Obituaries in 1980

ANDERSON, WILLIAM McDOUGAL, who died at Christchurch, New Zealand, on December 21, 1979, played for Canterbury from 1938 to 1949, scoring 1,728 runs with an average of 36.80. An attacking left-hander, in his one Test match, New Zealand's first after the War - against Australia in 1946- he opened the batting. He was perhaps unlucky not to be picked for the 1949 tour of England. Later he was for a time a New Zealand selector. His son, Robert, has played for New Zealand in recent years.

BANERJEE, SHUTE NATH, who died in Calcutta on October 14, 1980, aged 67, became the first Bengali to play Test cricket when he won his only cap against West Indies' in Bombay in 1948. A right-arm fast-medium bowler, he took one for 73 in West Indies' first innings and four for 54 in their second. He is perhaps best remembered for having, in 1946, on the second of his two tours to England, helped C. T. Sarwate add 249 in three hours ten minutes for the Indians' last wicket against Surrey at The Oval. This is still an Indian record and the second-highest last-wicket partnership ever made. Batting at number eleven, he joined Sarwate at 205 for nine and hit 121. Sarwate finished with 124 not out. Surrey's attack included the Bedser twins, Gover, Watts, Squires, Gregory and Parker. Banerjee's best analysis in first-class was his eight for 25 for Nawanagar against Maharashtra in 1941-42, his highest first-class score 135 for Bihar against Bengal in 1952-53 at Calcutta in the Ranji Trophy. He captained Bihar from 1942 until 1958.

BARBER, RAY, who died in the Royal Adelaide Hospital on September 15, 1980, at the age of 64, was cricket correspondent of The News, Adelaide's evening paper, for twenty years. In this time he toured England, West Indies and New Zealand and reported regularly on MCC tours to Australia, England teams were assured of a friendly welcome from him.

BARLOW, EDWIN ALAN, died at Gretton, Gloucestershire, on June 27, 1980, aged 68. Captain of Shrewsbury in 1931, he got his Blue at Oxford in the next summer, taking three for 50 and six for 44 against Yorkshire in his first match and playing a valuable innings of 43 not out in the University match, which saved his side from having to follow on. A slow-medium off-spinner who could also swing the ball away, he was an extremely steady bowler and that year and the next was the mainstay of the Oxford attack. In 1934, when he had Schools and was unable to play regularly, he was less successful. He had a trial for Lancashire in 1932.

BOOTH, FRANK STANLEY, died at Shoreham-by-Sea on January 21, 1980, aged 72. First playing for Lancashire in 1927, he had a number of trials in the next few years, but failing to get a regular place went into League cricket. Returning to the county in 1932, he took, in 1933, 89 wickets at 27.43. In 1934, when his bowling had much to do with Lancashire winning the Championship, his figures were 101 at 23.46 and, in 1935, 89 at 19.20. After that, largely owning to injuries, he played less and his connection with the county ceased at the end of 1937. Tall and strong, he bowled fast-medium and came quickly off the pitch; he was an indefatigable trier, who revelled in long spells, and, as the quickest bowler Lancashire had at the time, he was given plenty of them. This, coupled with a long run and a slightly lumbering action, may have shortened his career.

BRIDGEMAN, THE HON. SIR MAURICE, KBE, who died on June 18, 1980, aged 76, was in the Eton XI from 1921 to 1923 and captain in his last year. His father, the first Viscount Bridgeman, was in the Cambridge XI in 1887.

BRINTON, RONALD LEWIS, died at Malvern on April 19, 1980, aged 77. A useful bat and medium-pace swinger, he was in the Shrewsbury XI from 1919 to 1921 and in 1924 made a couple of appearance for Worcestershire.

BURLTON, LT.-COL. ARTHUR TEMPLE, died at Ballochneck, Thornhill, Stirling, on February 10, 1980, aged 79. He was not in the XI at Repton, but in 1922 played five matches for Worcestershire, and against Glamorgan at Cardiff scored 32 and 35 not out, in the first innings saving the side by helping H. L. Higgins to put on 91 for the fifth wicket. He also appeared for Devon. He was author of Cricketing Courtesy (1955), a book on cricket manners and etiquette.

BURTON, REGINALD HENRY MARKHAM, who died on October 19, 1980, aged 80, played for Warwickshire v Worcestershire at Edgbaston in 1919, a match not recorded in Wisden. Although he made 47 and helped H. Venn to put on over 100 for the third wicket, he never represented the county again.

BUULTJENS, EDWARD W., died in May, 1980. In 1936 he played as a bowler for Ceylon against G. O. Allen's MCC side to Australia and caught and bowled Walter Hammond, his only wicket.

CALDERA, WING COMMANDER KEERTHI, died in England in 1980 at the age of 42, while on a course with the RAF. He played cricket for Ceylon, both at home and abroad, touring India in 1958. He was a left-handed batsman, who could also keep wicket and bowl off-breaks.

CALVERT, EDWARD BUCHANAN, who died on February 24, 1980, aged 65, showed considerable promise for Buckinghamshire as an opening batsman in 1934 and 1935, but played no more county cricket. At St. Lawrence, Ramsgate, where he was captain in 1934, he headed the averages for three years. Later he became a master at Cheltenham College, where he worked for many years.

CHEETHAM, JOHN (JACK) ERSKINE, who died in hospital in Johannesburg on August 21, 1980, aged 60, served South African cricket with great distinction, both as player and administrator. In fifteen of his 24 Test matches he captained them with a firm yet understanding touch, and after his retirement he was, from 1969 to 1972, an outstanding President of the South African Cricket Association. He was an Honorary Life President of the Transvaal Cricket Union.

Cheetham was 28 when he first played for South Africa, against F. G. Mann's side in the last Test match of the 1948-49 MCC tour, and 32 when he first led them on the 1952-53 tour of Australia. It was in Australia that he made his reputation as a captain. South Africa were given no chance of holding an Australian side which was led by Hassett and included Harvey, Lindwall, Morris, Miller and Johnston. In the event the Test series was drawn, at two matches all, South Africa winning the final Test at Melbourne after Australia had scored 520 in their first innings. Much of the credit for a notable South African achievement on this tour belonged to Cheetham, not because of the runs he made (he was a batsman pure and simple) but because of the way, with the help of the manager, Ken Viljoen, himself a former Test cricketer, he welded the players into a team. There were those at the time who thought the Cheetham-Viljoen regime too authoritarian; in fact, though, it was a sign of things to come. In his attention to the fitness and fielding of his players Cheetham was the forerunner of the modern captain.

Having led South Africa to victory over New Zealand in South Africa in 1953-54, he brought them to England in 1955 for what was one of the best and most closely fought series since the war. Ironically, in the third and fourth Test matches, which South Africa won, Cheetham was prevented by injury from playing, McGlew leading the side. With the series standing at two-all Cheetham returned for the final Test at The Oval, where England clinched the series thanks to the bowling of Laker and Lock on a wearing pitch and the batting of May, who, early in his innings, survived a memorably close call for leg before wicket against Tayfield.

Cheetham was a dour batsman but a decidedly better one than a top score of 89 from 43 Test innings would suggest. He had the respect of his players and also of the opposition, knowing what he wanted and quietly setting about obtaining it. His 271 not out against Orange Free State at Bloemfontein in 1950-51 remains the highest score ever made for Western Province in the Currie Cup. In his first-class career, which lasted from 1939 to 1955, he scored 5,697 runs at an average of 42.50. In retirement Cheetham continued to give much of his time to cricket, working hard in the interests of non-white cricketers and feeling South Africa's exclusion from the Test scene as acutely as anyone. He was a devout churchman, a determined yet patient administrator, a dutiful host and a conscientious senior executive in a firm of construction engineers. Two of his sons, John and Robert, have both played first-class cricket.

CHILDS-CLARKE, ARTHUR WILLIAM, died suddenly at his home at Mevagissey on February 19, 1980, aged 74. He was a well-known London club cricketer, who played a number of times for Middlesex between 1923 and 1934, his highest score being 58 not out v Glamorgan at Swansea in 1931; he also captained the Middlesex Second XI, In 1947 and 1948, he played for Northamptonshire, captaining the side in both seasons, playing a number of useful innings in the lower order and occasionally picking up a wicket. His highest score for Northamptonshire was 68 v Leicestershire at Leicester in 1947, but more remarkable was his 32 not out against the South Africans in 1947, when he and L. A. Smith added 76 for the last wicket. He was in the Christ's Hospital XI in 1921 and 1922.

COCKELL, W. H., who died in hospital on December 1, 1979, was the regular Cambridgeshire wicket-keeper from 1926 to 1936 and returned in an emergency to help them out as late as 1946. More recently he was the country's scorer.

CRAWFORD, THOMAS ALAN, who died suddenly on December 5, 1979, aged 69, rendered notable service to Kent cricket. A member of the Tonbridge XI for four years and captain in 1929, he made twelve appearances for the county between 1930 and 1951 without particular success. But he scored many runs for Kent's Second XI, including an innings of 175 against Wiltshire in 1931, and captained them from 1950 to 1955, a task for which he was well suited. He had a good knowledge of the game; moreover, at a time when the over-rate was already becoming a problem, he insisted on twenty overs an hour from his bowlers. He was primarily an attacking batsman and a good driver; he also picked up occasional wickets with slow spin. For many years Crawford served on the Kent committee, being President of the club in 1968. He was later appointed Chairman of the Committee, but had to resign almost immediately for reasons of health.

CREEK, FREDERICK NORMAN SMITH, MBE, MC, who died at Folkestone on July 26, 1980, aged 82, was a good bat and a useful change bowler. When available, he played for Wiltshire for some years between the wars, his highest score being 124 not out against Dorset in 1930. He was better known as a footballer: he won a Blue at Cambridge in 1919 and 1921, played constantly for the Corinthians in the FA Cup and gained five amateur international caps and one full one - against France in 1923. Later, besides doing much valuable work as a coach, he became well known as a broadcaster on football as well as a regular correspondent for The Daily Telegraph.

DEED, JOHN ARTHUR, who died on October 19, 1980, aged 79, did useful work for Kent as a batsman from 1924 to 1930. A made rather than a natural player, he had been for two years a wholly undistinguished member of the Malvern XI, but had proved a solid and reliable second string to a brilliant stroke-player in a winning rackets pair at Queen's. Much the same qualities appeared in his cricket. He was never in the running for a Blue at Cambridge, and owed his trial for Kent to an innings of 252 for the Second XI at the Oval in May, 1924. In those days the county had no shortage of attacking bats, but, especially in the early part of the season when most of the amateurs were not available, there was a lack of solidity and Deed's steadiness was often valuable. In all he scored 1,996 runs at an average of 23.76, with two centuries, both against Warwickshire at Birmingham, 103 in 1928 and 133 in 1930. He retained to the end his interest in Kent cricket and was President in 1965.

DELANY, VERNON BRIDGE, who died on March 17, 1979, at the age of 86, captained Lancashire Second XI in a number of their matches in 1924.

DENTON, WILLIAM HERBERT, the last survivor of three brothers who played together for Northamptonshire, died on April 23, 1979, aged 88. He and his identical twin, J. S., who between them caused endless confusion to spectators and scorers, first appeared in 1909. By 1912, when the county, calling upon only twelve players in the Championship, came second, they had become essential members of the side. In 1913 both exceeded 1,000 runs and, from August that year until cricket was stopped by the War, they formed the regular opening pair. Both were taken prisoner in the closing months of the War and J. S. played little county cricket afterwards but W. H., after a few appearances between 1919 and 1923, resumed a regular place for the season of 1924. Unfortunately his spell as a prisoner had taken its toll of his health and, though he did much useful work, he was not the player he had been. He did not play for the county again. A small man, he had a sound defence and his footwork was neat: a large proportion of his runs were scored behind the wicket. His highest score was 230 not out, at that time a record for the county, against Essex at Leyton in 1913. Going in first he carried his bat through an innings of five hours forty minutes and was on the field throughout the match. Apart from his batting he was a fine mid-off. When Northamptonshire played Somerset in 1914, the Denton twins opened for Northamptonshire and the Rippon twins, A. D. E. and A. E. S., for Somerset- an occurrence unique in first-class cricket.

DE SILVA, DEVA LOKESH STANLEY, died in a motor cycle accident on April 12, 1980, aged 22. A regular opening bowler on Sri Lanka's tour of England and Ireland in 1979, he was not related to the other two, more successful, de Silvas in the team; all three were Sinhalese. No batsman, he was a medium-fast right-arm swing bowler of real promise. His part in Sri Lanka's impressive win over India in the Prudential Cup match at Old Trafford in 1979 was the capture of the valuable wickets of Gaekwad and Kapil Dev for 36 runs. He came from Mahinda College, Galle, and was an official of the Ceylon Tobacco Company. His early death is a heavy loss to Sri Lanka with their aspirations to be granted full Test status.

DOBSON, FRED, died at his home in Hampshire on October 15, 1980, aged 82. He was an amateur who played three matches for Warwickshire as a slow left-arm bowler in 1928 and, taking seven wickets for 138 runs, came out top of their averages. However, he decided that he preferred club cricket.

DOOLAND, BRUCE, who died in Adelaide, his birthplace, on September 8, 1980, aged 56, was one of the last great leg-spinners in first-class cricket. As early as 1940-41, when only seventeen, he had been asked to play for South Australia, but his employers refused leave. War service with the Australian commandos had intervened before he made his first appearance for them in 1945-46 and, against Victoria, performed the first hat-trick in post-war Australian cricket. In 1946 he was a member of W. A. Brown's team to New Zealand and in 1946-47 was picked for the third Test against England at Melbourne. Taking four for 89 and one for 84 and helping McCool to put on 83 useful runs for the ninth wicket, he did not do badly, especially as his victims were Washbrook (twice), Hammond and Ikin; he was retained for the fourth Test, in which he took three for 133 ( Washbrook, Edrich and Ikin) and made 29. For the last Test he was replaced by Tribe. His only other Test was against India at Melbourne in 1948. For the 1948 tour of England, McCool and Ring were preferred to him: his later records suggest that in time he became a better bowler than either, but leg-spinners tend to mature slowly learning from experience, and both were considerably older. The immediate consequence was that he came to England to play in the Lancashire League. In 1950-51 he went with the Commonwealth side to India and made two hundreds in the unofficial Tests. In 1953 he was registered to play for Nottinghamshire. He continued to play for them for five seasons during which he scored 4,782 runs with an average of 24.52 and took 770 wickets at 18.86. Twice he did the double and once he missed it by only 30 runs. He played twice for the Players at Lord's. His batting figures show remarkable consistency as they include only one hundred - 115 not out v Sussex at Worthing in 1957- a match in which he also took ten for 102. Perhaps his most remarkable bowling performance statistically was sixteen for 83 v Essex at Trent Bridge in 1954. Against Somerset in 1953 he took ten for 49 in the match at Weston-super-Mare and later in the month ten for 48 in the return at Trent Bridge. Standing over six feethe was taller than most leg-spinners and had a long strong arm which had helped him to become one of the best baseball pitchers in his state. Delivering the ball usually with his front foot behind the bowling crease, he was a trifle quicker than many of his predecessors, but like them relied mainly on the leg-break and the top-spinner, keeping the googly in reserve. Probably the chief difference between his bowling in 1948 and in 1953 was that he had become more skilled at varying his pace and his flight. As a batsman, he could cut and drive well and he was also a good fieldsman near the wicket. After 1957 he returned to Australia, as he wished his son to be brought up as an Australian.

DUMINY, DR JOHANNES PETRUS, who played in three Tests for South Africa against England between 1927 and 1929, died in hospital in Cape Town on January 31, 1980, aged 82. J.P., as he was known, went as a Rhodes Scholar to Oxford in 1921, where he won a Harlequin as a left-handed batsman and a slow right arm bowler. Scoring 95 not out, 55 and 74 not out for Transvaal against the 1927-28 MCC team, he was chosen for two of the five Test matches of that series, though without success. Having missed selection for the South African tour to England in 1929, he was holidaying in Switzerland when he was sent for to join a team beset with injuries. He played in the third Test at Headingley, scoring 2 and 12. A distinguished academic, and a man with many friends, he became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Town in 1959. Duminy worked as devotedly as anyone towards the establishment of multi-racial cricket in South Africa.

EBELING, HANS IRVING, MBE, who died on January 12, 1980, aged 75, was a member of the 1934 Australian side in England and was later prominent in administration. It was he who conceived the idea of the 1977 Centenary Test and who, by his persistence, got it carried out. Though he had a long career for Victoria and captained them when they won the Sheffield Shield twice in four years, he lost four seasons to the claims of work in early days: otherwise he might have gone further than he did. No less a judge than Jack Hobbs thought highly of his bowling and was surprised that he was ever omitted from a representative side. A tall man, he bowled medium-pace with a sharp in-swing, but he could also make the ball run away. Moreover, he was useful attacking bat and a particularly good driver and hooker. He owed his selection in 1934 largely to a good performance against Jardine's side in 1933, when his three wickets, which included those of Sutcliffe and Wyatt, combined with an innings of 68 not out, had much to do with Victoria tying the match. In England he was a distinct success: in a side which relied heavily on spin he took 62 wickets with an average of 20.80, and in the final Test at The Oval, the sole Test appearance of his career, took three wickets, including Hammond, and in an admirable second innings of 41 put on 56 in forty minutes with O'Reilly for the last wicket. At the time of his death he was President of the Melbourne Cricket Club.

EDRICH, WILLIAM, who died at his home in Stalham, Norfolk, on November 16, 1979, at the age of 89, was the father of Bill ( Middlesex and England), Geoffrey ( Lancashire), Eric ( Lancashire) and Brian ( Kent). John Edrich ( Surrey and England) is the son of William's brother, Fred. William himself was a keen Norfolk club cricketer, who kept wicket and scored his first hundred when he was 40.

ELLIOTT, JACK, who had been elected President of the Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club two months earlier, died suddenly on March 8, 1980, aged 69. He did splendid work over many years for cricket in the county.

GANNON, BRIG. JACK ROSE COMPTON, CBE, MVO, who died at Midhurst on April 25, 1980, aged 97, was one of the oldest of first-class cricketers. Elected a member of MCC in 1908, he kept wicket a number of times for the club in that and the two following seasons in first-class matches. Later he was better known in the polo world.

FARRIMOND, WILLIAM, who died at home at Westhoughton, near Bolton, on November 14, 1979, aged 76, had the rare experience of being an England wicket-keeper who had been playing for fourteen years for his county before getting a regular place in the side. This was the more exasperating as for 35 years Lancashire had hardly had a reliable professional'keeper, merely a succession of men who had to give way when a competent amateur was available. In 1923 they found that great'keeper, Duckworth, and in 1924 Farrimond appeared. It was only Duckworth's premature retirement at the end of 1937 that gave him an assured place, and after two seasons his career was ended by the war. It speaks volumes for Farrimond's loyalty that during this long period he never accepted any of the offers he received to qualify for another county.

Meanwhile he had kept four times for England, twice in South Africa in 1931, when Duckworth fell ill, once in the West Indies in 1935 and again later that year v South Africa at Lord's. On the last two occasions Ames was playing as a batsman and fielder. In technique Duckworth and Farrimond were poles apart. Duckworth was flamboyant, spectacular and a shrill and tireless appealer. Farrimond was quiet and unobtrusive, but immensely sound and particularly good on the leg. Against Kent at Old Trafford in 1930 he equalled what was then the world's record by claiming seven victims in an innings. He was a considerably better batsman than Duckworth. He scored heavily for the Second XI, and though he never made a century for the county, in 1934 he hit 174 for the Minor Counties against Oxford University. On his tour to South Africa he averaged 30.70. His long and useful service was recognized by a benefit in 1939.

FLEMING, ARTHUR LESLIE, who died on November 7, 1980, aged 88, was a good all-rounder in the Winchester XI for three years and captain in 1910. His younger brother, I. D. K. Fleming, played for Kent.

FOSTER, MAJOR DEREK GEORGE, died at Chipping Camden on October 13, 1980, aged 73. He played for Warwickshire from 1928 to 1934, but only in 1929 and 1931, when he opened the bowling for the Gentlemen at Lord's, was he able to appear at all frequently. A fast-medium bowler with a good action in which he made full use of his height, he could, on a pitch that gave him any help, make the ball lift unpleasantly. His career figures of 150 wickets at 27.47 are not impressive and a better idea of how dangerous he could be is given by some of his analyses - six for 11 v Glamorgan at Cardiff and five for 39 v Kent at Tunbridge Wells in 1929, seven for 42 v Surrey at The Oval in 1930 and seven for 68 v Kent at Folkestone in 1931. Not highly regarded as a batsman, he occasionally hit well and in 1931 made 70 v Somerset at Taunton in under an hour, including five 6s. He had been in the Shrewsbury XI in 1924.

GRIFFITH, HERMAN C., died at Bridgetown, Barbados, on March 18, 1980, aged 86. He was late in coming to the front, being 35 when he appeared in England in 1928 with the first West Indian team to be granted Test status, but he had played for Barbados as early as 1921, and in 1926 had taken nine for 96 for them against the Hon. F. S. G. Calthorpe's MCC side. In 1928 his final record was not impressive, his 76 wickets costing 27.89 runs each, but there were those who reckoned him the best bowler on the side. Not as fast as Constantine, indeed really fast-medium, he was more of a stock bowler and was an indefatigable trier, a quality less common then in West Indian sides than it has since become. Getting plenty of pace off the pitch and swinging away sharply, he relied greatly on catches in the slips. His best performances were in the final Test at The Oval where, in an innings of 438, he took six for 103 (with a spell of five for 21) and eleven for 118 against Kent at Canterbury, where he was largely responsible for the innings defeat of a strong batting side. In 1930 he took eight wickets against an unrepresentative England side at Port-of-Spain and in the fifth Test at Sydney in 1931 he played an important part in the first West Indian victory over Australia by bowling Bradman for a duck with a slower ball, which he tried to turn to leg and made into a yorker. His second visit to England at the age of 40 in 1933 was perhaps a mistake: he was naturally not the bowler he had been, his 44 wickets costing him over 37 runs each, and he played in only two of the Tests. He continued, however, to play in first-class cricket at home until 1941. Apart from his bowling he had a safe pair of hands in the field.

HATFIELD, LT.-COL. EDWARD JOHN, who died on March 18, 1980, aged 77, made a number of appearances for Devon over a long period. He was a useful batsman.

HOLMES, JOHN RODNEY REAY, was killed in an avalanche in Italy on February 3, 1980, aged 55. A son of the old Sussex captain, Group-Captain A. J. Holmes, he was captain of the Repton XI in 1941 and 1942 and kept wicket for Sussex v Oxford University in 1950 and 1951.

HILL-WOOD, SIR WILFRED WILLIAM HILL, KCVO, died in London on October 10, 1980, aged 79. He was one of the many amateurs who were compelled to give up serious cricket before they had a chance to fulfil their promise. When his county career for practical purposes ended at 22, some good judges already reckoned him a possible future candidate for England. In technique he was the antithesis of the traditional amateur. With a crouching stance, which he had adopted early in life to counteract a tendency to move away, he was unattractive to watch though he had a good range of strokes: his strength lay in his defence. At Eton, where he was in the XI for three years and captain in 1921, he was an all-rounder and at Lord's in 1919 his leg-breaks, which later in first-class cricket often broke an awkward partnership, brought him four for 40 and seven for 29. Though he played for Derbyshire as early as 1919, he did not get his Blue at Cambridge until his second summer, 1922, and then only secured the last place. He fully justified his selection, going in first on a sodden wicket and batting four and threequarter hours for 81. When the total at lunch was 60 for no wicket after two hours' play, he and his partner, C. A. Fiddian-Green, came in for some criticism: in the end, however, they could justifiably feel that they had made a substantial contribution to an innings victory. That winter Hill-Wood was a member of A. C. MacLaren's MCC side to Australia and New Zealand and accomplished the feat for which he is best remembered. In the return against Victoria at Melbourne, the touring side had been out for 71 and Victoria had declared at 617 for six. Defeat seemed certain, but Hill-Wood and Geoffrey Wilson, later captain of Yorkshire, batted out the rest of the match and after four and threequarter hours were undefeated with 122 and 142 respectively. In 1923 he played throughout the season for Derbyshire, heading their averages with 961 runs at 34.32 and making 107 v Somerset at Bath. He played a few matches in the next two or three seasons and indeed made one appearance as late as 1936, but his serious career was over. Later he served for many years on the MCC Committee. He was one of four brothers who played for Derbyshire, three of them also being awarded Blues. Their father had captained the county at the turn of the century.

HOWORTH, RICHARD, died in hospital on April 2, 1980, aged 70. A slow left-arm bowler, who kept an immaculate length and could spin and flight the ball, an attacking left-handed batsman, who usually appeared in the middle of the order but was prepared to open if wanted, and a good field close to the wicket, he did great service for Worcestershire from 1933 to 1951, scoring for them 10,538 runs at an average of 20.20 taking 1,274 wickets at 21.36 and holding 188 catches. Three times, in 1939, 1946 and 1947 he achieved the double in all matches, and he played five times for England. Born at Bacup, he appeared for Worcestershire in 1933, against the West Indians while qualifying and in the first innings was top scorer with 68. Qualified in 1934, he was disappointing, but in 1935 he jumped right to the front, heading the bowling averages with 121 wickets at 18.94, and from that time he never looked back. In 1936 he played an important part in Worcestershire's sensational victory over Yorkshire, their first since 1909: in the second innings he took five for 21. Later that summer he made the first and highest of his three centuries in county cricket - 114 in two hours and ten minutes v Kent at Dover, scored out of 180 for the first wicket - and followed it by taking, in the two innings, eight for 91. Before the War, with Verity available, there was little chance in the England side for any other slow left-armer, but in 1947 Howorth was picked for the final Test v South Africa at The Oval and proved a great success. He took six wickets in the match, including one with his first ball, and was described in Wisden as far the best England bowler; he also scored 23 and 45 not out and made two fine catches in the gully. That winter he went with MCC to West Indies under G. O. Allen and played in all four Tests: so important was his steadiness to a weak attack that he was not left out of a single match. But the West Indies is not the ideal place for left-arm spin and his wickets were costly.

In his early days Howorth owed much to his captain, the Hon. C. J. Lyttelton, later Lord Cobham, who, whenever he showed signs of shortening his length and bowling too fast, insisted that he should pitch the ball up and flight it more. When in 1951, at the age of 42, he announced his retirement after a season in which he had headed the Worcestershire bowling averages with 118 wickets at 17.97 and appeared to be bowling as well as ever, Lord Cobham, upon asking him why he was retiring, received the reply, Because it's not as much fun as it was. Howorth played later for Stourbridge in the Birmingham League, served for many years on the Worcestershire Committee and ran a newsagent's shop across the river from the Worcester ground. He was much liked and respected, though the partial disenchantment which prompted his retirement from the first-class game was never quite thrown off.

JOHNS, DAVID FRANK VICTOR, who died suddenly on November 20, 1979, at High Wycombe, aged 58, was a valuable member of the Buckinghamshire side from 1950 to 1965, captaining it from 1956 to 1958. In 1952, when they won the Minor Counties Championship, he scored three centuries-one of them, 191 against Bedfordshire, the highest score ever made for the county-and also took 39 wickets. He was a slow left-arm bowler. In 1952 and 1953 he played for the representative Minor Counties team.

KEETON, WILLIAM WALLACE, who died on October 9, 1980, aged 75, was a great servant of Nottinghamshire and one of the many candidates for a place in the England side as an opening bat in the years immediately before the Second World War. In fact he played in only two Tests, v Australia at Leeds in 1934 and v West Indies at The Oval in 1939. Probably most people would reckon that the selectors were right, that he was a good county player but not quite Test class. He had a sound defence, was a fine cutter and also had a good cover drive, but what spectators will chiefly remember is his leg-side play and in particular his mastery of that difficult and neglected stroke, the on-drive. Moreover he was, as befitted a first-class soccer forward, a fine outfield. He first played for his county in 1926, but the Nottinghamshire batsmen of that era retained their skill almost undiminished to a patriarchal age and it was not until 1931 that the premature death of Whysall secured him a serious trial. He made the most of his opportunity, scoring his thousand runs with an average of 30 and making two centuries. For most of the season he had the valuable experience of opening with George Gunn. From then for twenty years his career was interrupted only by illness or injuries, of which he had more than his share; in January 1935 he was knocked down by a lorry and was lucky to be able to resume his place in the side late in June. But despite all this and the loss of six seasons in the War he reached his thousand runs on twelve occasions and made 54 hundreds. His highest score, 312 not out in seven and threequarter hours v Middlesex at The Oval ( Eton were playing Harrow at Lord's) in 1939, remains the only innings of 300 ever played for Nottinghamshire, and he is also one of the few batsmen to have scored a century against every county. From 1932 to 1948 his regular partner was that eccentric player, Charlie Harris, and a notable pair they were. On 45 occasions they put up three figures, fourteen times they exceeded 150 and five times 200. Twice they put up 100 in each innings. Their highest stand was 277 v Middlesex at Trent Bridge in 1933. Keeton was still as good as ever after the War, but Hutton and Washbrook had now established themselves as England's opening pair. As late as 1949 he scored 2,049 runs with an average of 55.37. In 1951, at 46, he lost his regular place in the side, butagainst Kentat Trent Bridgehelped Simpson to put on 269 for the first wicket. A single match in 1952 concluded his career. In all he had scored 24,276 runs with an average of just under 40. After retiring he had a sports shop for a time and later worked for the National Coal Board.

KOTELAWALA, COLONEL RT.HON. SIR JOHN LIONEL, CH, PC, KBE, who died in 1980 at the age of 82, was Prime Minister of Ceylon from 1953 to 1956. A good schoolboy cricketer, he played for Royal College, Colombo, in 1914 and 1915, and for the Indian Gymkhana while at Cambridge. For many years he was President of the Sinhalese Sports Club, from whom he had also played.

LEE, PHILIP KEITH, who died in Adelaide on August 9, 1980, at the age of 75, played twice for Australia- against South Africa in 1931-32 and against England at Sydney in the body-line series of 1932-33. His four for 111 in England's first innings of 454 included the wickets of Hammond for 101, Paynter for 9 and Allen for 48, in spite of ill-luck with catches. In Australia's first innings, batting at number eight, Lee scored 42. For South Australia in 1930-31, his first innings of 106 (his only first-class century) and five for 57 in the West Indians' second innings had much to do with South Australia gaining an exciting victory. Bowling off-breaks at a slow-medium pace, he had good control of length and his flight could be deceptive. With Wall and Grimmett, he formed the nucleus of a useful South Australian attack. Like Victor Richardson, the great South Australian sportsman, Lee was also a talented footballer and baseball player. In 1933-34 he played in both Test trials, held as a guide to the selection of the Australian side to England in 1934, but although he scored a fifty in the second of them he was never chosen to tour. His 152 first-class wickets cost him 30.16 apiece and he scored 1,669 first-class runs at an average of 18.54.

LE GROS, LT.-COL. PHILIP WALTER, died at the Star and Garter Home, Richmond, on February 27, 1980, aged 87. A good all-rounder, he was in the Rugby X1 of 1910, being at that time a dangerous fast bowler who, in the second innings against Marlborough, took nine for 49. From 1911 to 1930 he played for Buckinghamshire and, though he bowled little after the war, was one of their leading batsmen when they won the Minor Counties Championship in 1922, 1923 and 1925. Despite a distinct stoop at the wicket, he was a stylish batsman and a strong hitter. For many years there hung in the High Wycombe pavilion a photograph of a row of cars standing by the pavilion, their windscreens smashed by Le Gros's hits. He was also a first-class squash player.

LEWIS, ARTHUR HAMILTION, who died on August 23, 1978 played one match for Hampshire in 1929 and later, for several seasons, did useful work for Berkshire. A cross-bat hitter with a wonderful eye and a magnificent cover-point, he was credited with some remarkable scoring feats in club cricket.

LEWIS, SIR EDWARD (TED) ROBERTS, KBE, who died on January 29, 1980, was one of the great company whose lifelong devotion to cricket does not stem from personal triumphs on the field. Only a modest player himself at Rugby School and Trinity College, Cambridge, he delighted then, as later he was to do in wider fields, in the skills of others and the traditions of the game and its atmosphere. After the Second World War, when he was well on the way to making Decca a leader in the fields of radio, records and electronics, he was able to give more of his attention to his favourite pastime, becoming in due course a member of the MCC Committee and a Vice-President of Surrey. He was the wisest of counsellors and a most generous benefactor - to more than one generation of county cricketers as well as county clubs and their administrative staffs.

LEWIS, VICTOR, who died in Malta in 1980, at the age of 75, covered the MCC Australian tour of 1946-47 for the Daily Sketch and the Sunday Graphic. He was at one time editor-in-chief of The Times of Ceylon.

LILLEY, AUBREY ROY, who died in an air crash near Johannesburg on August 10, 1979, at the age of 28, was a left-arm seam bowler who took 132 first-class wickets for Natal and Transvaal, four times taking five in an innings. Born at Grahamstown, he was educated at Maritzburg College and played for both the Natal and South African Schools in 1969. He toured England with the Kingsmead Mynahs in 1976. It was after he had had one season for Transvaal that he was killed. When Natal were bowled out for 71 by Transvaal in the Currie Cup of 1978-79, Lilley took four for 9.

MOHANTY, BHAIRAB CHANDRA, who died in 1980 while visiting Moscow with an Indian Parliamentary Delegation to the Olympic Games, was to have succeeded M. Chinnaswamy as President of the Indian Cricket Board in September 1980. He was treasurer of the Indian team to England in 1974.

MOORE, JACK, who died in June, 1980, at the age of 89, was tried for Hampshire as a batsman between 1910 and 1913; but in fifteen matches his highest score was 30 and he never got a regular place in the side.

MORGAN, GEORGE, the Irish scrum-half, who died in Dublin in April, 1979, aged 67, appeared at cricket for his country against MCC at Sion Mills in 1934. Though selected as a batsman he failed to score. For the Clontarf Club, whom he captained for three seasons, he scored 2,360 runs in competitive cricket, including two centuries.

MORKEL, DENYS PAUL BECK, died suddenly in hospital at Nottingham on October 6, 1980, aged 74. He first appeared for South Africa against Capt. R. T. Stanyforth's MCC side in 1927-28, when he played in all five Tests, but, though he made some useful scores, he met with no particular success and his bowling was hardly used. It was on the tour of England in 1929 that he showed his real possibilities. In first-class matches he scored 1,443 runs with an average of 34.35 and took 69 wickets at 26.01. In the Tests he came second both in batting and bowling: at Lord's he made 88 and 17 not out and took seven wickets, at Old Trafford he scored 63 out of a total of 130 and at The Oval 81. Tall and well built he bowled fast medium away-swingers with an easy action and plenty of pace off the pitch, and was probably the best bowler in the team. A fine driver on the both sides of the wicket, he was inclined to be impetuous but had, as he showed at Lord's, a solid defence when required. He was also a good slip. A great future seemed in store for him and that winter he helped S. S. L. Steyn to put on 222 for the eighth wicket for Western Province v Border, still a South African record. But he had already decided to settle in England and so was not available to play against the MCC side in 1930-31. However he was a member in 1931-32 of the South African team to Australia, where he was a sad disappointment. As a batsman he could never get going in the Tests and his bowling was a complete failure. Only in the last match against Western Australia, not then the power they have since become, did he show his best form, scoring 150 not out and taking eight for 13 in the second innings. In extenuation it must be said that he was in poor health at the beginning of the tour and that he also had trouble with his bowling action. This was the end of his Test career. In 1932 Sir Julien Cahn helped him to establish a business in the motor trade in Nottingham, which became a flourishing concern. For Sir Julien between 1932 and 1939 he made nearly 10,000 runs and took over 400 wickets. During the War he served in the Army. His brother, Ray, also played for Western Province and at one time showed promise of being the better bowler of the two.

MOXLEY, JOHN, who died on April 11, 1980, aged 40, was a well-known figure in Midland sporting circles, running the Birmingham-based sports reporting agency which his father had started and writing about cricket from Edgbaston for many papers, including The Daily Telegraph. He contributed the article on Warwickshire to the 1980 Wisden.

NAOOMAL JEOOMAL, who died in Bombay on July 18, 1980 aged 76, served the game of cricket for many years, first in India and, after partition, in Pakistan. As a member of the Indian side to England in 1932 he opened their innings at Lord's in their first-ever Test match, scoring 33 and 25, and played twice more against England, in India in 1933-34. His highest score in England was 164 not out against Middlesex in 1932 and in India 203 not out against Nawanagar in 1938. In the 1950s he became Pakistan's national coach. He lived to enjoy the Jubilee Test Match between India and England in Bombay in February 1980.

PACKHAM, HENRY ALFRED, died on November 8, 1980, aged 78. Captain of Rossall in 1920, he later did useful service for some seasons as a batsman for Surrey Second XI.

PARKS, JAMES HORACE, who died on November 21, 1980, aged 77, will be remembered for his feat of scoring 3,003 runs and taking 101 wickets in 1937, a record which, unless the whole pattern of country cricket is radically changed, cannot possibly be equalled. First appearing for Sussex in 1924, he created a sensation by taking seven for 17 in his third match, in the second innings against Leicestershire at Horsham. Naturally, great things were hoped of him, but he was slow to develop and it was not until 1927, when he made 1,036 runs with an average of 23.54 and took 44 wickets at 26.93, that he began to justify the confidence which the country had placed in him. From then until the Second World War he was an indispensable member of the side. In 1928 he made the first of his 41 hundreds and in 1929 helped Bowley to put up 368 in three hours, at that time a Sussex record, for the first wicket against Gloucestershire; his share was 110. In 1935 he did the double and appeared for the Players at Lord's; that winter he was a member of E. R. T. Holmes's MCC side to Australia and New Zealand, which did not play official Tests. His one Test appearance was against New Zealand at Lord's in 1937, when he opened the batting with Hutton, also making his Test debut, but, though he scored 22 in the first innings and bowled well, he can never have been a strong candidate for a place against Australia. His first-class career ended in 1939. After the War he went to the Lancashire League and later, for a time in the 1960s, was the country coach at Hove. He was essentially a county player, immensely dependable, but lacking the touch of genius which marks the top class. Indeed, after forty years it is difficult to have any vivid picture of his cricket, except perhaps of his brilliant close fielding. As a batsman he was sound and a particularly good cutter, not very attractive to watch, but capable of scoring fast if wanted. Stockily built, he was for years a formidable opening partner for John Langridge, and had the considerable merit that no fast bowler was likely to intimidate him. He bowled slow-medium in-swingers, which, if there was any bite in the wicket, often moved away after pitching; but again he was normally reliable rather than deadly. He was first of a distinguished cricket family. His younger brother was for years one of the mainstays of the Sussex batting; his son, at one time captain of Sussex, played many times for England both asa batsman and as a wicket-keeper, and his grandson has recently been played for Hampshire.

PATERSON, ROBERT FRASER TROUTBECK, died in Edinburgh on May 29, 1980, aged 63, after a long illness. He headed the Brighton College averages in 1933 and 1934, when he played for the Public Schools at Lord's, and, making his first appearance for Essex in 1946, was for that season a regular and valuable member of the side. He played many useful innings - the highest of them 80 against Yorkshire, the champion country, at Harrogate - occasionally picked up a wicket as a medium-paced change bowler and in one match at least kept wicket creditably in the absence of T. H. Wade. Apart from one appearance in 1948, this ended his first-class career, though from 1947 to 1950 he was the country's Secretary. He then moved to Scotland where he continued to make many runs and also did notable work as a coach. He was a particularly good off-driver.

PEARE, WILLIAM GEORGE, who died at St Luke's, Cork, on November 16, 1979, aged 74, was a fast-medium bowler and useful batsman who played seven matches for Warwickshire in 1926, but, meeting with little success, abandoned professional cricket and took a job with Dunlop. It was while working for them that he played as an amateur for MCC v Gentlemen of Ireland in 1936.

PEEBLES, IAN ALEXANDER ROSS, who died on February 28, 1980, aged 72, was for a short time one of the most formidable bowlers in the world and one of the few who could make Bradman look fallible. A tall man with a beautifully easy run-up and a high action, which gave him a particularly awkward flight, he bowled leg-breaks and googlies, and in an age of fine leg-spinners he was, for a while, the equal of any.

The start of his career was unusual. Coming south from Scotland in the hope of getting a chance in the cricket world, he was engaged as Secretary at the Aubrey Faulkner School of Cricket and so impressed Faulkner himself (to whose coaching he always acknowledged a great debt) and also Sir Pelham Warner that, when difficulty was found in raising a good enough Gentlemen's side against the Players at the Oval in 1927, he was given a place. On this occasion he bowled Sandham, but that was his only wicket; nor was he more successful later in the season at the Folkestone and Scarborough Festivals. However that winter he was sent with the MCC side to South Africa: ostensibly he went as secretary to the captain, but he bowled well enough to secure a place in the first four Tests and, without doing anything spectacular, made it clear that his possibilities had not been overestimated. In 1928 he played a few matches for Middlesex, but it was in 1929 that he really came to the fore, taking 120 wickets at just under 20 runs each and being one of three amateurs to take 100 wickets for the country that season - a unique performance. In 1930 he was up at Oxford, for whom he took 70 wickets, thirteen of them against Cambridge; then, after taking six wickets (including Hobbs, Sutcliffe and Leyland) for 105 for the Gentlemen v the Players, he was picked for the forth Test at Old Trafford. Here, as soon as Peebles came on, Woodfull, who was well set, became acutely uncomfortable, on one occasion leaving a ball which just went over his middle stump; Bradman, coming in, was all but bowled first ball by Peebles, who then had him dropped in the slips and finally caught at slip for 14. The first three balls Kippax received from Peebles produced three confident but unsuccessful appeals for l. b. w.. For such bowling three for 150 was a wholly inadequate reward. In the final Test at the Oval six for 204 may not look much, but in an Australian total of 695 it was better than anyone else. That winter Peebles went again with MCC to South Africa and both there and against New Zealand in the following summer he was one of the most effective bowlers. Already, though, the amount of bowling he had had to do in matches, followed by countless hours in the nets in winter, wasaffecting him: his leg-break was losing its venom, he was becoming increasingly dependent upon his googly, and his great days were passing, though he was picked for the last Test in 1934, an invitation which he had to refuse owing to injury. When, after several seasons of intermittent appearances, he returned to regular county cricket in 1939 to captain Middlesex, Peebles was really no more than a change bowler, and though he played occasionally until 1948, the loss of an eye in a war-time air-raid had, to all intents and purposes, ended his serious cricket career.

After his playing day were over he entered the wine trade and also became a notable cricket writer and journalist. When writing of players he had played with or seen, he was in the top class; to a deep knowledge of the game he added rare charm and humour. For any student of cricket history over the last 60 years, his many books are compulsory and delightful reading.

PEACH, CHARLES WILLIAM, died at Coxheath, near Maidstone, on February 27, 1977, aged 77. After beieng for many years one of the mainstays of the bowling of the Mote, Maidstone, he was tried for Kent against Yorkshire at Headingley in 1930 and caused some stir by taking six for 93 in the two innings, his victims including Sutcliffe and Leyland twice each. He did some useful work in the later matches and finished the season with 29 wickets at 25.86. However, his action was regarded with suspicion and, although he was never no balled, two matches in 1931 concluded his first-class career. He bowled right-arm, on the quick side of medium, and could produce a sharp off-break.

PEARSON, COLIN HARGREAVES, PC, CBE, a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, who died on January 31, 1980, aged 80, had been a good cricketer. He was in the St Paul's XI in 1916 and 1917, heading the batting averages in the second year, and later became a member of the Oxford Authentics.

PIGOT, JAMES POOLE MAUNSELL, who died in Dublin on July 20, 1980, aged 79, was a member of a well-known Dublin cricket family. He played as a forcing right-handed batsman and leg-break bowler in two matches for Dublin University against Northamptonshire in 1924 and 1925, scoring 50 on the latter occasion. He also played three times for the Europeans in the Madras Presidency Match between 1926 and 1930. In 1923 he scored 194 for Phoenix CC in a Senior League match in Dublin, still a club record in that competition. His brother, D. R. Pigot, represented Ireland between the wars, as did his nephew, also D. R., more recently.

PILCH, GEORGE EVERETT, a member of the famous Norfolk cricketing family, died at Cringleford on September 12, 1979, aged 67. Between 1935 and 1946 he did useful work for the county as a bowler and was later a great help to it on the administrative side.

POOLE, ARTHUR BERTRAM, who died on November 22, 1979, aged 72, was one of the mainstays of the Bedfordshire batting from 1925 to 1951, and their captain from 1946 to 1951. At the time of his death he was President of Bedfordshire and had previously been Chairman. He was a quick-footed batsman, who played for the Minor Counties, and his 234 v Oxfordshire at Banbury in 1936, made in under three and a half hours, is still a Bedfordshire record.

POULTON, RONALD M., died on October 11, 1979. From 1946 to 1949 he was Assistant Secretary of Nottinghamshire and from 1949 to 1971 Secretary. He had then served the county in one capacity or another for 46 years, including playing frequently for the Second XI and the Club and Ground. He continued to help in various ways until his death.

ROSS, THOMAS DOUGLAS, who died on October 30, 1980, was a useful all-rounder who played for Lincolnshire from 1926 to 1936 and was later President of the Lincolnshire County Cricket Club.

RUTHERFORD, ARNOLD PAGE, who died on July 23, 1980, aged 87, was three years in the Repton XI as a batsman and captain in 1911, and in 1912 played in one match for Hampshire.

SCOTT, VERDUN JOHN, who died suddenly at Devonport, New Zealand, on August 2, 1980, played in ten Tests for New Zealand between 1946 and 1952, and was a member of the side which toured England in 1949. Though overshadowed by Sutcliffe and Donnelly, he was one of their most dependable batsmen, scoring 1,572 runs with an average of 40.30 and making four hundreds. A big man, he had hardly any backlift and was no stylist, but he was very strong in the arms and his strokes travelled deceptively fast. He was an ideal foil to Sutcliffe as an opening partner and their value can be gauged from the fact that in the Tests of 1949 they took part in partnerships of 122 at Leeds, 89 at Lord's and 121 at The Oval. His highest Test score was against West Indies in 1952 when he saved the side with an innings of 84 in rather over four hours. For Auckland in the Plunket Shield he was a heavy scorer.

SEYMOUR, EDWARD NOEL, died in Dublin on February 12, 1980, aged 74. He appeared three times for Ireland in 1927 and 1928. His best work, however, was done for the Clontarf Club. In 1930 he won the Marchant Cup, awarded annually to the batsman who heads the averages in Dublin club cricket.

SHOWERING, RALPH VIVIAN, President of Somerset from 1971 to 1975, died at Beckington, near Bath, on September 20, 1980, aged 70.

SHIPMAN, ALAN WILFRED, who died, aged 79, on December 12, 1979, after years of ill-health, rendered valuable service to Leicestershire from 1920 to 1936, scoring 13,605 runs with an average of 23.26, including fifteen centuries, and taking 597 wickets at 25.37. At first he was regarded almost entirely as a bowler, but by 1925, when he scored his first century, his powers of defence had created such an impression that he had been promoted to go in first, a position he retained until back trouble caused his premature retirement eleven years later. Like many others so promoted, Shipman remained solid and unexciting, scoring chiefly to leg, but he was reliable and there could be no question of his value. His highest score, 226 v Kent at Tonbridge in 1928, took seven hours, but it turned an apparently certain defeat into an honourable draw and almost into a glorious victory. As a brisk medium-pace bowler, he had neither the physique nor the action to achieve greatness, but, for a Leicestershire side which was generally strong enough to save him from being over-bowled, he did much good work. His most notable all-round performance was against Worcestershire at Kidderminster in 1929, when he followed five for 30 by making 183, all on the first day of the match. After his retirement he kept a pub at Ratby, his native place, emerging for one season in 1947 to coach at Tonbridge.

SILLITOE, LT.-COL. WARREN HERBERT, OBE, who was killed in a road accident in Yorkshire on November 1, 1980, at the age of 51, was Secretary of Surrey form 1974 to 1977. Before that he had served as a regular soldier with the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. He and his wife, Beryl, who was killed with him, made a diligent and attentive partnership at The Oval, though it was Sillitoe's frustration at not being given wider control of affairs there that caused him to leave. When he died he was Public Relations Officer to the North-Eastern Gas Board.

SINGH, LT.-COL. KANWAR SHUMSHERE, died in New Delhi on May 12, 1975, aged 95. A member of the Rugby XI in 1896, he had a trial for Cambridge in 1901 and played three matches for Kent that year and one the next, showing much promise. A batsman with a strong defence and a fine field, he made top score, 45, in the first innings against Worcestershire and against Surrey at The Oval he helped Murrell to add 115 in fifty-five minutes for the seventh wicket. He entered the Indian Medical Service, and at the time of his death was the oldest surviving Kent cricketer.

SNOW, of Leicester, LORD (CHARLES PERCY SNOW), who died on July 1, 1980, was captain of Newton's Grammar School, Leicester, and Leicester University College. He played for Leicester Town and, as a Fellow, for Christ's College, Cambridge, at the time when they were captained by his undergraduate brother, Philip. He eschewed in batting everything but the cut and leg glance and was a useful top-spin bowler. In 1964 C. P. Snow was appointed the House of Lord's ministerial spokesman for Technology. Internationally celebrated as scientist and author, some of his fifty books and innumerable essays include brief cricket scenes and fictitious characters with cricketers' names. His study of G. H. Hardy in The Saturday Book (1948) is a classic cricket vignette. As XX he contributed Cambridge notes to The Cricketer in the 1930s.

STEAD, BARRY, died on April 7, 1980, aged 40. Born at Leeds, he was a fast-medium left-arm bowler who made a sensational first-class debut, taking seven for 76 for Yorkshire v the Indians in 1959. However, so strong at the time was the Yorkshire bowling that he only appeared once more for them before moving to Nottinghamshire for whom he played form 1962 to 1976. He got his cap in 1969 when he took 83 wickets at an average of 23.83. His best season was 1972 when his 98 wickets cost 20.38 each. He had a benefit in 1976. In all for Nottinghamshire he took 604 wickets at 28.04. A left-handed batsman who delighted in hitting 6s, his highest score was 58 for Nottinghamshire v Gloucestershire in 1972. He also played for Northern Transvaal. He died after a long illness and is much missed by his fellow players with whom he was extremely popular.

TARRANT, W. GUY, who died on August 4, 1979, aged 74, scored over 40,000 runs for Spencer, including 86 centuries. An old boy of Emanuel School, he became one of the great figures of the London club scene, playing for Spencer from 1925 until 1960 and being their chairman from 1955 until 1970. A useful wicket-keeper, as well as a successful batsman, he turned down the chance of joining the playing staff at The Oval in order to further his career as a quantity surveyor.

TAYLOR, GORDON MACLAREN, who died on February 9, 1980, at the age of 75, was connected with the Lancashire County Cricket Club for over 50 years. He was still with them when he died, a gentle, well-loved figure known to the highest and the lowest, and to everyone in between, as `Mac'. There were few off-the-field jobs to which he had not turned his hand at Old Trafford, and from 1946 he had been scorer and baggage master to the First XI.

TIMMS, JOHN EDWARD, who died at his home in Buckingham on May 18, 1980, aged 73, rendered splendid service to Northamptonshire from 1925 to 1949. When he retired he had scored more runs for the county than any other batsman, though he never quite took the place in the cricket world that many had expected. He lacked consistency, and apart from one appearance in a Test trial, in 1932, he remained purely a county player. A member of the Wellingborough XI in 1924, he played originally as an amateur but turned professional in 1927. Short and slightly built, he was a natural cricketer, quick on his feet and severe on the short ball. At the start of his career he was apt to be lackadaisical in the field, but spurred on by his captains he developed in to a fine cover point, a not unworthy successor to the great Fanny Walden. At slow-medium, Timms was a rather expensive change bowler, who had no great belief in his own ability, so that when, in 1938, he took six for 18 v Worcestershire and nearly brought about his county's first win in the Championship since 1935, it caused some surprise. In all he scored 20,384 runs for Northamptonshire with an average of 25.07, his highest innings being 213 v Worcestershire at Stourbridge in 1934. His 149 wickets cost 44.42 each. Later he combined a post as professional and green-keeper at the Buckingham Golf Club with coaching cricket At Bloxham School.

TREGLOWN, LT.-COL. CLAUDE JESSE HELBY, MC, died at Worthing on May 7, 1980, aged 87. He played fairly frequently for Essex from 1922 to 1928, sometimes opening the innings. His highest Championship score was 72 not out v Kent at Tunbridge Wells in 1923. He also appeared for Norfolk and Sussex Second XI.

WALSH, JOHN (JACK) EDWARD, who died at Newcastle, New South Wales, on May 20, 1980,aged 67, was for some years one of the most dangerous, if not the most consistent, bowlers in the world, though as an Australian resident in England he never played in a Test. Born in Sydney, he had in 1937 acquired a sufficient reputation in his native state to be invited over to play for Sir Julien Cahn and to qualify for Leicestershire. In three seasons for Sir Julien's XI he took nearly 600 wickets, meanwhile playing occasionally as an amateur for 46 against Northamptonshire. In 1946 he joined the Leicestershire staff and for the next ten years was one of the mainstays of the side. A left-arm bowler with tremendous powers of spin, he was of the Fleetwood-Smith type - chinamen and googlies. In fact he had two googlies; one, which could be easily detected, to lull the batsman into a sense of security, when he would unleash the other, which was calculated to deceive even the greatest batsmen. In all for Leicestershire he took 1,127 wickets at an average of 24.25, his best season being 1948 when he took 174 at 19.56. Apart from his bowling he was a good slip and a left-hand batsman of great power with a full range of strokes, who would have scored many more runs had he restrained his passion for straight drives into the pavilion. When he played his highest innings - 106 in 95 minutes against Essex at Loughborough in 1948-82 of his runs came in boundaries; seven 6s and ten 4s. In 1952 he performed the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets. Outside county cricket he represented the Players at Lord's in 1947. Retiring from first-class cricket at the end of 1956, he captained Leicestershire Second XI in 1957 and was for a time the county's assistant coach. Later he coached both in Tasmania and Scotland.

WILSON, GROUP-CAPTAIN ROBERT G., Secretary of the Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club from 1972 to 1977, died on March 7, 1980, aged 57.

WOLFSON, ANDREW CECIL, who died on July 26, 1978, aged 88, was in the Marlborough XI in 1908 as a medium-paced away-swing bowler, taking nine for 68 in the second innings against Rugby at Lord's. Living mostly abroad, he played little cricket after leaving, but in 1920 appeared for H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI against both Universities.

YEOMANS, C. RONALD, who died on January 16, 1980, aged 71, had been on the committee of the Yorkshire County Cricket Club for over twenty years, but was perhaps better known as founder in 1948 of the Northern Cricket Society and a contributor on cricket to the columns of The Daily Telegraph. He was a useful club cricketer and had been in the XI at St. Peter's York.