Elliott put on 349 for the second wicket against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge, still the highest partnership ever made for the county. He was essentially a sound player, whose bat in defence could look unnaturally broad, but he did not lack strokes, and, though the highest of his three centuries for the county, 219 against Yorkshire at Bradford in 1949, took over seven hours, it included 27 4s. On that occasion he was battling in vain to save his side from defeat. Well-taught at Winchester by H. S. Altham and E. R. Wilson, he was himself a successful coach at Repton. Later he was for sixteen years Headmaster of Shiplake College, where he was greatly respected and achieved a considerable success, more than trebling the numbers of what, when he went there, was a school with an uncertain future.

EMERY, RAYMOND WILLIAM GEORGE, who died in Auckland on December 18, 1982, aged 67, played twice for New Zealand as a right-hand opening bat in their inaugural series against West Indies, in 1951-52. He was already 36 when he did so, though it was during his best season (433 runs at 72.16 for Canterbury in the Plunket Shield). He also bowled, at medium pace, and in a West Indian total of 546 for six in the second Test at Auckland took the wickets of Worrell and Walcott. In all first-class cricket he scored 1,177 runs (average 29.42), including three centuries, and took 22 wickets at 34.27 apiece.

GAUNT, THE REV. CANON HOWARD CHARLES ADIE, who died at Winchester on February 1, 1983, aged 80, was a successful bat at Tonbridge, but did not obtain a Blue at Cambridge. However, he played in eleven matches for Warwickshire between 1919 and 1922, his highest score being 32 against Somerset at Edgbaston in 1922. From 1937 to 1953 he was Headmaster of Malvern and once, batting for Free Foresters, won the admiration of Arthur Povey, the much-loved pro at Tonbridge, who exclaimed, He may be a Headmaster, but he can hit them to square leg all right! He represented Cambridge at hockey and lawn tennis.

GILBERT, ALAN, who died early in 1983, aged 67, was educated at Manchester Grammar School and kept wicket for Cheshire occasionally in the 1950s.

GORNALL, CAPTAIN JAMES PARRINGTON, DSO, RN (Retd), who died at Lower Froyle, Hampshire, on November 13, 1983, aged 84, was a good club batsman who played several times for the Navy and made one appearance for Hampshire in 1923.

GOULDING, SIR WILLIAM BASIL, BT, died in Dublin on January 16, 1982, aged 71. Educated at Winchester, where he was not in the XI, he was a wicket-keeper and right-hand bat who played two matches for Ireland in 1934, the year in which his father was President of the Irish Cricket Union. He also played squash for Ireland and captained Oxford University at soccer.

GRAY, LAURENCE HERBERT, died at Langdon Hills, Essex, after a long illness, on January 3, 1983, aged 67. Born at Tottenham, he was that comparative rarity, a Middlesex cricketer with a birth qualification. After a few matches in 1934 and 1935, he began to make his mark as a fast bowler in 1936, when he and Jim Smith bowled out Nottinghamshire at Lord's in the second innings for 41, his own share being four for 26. From then until 1949 he was a regular and valuable member of a side which depended largely on slow spin, the other quick bowlers being Jim Smith (until the war), Edrich and G. O. Allen, when available. It was a glorious period in the county's history: in those eight seasons they won the Championship twice, were second five times and third once. To this impressive record Gray made a considerable contribution, though after doing much good work in 1937 and 1938 he fell off sadly in 1939. At this period he was apt to lose his length and bowl short, faults which were less evident after the war. In 1946 he took for Middlesex 95 wickets at 19.06 and in all matches, for the only time, exceeded 100 wickets, while in 1947 his record for the county was 92 at 22.46. He continued to bowl with some success for two more years, but, losing a regular place in 1950, played his last match in 1951. An arthritic hip shortened his career. In 1946, when he took eleven for 34 against Hampshire at Lord's, he appeared for the Players at Lord's and in a Test trial. It will be seen that the war robbed him of six seasons when he might reasonably have expected to be in his prime. Even so it may be doubted whether he would ever have been more than a good county bowler. He had not quite the physique or the speed to attain greatness. In all first-class matches he took 637 wickets for 25.14. A batting average for his career of 7.38, with a highest score of 35 not out, suggests no great ability in that line, but he played at least one memorable innings. Against Essex at Lord's in 1939 he helped Denis Compton to put on 83 in three-quarters of an hour for the last wicket, his own share being 1 not out. To Compton he later owed a great debt. As the senior of the two, Compton was due for his benefit in 1948, but waived his claim in Gray's favour. Gray's benefit raised over £6,000, a sum which, low though it may seem by modern standards, had then only once been exceeded. From 1953 to 1970 Gray was a first-class umpire, standing in four Test matches.

GREENWOOD, HENRY WILLIAM, who died in hospital in Horsham on October 16, 1983, aged 74, was a batsman who just failed to make the grade in first-class cricket. A short, stocky man, he was not a natural stroke-player, but had limitless patience and a strong defence and could cut well. After playing a few games for Sussex in 1933 and 1934, he helped John Langridge to put on 101 for their first wicket against Oxford in 1935, going on to make 77, and a few weeks later the two shared in an opening partnership of 305 in four hours against Essex at Hove, to which he contributed 115. For the county that season he scored 404 runs with an average of 36.72, but even so failed to get a regular place and next year did not play in a single Championship match. Perhaps his fielding did not help as, though an adequate slip, he was a slow mover elsewhere. Moreover, the Sussex batting was strong at the time. So he left the county and on his own initiative qualified for Northamptonshire, then the weakest side in the competition, playing meanwhile first for Forfarshire and then for Stoke. In 1938 he was available for Northamptonshire only in midweek, but did fairly well, scoring 573 runs with an average of 26.04. However, in 1939 he was disappointing, though he made his highest score for the county, 94 against Warwickshire at Edgbaston. After serving in the RAF in the war, he returned to the side in 1946, but had a poor season, not helped by being required to act as wicket-keeper in the absence of anyone better. This concluded his first-class career.

GRIFFITH, BERNIE, who died in Wellington on September 29, 1982, aged 72, played as a leg-break and googly bowler for New Zealand in the last two unofficial Tests against E. R. T. Holmes's MCC side in 1935, having earlier helped Wellington to a famous victory over the tourists by 14 runs. In fourteen first-class matches he took 50 wickets at 26.88 apiece

HALL, DEREK, who was killed in a car crash in Canada in late April, 1983, played for Derbyshire from 1955 to 1958. Standing well over six feet, he had a good trial in 1955 and, without any notable performance, showed promise, taking 24 wickets at 26.41. Given another good trial in 1956, he was disappointing and after a match or two in 1957 and 1958 he left the county. Altogether he took 48 wickets at 28.88. As a batsman he did not contribute much, his highest score in twenty matches being 10 not out.

HARDY, MAJOR RICHARD SOMERS ANGUS, died at Harlaston on June 23, 1983, aged 78. Captain of Stonyhurst, where he had been for four years in the XI, he later played occasionally for Staffordshire as a batsman.

HARPER, HERBERT, who died at Birmingham on August 6, 1983, aged 94, made one appearance for Worcestershire, against Yorkshire, as a batsman, without success.

HILL, CHARLES MERRIN, who died in Dublin in July 1982, eleven days before his 79th birthday, was a member of the Leinster club and played once for Ireland against Scotland as a right-hand bat in 1927, scoring 5.

HILLYARD, MAJOR JACK MONTAGU, who died on February 16, 1983, aged 92, was in the Harrow XI in 1909 and 1910. A son of G. W. Hillyard, who, besides bowling fast for Middlesex and Leicestershire, was a first-class lawn tennis player and golfer, he had inherited much of his father's ability and was a fine natural games player. In 1910 at Lord's, in Fowler's Match, he made 62 very well in the first innings, which was top score, and also took five wickets.

HUNT, ROBERT NORMAN, died in hospital at Chichester on October 13, 1983, aged 80. A good bat and a useful fast-medium right-hand bowler he was for years a prominent member of the Ealing side and between 1926 and 1928 made a few appearances for Middlesex. Though his total record was only 138 runs with an average of 19.71 he had one good performance, scoring 81 not out against Worcestershire at Lord's in 1926.

HURWOOD, ALEXANDER, who died in Brisbane on September 26, 1982, aged 80, was a right-hand bowler, who could spin the ball appreciably at near medium pace, and a fine slip fielder. He played eighteen matches for Queensland between 1925-26 and 1931-32 and won two caps for Australia against West Indies in 1930-31. In January 1930 he took six for 179 for Queensland against New South Wales in Sydney in the innings in which Bradman made the then world record individual score of 452 not out. When Bradman had made 80, Hurwood bowled a ball which hit Bradman's wicket without dislodging a bail. He toured England in 1930 with W. M. Woodfull's side, but without appearing in a Test match. He took 28 wickets on the tour and had a top score of 61 against Sussex. After taking eleven wickets in the first two Tests against West Indies in 1930-31 he somewhat unluckily lost his place. All told he scored 575 runs in first-class cricket (average 11.27) and took 113 wickets (average 27.62).

JACK, KEITH MAYALL, who died in Queensland in November 1982, aged 55, played 25 times for that state, as a batsman, between 1948 and 1952. He scored 1,104 first-class runs at an average of 26.92.

JACKSON, ALFRED LOUIS STUART, who died on July 23, 1982, aged 79, was captain of Cheltenham in 1922, when he headed the batting averages and played for the Lord's Schools. Going out to South America, he played for both Chile and the Argentine and was a member of the South American side which toured England in 1932 and played a number of first-class matches. He himself came out top of the batting averages, making 674 with an average of 39.64. Against a strong side of Sir Julien Cahn's he and D. Ayling put on 102 and 113 for the first wicket, the second of these partnerships taking only 65 minutes. Jackson's scores were 62 and 78. The touring side, facing a total of 413, won by five wickets. He was a younger brother of J. A. S. Jackson of Somerset.

JAMES, RONALD VICTOR, who died on April 28, 1983, aged 62, was a right-hand batsman and agile field who played 33 Sheffield Shield games--twenty for New South Wales and thirteen for South Australia. For South Australia he scored 85 against W. R. Hammond's MCC team in 1946-47 and in the following season made his best score, 210, for South Australia against Queensland. In 1949-50, by when he had returned to Sydney, he took over the captaincy of New South Wales from Keith Miller who had been called to reinforce the Australian team then in South Africa. New South Wales won the Shield. At the end of a career in which he scored 2,582 runs (average 40.34), James became a New South Wales selector.

JARRETT, HAROLD HARVEY, died on March 17, 1983, aged 75. A leg-break and googly bowler, who took a longer run than most of his type, he came out for Warwickshire at the beginning of August 1932 and, playing in their last seven matches, took 36 wickets for an average of 29.63, showing distinct promise. On his first appearance he also played a valuable innings of 45. Next year his chances were limited by the rapid rise of Eric Hollies and his career for the county ended. Moving to South Wales, he later edited the South Wales Cricketers' Magazine and in 1938 made an appearance for Glamorgan. In his first-class career he took 51 wickets at 32.35. His son represented Wales at rugger as a full-back and also played cricket for Glamorgan II.

JAYAWICKREME, S. S.( SARGO), MBE, who has died at the age of 72, was one of Sri Lanka's leading batsmen in the days when, as Ceylon, they were taking their first tentative steps beyond their own shores. As a member of C. H. Gunasekera's side to India in 1932-33 he scored the first century (130) on the Ferosha Kotla in New Delhi, the ground being inaugurated with an unofficial Test between the two countries. In 1940-41, as captain of the second Ceylon side to visit India, he scored 138 against an Indian XI in Calcutta. Jayawickreme made many runs for the Sinhalese Sports Club and is the only Sri Lankan cricketer to have been decorated for his services to the game in the island. LEE, HIS HONOUR JUDGE ARTHUR MICHAEL, DSO, died in hospital at Midhurst on January 14, 1983, aged 69. A useful bat and slow spinner, he was captain of Winchester in 1932 and had a trial for Hampshire in 1933. His father, an Oxford Blue, had also played for the county.

LEWIS, ESMOND BURMAN, who died at Dorridge on October 19, 1983, aged 71, created a Warwickshire record on his first appearance for the county, against Oxford University at Edgbaston in 1949, catching eight batsmen and stumping one. He continued to keep occasionally for the county until 1958, but his opportunities were limited because the regular wicket-keeper, Spooner, was a far better batsman and so Lewis only kept in 43 matches in all. In 1957 he was picked for the Gentlemen at Lord's and kept very well. His highest score was 51 against the Combined Services in 1949.

LIDDICUT, ARTHUR EDWARD, who died in Melbourne on April 8, 1983, aged 91, toured New Zealand with Vernon Ransford's Australian team in 1920-21. An all-rounder, who often opened the bowling at right-arm medium-pace and went in usually at No. 8 or 9 in a strong Victorian batting side, he started his first-class career in 1911-12 and retired in 1932. He scored three centuries and achieved his best bowling figures of seven for 40 for Victoria against Tasmania at the age of 39. Against A. C. MacLaren's MCC team in 1922-23 he was one of four Victorians to score a century in a total of 617 for six declared. In the same match he took four for 16 in MCC's first innings. In 62 first-class games he took 133 wickets (average 27.56) and scored 2,503 runs (average 31.28). On his retirement from active cricket Liddicut was for many years a delegate to the Victorian Cricket Association.

LONEY, ESCOTT FRITH, who died in Toronto on June 19, 1982, aged 78, played for Derbyshire between 1925 and 1927, scoring 511 runs (average 17.03) and taking twenty wickets at 32.50 apiece.

LOVELOCK, OSWALD H., who died in Perth on August 1, 1981, was a wicket-keeper and middle-order batsman who played twenty matches for Western Australia between 1932 and 1940, scoring 731 runs (average 27.07) and claiming 33 victims behind the stumps.

MacBRYAN, JOHN CRAWFORD WILLIAM, who died on July 14, 1983, a few days before his 91st birthday, was England's oldest surviving Test cricketer. Captain of cricket at Exeter School, he was in the XI at the RMC Sandhurst when he played for Somerset in their last two matches in 1911 and against Surrey at The Oval was second-top scorer with 20 in a total of 97. In the next three years he made a few appearances for the county and in 1914 scored 61 against Gloucestershire. But in August that year he was wounded in the right arm at Le Cateau and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner, latterly in Holland, where he was able to play plenty of cricket. In 1919 he was up at Cambridge, but, though he scored 90 against the Navy, was only twelfth man at Lord's. However, he topped the Somerset averages and indeed did so in six of the eight seasons 1919-26. He duly got his Blue in 1920. His two best years for Somerset were 1923, when he made 1,507 runs for them with an average of 37.67, and 1924, when his aggregate was 1,355 and his average 43.70. By now he was near the England side. In 1923 he made top score, 80, for the Rest against England in the Test trial at Lord's and in 1924 was picked for the Gentlemen at Lord's, and again made runs in a Test trial. As a result he was selected for the fourth Test against South Africa at Old Trafford, but the match was ruined by rain and he did not bat. Many expected him to be in the side for Australia, but his chance was probably lost when the doctors passed J. W. Hearne as fit. In any case, the team was overweighted with openers: in addition to Hobbs and Sutcliffe, there were Sandham, Whysall and J. L. Bryan. Instead MacBryan went with the Hon. L. H. Tennyson's unofficial side to South Africa, where he was only moderately successful. Two more seasons for Somerset virtually concluded his career. Though he continued to play occasionally until 1931, he was never after 1926 in sufficient practice to do himself justice, and so, like many other amateurs, he dropped out just when he was at his best. Short but strongly built, he was primarily a back-foot player and a fine cutter and hooker. He also played well off his legs and was a far better bat on a turning wicket than most amateurs. Moreover, lack of inches did not stop himcountering Tate at his best by playing forward and getting well over the ball. In all his movements he was neat and elegant. In the field his wounded arm prevented him throwing far, but he was good near the wicket, especially at short-leg. A rich character, he was in his element in a side captained by John Daniell and containing R. C. Robertson-Glasgow, G. F. Earle and J. C. White, with the great Sam Woods, to whom he acknowledged a special debt for teaching him to play Tate, in support off the field. In all first-class cricket he scored 10,322 runs with an average of 29.50, including eighteen centuries, the highest of them 164 against Leicestershire at Taunton in 1922.

McKINNON, ATHOLL HENRY, who died in Durban on December 2, 1983, aged 51, played eight times for South Africa between 1960 and 1967, taking 26 Test wickets at 35.57 apiece. As portly as he was affable, he belonged to the classical school of slow orthodox left-arm bowlers, length, line and flight playing at least as much a part as spin. Born at Port Elizabeth and educated, like the Pollock brothers, at Grey High School, McKinnon began his first-class career, in 1952-53, with Eastern Province and ended it, in 1967-68, with Transvaal. He toured England twice, in 1960 and 1965, being the only member of the 1965 team to have also been in the previous side. In 1964-65, when England were last in South Africa, McKinnon was brought into the South African side for the fourth Test. His four for 128 in 51 overs in England's first innings and three for 44 in 35 overs in the second showed him at his best, his control being excellent, his line off stump and outside. In South Africa in 1966-67 when, amid nation-wide excitement, the home side won a series against Australia for the first time, he played in the first two Tests. He was a burly tail-ender, who batted right-handed and had a top score of 62. After retiring he was a patient and popular cricket coach. His death, from a heart attack, came when he was managing the unofficial West Indian team touring South Africa. All told he took 470 first-class wickets (average 21.14) and scored 1,687 runs (average 15.06).

MacLEOD, ALASTAIR, who died at Broomfield, near Colchester, on April 24, 1982, aged 87, made twelve appearances for Hampshire between 1914 and 1938. Four years in the Felsted XI, he came into the county side the month after leaving and crowned several useful scores with a fine innings of 87 in two hours against Essex at Bournemouth. He played a couple of matches in 1920 and made 48, top score, against Sussex at Brighton and, had he been able to play more frequently, would probably have been valuable. However, his next appearance was not till 1935 and a few matches in 1938 concluded his first-class career. A fine driver, he made altogether 271 runs with an average of 15.05. From 1936 to 1939 he was Secretary of the Hampshire County Cricket Club.

MATHER-JACKSON, SIR ANTHONY HENRY, BT, who died suddenly on October 11, 1983, aged 83, was in the Harrow XI in 1916 and 1917: in 1917 he took six for 43 in the one-day match against Eton at Eton. Between 1920 and 1927 he played fairly frequently for Derbyshire, but only in 1922 was he able to appear regularly. In that season he made 580 runs with an average of 18.12 and played a number of useful innings, including 75 against Leicestershire, his highest score in first-class cricket, and 69 against Worcestershire. He was an attacking batsman and a good field and bowled fast-medium swingers. In all for the county he scored 1,199 runs with an average of 14.80 and took 44 wickets at 30.89. He was a cousin of G. R. Jackson, the Derbyshire captain.

MAYES, DR ALEXANDER DUNBAR AITKEN, who died on February 8, 1983, aged 81, played ten times for Queensland between 1924 and 1927, taking 21 wickets and scoring 297 runs.

MEHRA, RAMRAKASH, who died in Delhi on March 7, 1983, aged 65, was a batsman of more than average ability who became closely associated with the growth of cricket in Delhi and was President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India in 1975-76 and 1976-77. For Northern India and Delhi, in the early days of the Ranji Trophy, he scored 1,202 runs with an average of 30.82, many of them with a flourish. In 1940-41 he scored 209 against Maharashtra.

MILLS, GEORGE THOMAS, sometime Headmaster of Bromsgrove High School, died at Bromsgrove on September 15, 1983, aged 60. He kept wicket for Worcestershire in two matches in 1963, catching five and stumping four. His club cricket was mainly for Stourbridge.

MUFASIR-UL-HAQ, who died in Karachi on July 27, 1983, aged 38, played his one Test match, for Pakistan against New Zealand, at Christchurch in February 1965, taking three wickets and scoring 8 not out. A left-arm medium-paced bowler, he played for Karachi, PWD and National Bank in first-class cricket. He was only the second Pakistani Test cricketer to die, the first being Amir Elahi.

MURPHY, DESMOND J., who died in Dublin in January 1981, was a right-hand bat and leg-break bowler who played for Ireland against Scotland in 1920, obtaining a pair and taking nought for 49. He believed that only his fielding was of the required class. For many years he was Headmaster of St Gerard's, a lay Catholic preparatory school in Co. Wicklow.

ORMEROD, MAJOR SIR CYRIL BERKELY, who died on November 1, 1983, aged 86, was in the XI at St Paul's School and later represented both the Army and Oxfordshire. He was a fast-medium right-hand bowler. In 1924 he was Army Golf champion.

PERCIVAL, JOHN DOUGLAS, died in hospital at Roehampton on March 5, 1983, aged 80. After heading the Radley batting averages in 1918, when he was under sixteen, he was in the Westminster XI in the next three years and captain in 1921. With a good defence and strong on the leg side, he seemed to have a bright future. However, at Oxford, though he had a trial for the University and played for Gloucestershire against them in 1923, he was never seriously in the running for a Blue. His batting style and even his mannerisms were modelled closely on D. J. Knight, from whom he had learnt much of his cricket.

PRAGG, SHERVAN, who died in Trinidad on November 26, 1982, aged twenty, as the result of injuries sustained in a road accident, had not long returned home from a successful tour of England with the West Indies Young Cricketers. As a left-arm bowler of googlies and chinamen he had shown the highest promise.

PRATT, RICHARD, who died on October 10, 1982, aged 86, had a few trials for Derbyshire as a batsman in 1923 and 1924, but met with no success. He could also keep wicket.

PRITCHARD, DAVID EDWARD, who died on July 4, 1983, aged 90, scored six centuries for South Australia, including 119 against the 1928-29 MCC team. For nearly 50 years his 327 not out for Port Adelaide against Sturt stood as the highest individual score in Adelaide district cricket.

PROCTOR, SIR PHILIP DENNIS, KCB, who died at Lewes on August 30, 1983, aged 77, was a member of the Harrow XI in 1924. He was an outstanding school wicket-keeper, who kept particularly well at Lord's.

PROMNITZ, HENRY LOUIS ERNEST, who died at King William's Town on September 7, 1983, aged 79, played twice for South Africa, against England in 1927-28. Like bowlers of more modern times, such as Iverson of Australia and the West Indian, Ramadhin, his spin was difficult to fathom, the off-and leg-breaks being frequently misread. Also like Iverson and Ramadhin, he was a poor fielder, which may have accounted for his playing in only two Test matches. In the first of them, at Johannesburg, he finished England's first innings with five for 58 in 37 overs after the score at one time had been 230 for one. In his second Test, at Cape Town, he took three for 56 in 30 overs in England's second innings. His eight Test wickets included Hammond, Sutcliffe, Ernest Tyldesley, Wyatt and Stevens. Between 1924-25 and 1936-37 he played at different times for Border, Griqualand West and Orange Free State, taking 150 first-class wickets at 23.80.

PYE-SMITH, DR EDWARD JOHN, who died at Bishop Monkton, near Harrogate, on March 6, 1983, aged 80, was captain of Cheltenham in 1920, when he made a fine hundred against Haileybury at Lord's. A strong, determined batsman, he did not get a Blue at Cambridge, but played for Yorkshire Second XI.

RAWLENCE, COL JOHN ROOKE, OBE, who died in hospital at Ascot on January 17, 1983, aged 67, played two matches for Hampshire in 1934 and in the second, against Nottinghamshire at Southamton, made 38 and helped Creese put on 60 for the seventh wicket in just over half an hour. He had headed the Wellington College averages in 1933. Later he played for the Army.

RICHARDSON, ARTHUR WALKER, who died in a nursing home at Ednaston on July 29, 1983, will be remembered as the captain under whom Derbyshire won the Championship in 1936, at a time when this was regarded as the prerogative of the `Big six'. After many vicissitudes, including a period when they were relegated to second-class status, Derbyshire had reached rock bottom in 1920 when they suffered the indignity of losing all their matches except one in which not a ball was bowled. For the change in their fortunes in the next sixteen years they owed much to successive captains, G. M. Buckston for one season in 1921, G. R. Jackson for nine and then, for the last six, Richardson. He had a side rich in bowling, which he managed shrewdly, among other things seeing to it that Copson, who was to mean so much to the team in the future, was not overbowled at the start of his career. He did much also by his own enthusiasm and warm personality. A solid and slightly ungainly batsman, he scored mainly on the leg, but by determination and courage and keeping sensibly within his own limitations, he played many useful innings. By far his best season was 1932, when he scored 1,258 runs with an average of 29.95 and made the highest score of his career, 90 against Nottinghamshire at Ilkeston. In all, between 1928 and 1936, he made 3,982 runs with an average of 19.05. He was also a good mid-off. He had been in the Winchester XI in 1925 and had played an innings of 117 against Harrow, putting on 295 for the second wicket with E. Snell. His son, G. W. Richardson, later represented Derbyshire with some success.

RICHARDSON, LESLIE WALTER, who died in Hobart on November 1, 1981, aged 70, was one of seven members of the same family who played for Tasmania, the others being his four brothers, his father and an uncle.

SHANMUGANATHAN, THIAGARAJAH, who died in September 1982, aged 52, was one of the best leg-break bowlers produced by Sri Lanka.

SIME, HIS HONOUR WILLIAM ARNOLD, CMG, MBE, died at Wymeswold, Leicestershire, on May 5, 1983, aged 74. Four years in the XI at Bedford School, in 1928, when he was captain, he made two centuries for Bedfordshire. He did not get a Blue at Oxford, but continued to play with success for Bedfordshire and captained them in 1934. In 1935 he transferred to Nottinghamshire, but made only occasional appearances until 1947 when he was appointed captain, a position he held until 1950. He proved a useful member of the side and made in all 2,328 runs with an average of 19.98, besides taking occasional wickets as a slow left-hander: he was also a good field. His outstanding performance and his only century was an innings of 176 not out against Sussex at Hove in 1948. This took him six hours, a contrast to his usual methods, but it secured a victory for his side, who had lost three for 33 when he went in in the first innings. More typical perhaps was his 58 not out against Surrey at Trent Bridge in 1949, made in 37 minutes and including three 6s: Nottinghamshire, set to get 206 in two hours, got them in 97 minutes. It may be noted that in this time Surrey bowled 36.3 overs. Sime was also a first-class rugger player, who appeared in an England trial, and a good golfer. Later he was Recorder of Grantham and in 1972 was appointed a Circuit Judge. However he did not lose touch with cricket, being President of Nottinghamshire in 1975-77 and lately President of the XL Club.

SMITH, ANDREW EDWIN, who died on May 18, 1983, aged 93, scored 774 runs (average 33.65) and took seventeen wickets (average 48.76) for South Australia.

STANLEY-CLARKE, BRIG. ARTHUR CHRISTOPHER LANCELOT, CB, DSO, MC, who died at Shiel, Bailey, Dublin, on January 8, 1983, aged 96, was in the Winchester XI in 1905, when he scored 82 not out in the second innings against Eton and headed the batting averages. A solid opening bat, he later played for the Army. At the time of his death he was the oldest living member of I Zingari and, as far as is known, the oldest living English first-class cricketer.

SUMMERS, GERALD FRANK, who died at Harrogate on August 12, 1983, aged 78, played for Surrey II for some years with considerable success, and from 1930 to 1939 was a regular member of Sir Julien Cahn's side. For them he scored 13,289 runs with an average of 42.05, his highest score being 246 against Bedfordshire in 1934, a season in which he scored over 2,000 runs. On that occasion he put on 404 for the third wicket with D. P. B. Morkel, the highest stand ever made for the side for any wicket. He was a very hard-hitting bat, a useful change bowler and a fine field.

SWAMY, V. N., who died at Dehra Dun on May 1, 1983, was a medium-paced bowler who played in one Test match against New Zealand at Hyderabad in 1955-56. He opened the bowling, without taking a wicket, and did not bat. Swamy played for Services in the Ranji Trophy, taking 58 wickets at 19.98 apiece. His best performance was six for 29 against East Punjab in 1954-55.

TALBOT, RONALD OSMAN, who died in Auckland on January 5, 1983, at the age of 79, toured with the New Zealand team to England in 1931 as a forceful right-handed batsman and a medium-paced bowler. In his best innings of the tour--66 against MCC at Lord's (his country's first appearance there)--he made one of the biggest straight drives, high onto the pavilion, seen on the ground. The first of his three first-class hundreds was in his début match--for Otago against Canterbury at Dunedin in 1922-23. An all-round sportsman, he excelled at squash, golf, bowls and athletics, and he played rugby for Canterbury.

THORN, HUBERT WETHERED, died at Colchester on May 20, 1982, aged 73. In 1928 he made one appearance as an all-rounder for Essex.

THORNLEY, BILL, who has died at the age of 76, was a valued friend of Nottinghamshire cricket, being for the last few years of his life their trusty scorer. Although he never played county cricket he was a useful club cricketer in the High Peak league.

TOWNLEY, REGINALD COLIN, who died in Hobart on May 3, 1982, aged 76, was a well-known Tasmanian cricketer who later became a member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly and, for six years, Leader of the Opposition. A right-handed batsman and leg-spin bowler, he played sixteen times for Tasmania between 1926-27 and 1935-36, scoring only 175 runs but taking 36 wickets at an average of 35.42. His last match for Tasmania was against South Australia, when in twenty overs he took three for 169, including the wicket of Bradman, caught and bowled for 369.

TREMLETT, MAJOR-GENERAL ERROLL ARTHUR EDWIN, who died on December 24, 1982, aged 89, played in first-class matches for MCC, but the most remarkable thing about him was that he was still doing his full share of bowling, medium-pace, in good-class club cricket, largely for the Devon Dumplings, until he was 80 and, what is more, taking wickets.

VAN MANEN, HUGO, who died on January 2, 1983, captained Holland between the wars and again after the Second World War, being the most prolific Dutch batsman of his day. From 1945 to 1955 he was President of the Netherlands Cricket Association.

VIVIAN, HENRY GIFFORD, who died in Auckland on August 12, 1983, aged 70, was only eighteen years 267 days when, as a left-handed all-rounder of much natural ability, he played in the first of his seven Tests for New Zealand. That was at The Oval in 1931, and, besides taking the wickets of Sutcliffe and Ames, he was top scorer, in New Zealand's second innings, with 51. His record on that tour (1,002 runs and 64 wickets) included centuries against Oxford University and Yorkshire. At Wellington in 1931-32, against South Africa, he scored 100 (his only Test century) and 73, the highest score in each innings. On his second tour to England, in 1937, he opened New Zealand's innings in the three Test matches, three times reaching 50. A charming person and welcoming host, he had been only 22 when appointed to the captaincy of Auckland. By the time a back injury ended his first-class career and confined him to the game's administration--he did not play after the Second World War--he had scored 4,443 runs (average 34.71), including six centuries, the highest of them 165 for Auckland against Wellington in 1931-32, and taken 223 wickets. He also played with success in the late 30s for Sir Julien Cahn's XI. His son, Graham, played five times for New Zealand between 1964 and 1972.

WATKINS, BERT THOMAS LEWIS, died in December 1982, aged 80. In 1932 he had a good trial for Gloucestershire, who were trying to find a replacement for H. Smith as wicket-keeper and in 1937 again came into the side when Smith's successor, Hopkins, a far better bat than Watkins, broke a finger. He made his last appearance for the county in 1938. Unfortunately he was slightly uncertain in taking the spinners, in whom much of the bowling strength of the side lay at that period.

WESTBROOK, KEITH RAYMOND, who died in Tasmania on January 20, 1982, aged 94, was at that time the second-oldest surviving Australian first-class cricketer. Two of his great-uncles played in the first first-class match ever played in Australia. A right-handed batsman he scored 35 and 25 in his one game for Tasmania, against Victoria in 1910.

WILKINSON, COLONEL WILLIAM ALEXANDER CAMAC, DSO, MC, GM, who died at Storrington on September 19, 1983, aged 90, was a soldier of great gallantry in two wars and a cricketer who overcame a serious handicap to become one of the most consistent batsmen of his day in a high class of club cricket and indeed, when the opportunity offered, in first-class cricket. A legendary character whose outspokenness knew no close season, he was no respecter of persons; yet he is seldom mentioned by anyone who knew him without genuine affection. Leaving Eton too young to have been in the XI and finishing his school education in Australia, where his father, an old Middlesex cricketer, was in practice as a doctor, he went up to Oxford and got his Blue in his third year, 1913, largely on the strength of an innings of 129 in an hour and a half against MCC, in which, Wisden says, he hit with delightful freedom all round the wicket. In 1914 he had a poor season and lost his place. He had also represented Oxford twice in the hurdles. In the war he was shot through the right hand and narrowly avoided amputation. As it was, though he could put his hand on the bat it had little strength. His beautiful cutting, however, remained as much a feature of his play as his skill on the leg. Despite his handicap he was not a slow scorer. Almost as remarkable as his batting was his fielding. Though much of the work on his right side had to be done back-handed by his left hand, he was never reckoned a liability in the field.

For years he was a regular member of the Army side, which he often captained, and most of his other cricket was played for the Household Brigade, Eton Ramblers, I Zingari, Harlequins, Free Foresters and other clubs. He never played for a first-class county, though he appeared for Sussex II before the Great War, but he was constantly to be found in first-class matches for MCC or Free Foresters and played too in the Folkestone Festival and for the Gentlemen at The Oval. His scoring in these matches right up to 1939 suggested that he would not have been out of place in county cricket. More solid evidence was provided when he went as a member of A. C. MacLaren's side to Australia and New Zealand in 1922-23. On this tour he scored 689 runs with an average of 28.70, his highest score being 102 against Canterbury. On this occasion he added 282 with A. P. F. Chapman in two and a quarter hours. Even after the Second World War he continued to make runs in club cricket and he himself believed that the century which he made in his last innings was the 100th of his career. In any case it was a fitting finale to the career of a brave and determined man.

WILLIAMS, RICHARD HARRY, died in December 1982, aged 81. A left-hander who often went in first, he played for Worcestershire from 1923 to 1932. A record of 713 runs with an average of 11.14 does not look much, but he played some useful innings. The highest, 81 against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in 1926, was made largely off change bowlers when the match was dead, but in the corresponding match the year before he had scored 56 going in first, the highest score in a total of 161, and in 1928 against Yorkshire at Worcester he made 76 not out. True, the total was 402, but there were no easy runs in those days against the Yorkshire bowling.

WILLIAMS, TREVOR CHRISTOPHER, who died in Dublin in August 1982, was an outstanding all-rounder for the Pembroke club. However, in his four matches for Ireland he achieved nothing of note. His brother, Michael, also played for Ireland.

WINSER, LEGH, who died in Australia on December 20, 1983, aged 99, was at the time the oldest living Sheffield Shield cricketer. Born in Cheshire and educated at Oundle, he played for Staffordshire from 1906 to 1908, keeping wicket to S. F. Barnes, at the time perhaps the world's deadliest bowler. Emigrating to South Australia in 1909, Winser was soon keeping wicket for that state. By 1913 he had become a strong candidate for a place in the Australian team to South Africa, a tour that was, in fact, cancelled because of the onset of war. After giving up cricket he achieved eminence as an amateur golfer, winning the Championship of South Australia eight times and the Australian Amateur Championship once. At the time of the Bodyline tour, in 1932-33, he was secretary to the Governor of South Australia, Sir Alexander Hore-Ruthven (afterwards the Earl of Gowrie). Hore-Ruthven being in England at the time, Winser was intimately concerned with the exchange of cables between the Australian Board of Control and MCC when, after ugly scenes in the Adelaide Test match, the future of the tour, indeed of the special relationship between the United Kingdom and Australia, were put in jeopardy. In his later years, spent at Barwon Heads, near Geelong in Victoria, he regularly beat his age at golf, on one occasion by no fewer than eleven strokes: when 87 he played the eighteen holes of the Barwon Heads links in 76 strokes.

WISE, NORMAN, who died in Workington on March 23, 1983, was a great servant of the Cumberland County Cricket Club, being Secretary from its reconstitution in 1948 until his death.

YORKE, GERALD JOSEPH, who died on April 29, 1983, aged 81, was in the Eton XI in 1918 and 1919 and in 1920 played against Winchester, but did not play at Lord's. A strong hitter, he made one appearance for Gloucestershire in 1925. His father had also played for the county.

A mistake has been pointed out in Wisden for 1965, where it states in the obituaries that M. D. Lyon's last appearance for Somerset was in 1935. In fact, having returned to England, he played throughout the season of 1938, though, not surprisingly after so long an absence from regular first-class cricket, he was a shadow of his former self. He did however play a valuable innings of 122 not out against Northamptonshire at Frome. His figures for his career should read 7,294 runs with an average of 29.18, and he made fourteen hundreds.

© John Wisden & Co