Wisden
Wisden Obituary

Peter James Sainsbury


Back Row: l/r Neil Taylor, Shaun Morris, Shaun Udal, Ian Turner, Kevin Shine, Martin Thursfield, Darren Flint, Rpert Cox<br>Centre: Tim Tremlett, Adi Aymes, Aqib Javed, Kevan James, P-J Bakker, Jon Ayling, Tony Middleton, Cardigan Connor, Peter Sainsbury (coach)<br>Front: Rajesh Maru, David Gower, Paul Terry, Mark Nicholas (captain), Chris Smith, Bob Parks, Robin Smith, Julian Wood
Peter Sainsbury, the coach of Hampshire cricket club in 1991, with his star-studded team. Daily Echo photographer / © Hampshire Cricket
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SAINSBURY, PETER JAMES, who died on July 12, aged 80, was as much a part of Hampshire's fabric as Winchester Cathedral, chalk streams and the New Forest. Born in Chandler's Ford, near Southampton, he made more than 750 appearances for them, and completed an association of nearly 40 years with a spell as coach. His name ran like a thread through Hampshire's successes: the only player to appear in both Championship winning teams (in 1961 and 1973), a member of the side who won a first one-day title, the coach for the first triumph in a Lord's final.

Sainsbury bowled miserly slow left-arm, relying on flight rather than spin, but batted right-handed in a style designed to please team-mates and supporters rather than purists. He was a ferocious competitor. "He was a niggly little bugger," said Jimmy Gray, a teammate in the first Championship triumph, "and he always tried harder than anyone else."

His fielding earned him several stints as England's twelfth man, but he reached the middle only once, when he mistook a gesture by Ted Dexter as a request for a sunhat. The nearest he came to international recognition was during the 1958-59 Ashes, when the management sought to bolster the squad's spin resources. It had been decided to summon Sainsbury from Kimberley in South Africa, where he was coaching, but there was a last minute change of plan: Gloucestershire's John Mortimore was called up instead. Sainsbury knew nothing of this until 2002, when the writer Stephen Chalke showed him a letter from George Duckworth, the MCC baggage man and scorer. "To think I got that close," said a thrilled Sainsbury. "You've made my life."

He was 19 when he made his Hampshire debut in June 1954, and a little over a year later had a 21st birthday to remember, dismissing Len Hutton twice in a day at Bradford. The England captain gave him the ball and a signed copy of his autobiography. That summer he took 102 wickets at 18, made nearly 600 runs and held 35 catches: a new talent had arrived, and he was chosen for an MCC A-tour of Pakistan.

Under the devil-may-care captaincy of Colin Ingleby-Mackenzie, Hampshire finished second in the Championship in 1958. Three years later, helped by his penchant for a shrewd declaration, they were champions for the first time; Sainsbury contributed 1,459 runs, 54 wickets and 45 catches. On the final morning of the decisive match, against Derbyshire at Dean Park in Bournemouth, he and Mike Barnard, also Hampshire-born, added a frenetic 99 in 70 minutes to set up the declaration. Later, as Derbyshire's tail proved frustratingly obdurate, Sainsbury caught and bowled Harold Rhodes, and had Bob Taylor caught in the deep. In 20 balls he had wrapped up the title.

By the time the county claimed a second Championship, 12 years later, "Sains" was the canny senior professional and Richard Gilliat's vice-captain. He was third in the batting averages, with 721 runs at nearly 38, and top of the bowling, with 49 wickets at just under 18. But his contribution to team spirit was incalculable. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1974, the first born in Hampshire. His fellow all-rounder Mike Taylor recalled: "He was the ideal employee, a stickler for timekeeping, always dressed smartly in blazer and tie." Sainsbury had honed his fielding skills as Derek Shackleton's round-the-corner man, and was outstanding in any position close to the bat. "I can remember him at leg slip, regularly running out batsmen at the bowler's end," said Taylor.

Sainsbury's game might have been made for one-day cricket: he frequently bowled his overs off the reel, seldom giving anything away, and batted busily. "It was very hard to bowl a maiden to Sains," said Taylor. A Lord's final, however, remained agonisingly out of reach, although the Sunday League title in 1975 was some compensation. He retired in 1976 after 593 first-class appearances for Hampshire - only Phil Mead and Alex Kennedy made more - and 165 one-day games. His total of 1,245 first-class wickets for the club places him fifth on their all-time list, and he is eighth on the batting chart, with 19,576; his 601 first-class catches are bettered only by Mead. He is one of just 20 players in all first-class cricket to make 20,000 runs and take 1,000 wickets - and the only one of the 20 without a Test cap.

Sainsbury lost none of his passion after taking over as coach. "He made sure you respected the traditions and the great history of the club," Tim Tremlett recalled. "The Hampshire badge on your blazer and cap really meant something." Under his guidance the Sunday League was won in 1978, and he later formed a fruitful working relationship with captain Mark Nicholas. Another Sunday title came in 1986, and two years later Hampshire finally shed the unwanted tag of being the only county not to appear in a Lord's final, defeating Derbyshire in the Benson and Hedges Cup.

He had one rule that was not negotiable. "You had to stay behind to discuss the day's play," said Tremlett. "He would encourage you to go and speak to experienced opposing players. If you'd had a bad day he would always sit down and talk to you." He was also held in high regard by John Arlott: "Trim, perky, as keen at the end of August as at the beginning of May, humorous, though he never finds cricket a laughing matter, Peter Sainsbury is a cricketer with a great heart."

© John Wisden & Co