MITCHAM WICKET KEEPERS

MITCHAM WICKET KEEPERS Mitcham Cricket Club has a long tradition of having fine wicket-keepers. It isn't known where this tradition originates - that is lost in the mists of time. But it may be that it dates from the end of the 19th and start of the 20th centuries. Around this time Mitcham was blessed with a series of county-class keepers: A.F. (Alfred Clarke), Herbert Strudwick, Ernest Bale and Dan Sullivan. Who was the best of them? That seems impossible to judge from this time distant. Maybe Strudwick. Both Bale and Sullivan were understudies to Strudwick at Surrey. And after all, he played 27 years for Surrey, 28 Tests for England, and held the record for dismissals in first-class cricket (1493) until this was finally surpassed by John Murray (1527) and Bob Taylor (1649). But then, Strudwick said that he "played very little for Mitcham for they had in A.F.Clarke a far better man than I could ever dream to be". Now, Struddy was noted for his modesty, so this accolade may be a slight exaggeration. Clearly, though, they must all have been pretty good! These four seem a good place to start. But having had a quick look at their careers, we will go back to look at a few of those who played for Mitcham in the 19 th century and then at the careers of those who followed. And end with a few words on some others who have either represented Mitcham and on occasion donned the gloves, or who are renowned wicket-keepers known to have played on the Green.

ALFRED FERRIER CLARKE Born 12 August 1865, Farnworth, Lancs Died 1935, Hastings Alfred Clarke was born in Farnworth, Lancashire, but moved to Mitcham as a boy. His parents were Irish, father James being a General Practitioner. In 1881, the family was resident in Baron Lodge, Mitcham. The facts that the household included no fewer than four servants and that Alfred, at the age of 15, was still at school, suggests a fairly comfortable background. Alfred followed his father into the medical profession and is recorded as playing cricket for Guys Hospital in the 1880s. He will be remembered, however, as an outstanding keeper for Mitcham from the late 1880s through to the early 1900s. A right-hand batsman and wicketkeeper, he had a brief first-class career, playing 8 games for Surrey between 1890 and 1892, taking 8 catches and 2 stumpings. Rarely batting above no.11, his top first-class score was 30, this came in a last wicket stand with Bobby Abel (151 not out) in a total of 425 against Middlesex. Herbert Strudwick expressed the view that he would have played very much more first-class cricket but for professional commitments. This is borne out by the fact that most of his games were either at the Oval or Lord's - he rarely travelled. Clarke married Emily Southerton in 1899, daughter of Sarah and the late James Southerton - he of Mitcham, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire and England fame. At the time of the 1901 Census Alfred and Emily were living in the Cricketers pub, opposite the Green, where Sarah was landlady. We don't know if Alfred had known James Southerton, but he may well have done - James coached many youngsters on the Green up to his death in 1880. By 1911, the Clarke family had moved to Colliers Wood. Alfred's medical career seemed to be over, and he was working as an insurance agent.

ERNEST BALE Born September 1878, Mitcham Died July 1952 Carshalton Ernie Bale played initially for Mitcham Wanderers, and then Surrey second XI, before making his first-class debut for London County against Leicestershire in 1904. He played 1 game for Surrey the same year, but as understudy for Strudwick didn't get much further chance. In search of regular first-class cricket he therefore moved to Worcestershire and once qualified played regularly for them from 1908 to 1920. In 1910 he was reckoned by Wisden to be second only to Strudwick. His excellent keeping was instrumental in the high placing achieved by Worcestershire in the pre-war years. He was closest to playing for England in 1911 when he played two trial games for P.F. Warner s XI against G.L. Jessop s XI, and played for The Rest against England at Lords. Bale s wicket-keeping record was 251 catches and 90 stumpings, in 148 first-class matches, with a victims-per-game record of 2.31. According to Strudwick, He was a great wicket-keeper, and was unlucky not to have played for England. HERBERT STRUDWICK Born January 1880, Mitcham Died February 1970, Shoreham Born in Mitcham, Herbert Strudwick was baptised at St Peter and Paul Church. The family lived at Reeves Terrace. As a boy, Strudwick played cricket with other parish choirboys, supervised by the vicar s daughter, Miss Wilson. Owing to his enthusiasm to be involved, she encouraged him to take up wicket-keeping. We have a lot to

thank her for. He went on to play in 674 first-class matches, mainly for Surrey, but including 28 Tests for England. He trialled for Surrey in 1896, but was judged too young. He went back 2 years later and was taken on to the Surrey staff. His debut for the 1 st XI came in 1900 against the West Indies, but he didn t make his Championship debut until 1902 and established his position as a regular from 1903. He maintained that for the next 24 years. Strudwick was selected to play his first test in 1909/10 against South Africa. He went on to tour Australia four times, and South Africa with MCC two times. He retired from playing in 1927. He became a coach for Surrey and later scorer. He retained an affection for Mitcham Green and was a Vice- President and Life Member of the Mitcham Club. DAN (DENNIS) SULLIVAN Born 28 January 1883, Mitcham Died 28 December 1968, Harold Wood, Essex His first name is recorded in Who s Who of Cricketers as Dennis, but he was known as Dan. Sullivan played 8 matches for Surrey between 1914 and 1921. As wicket-keeper he held 10 catches and made 2 stumpings. As understudy to Strudwick, his opportunities were limited. Moving to Wales, Sullivan played 115 matches for Glamorgan from 1922 to 1928, also representing Wales. He toured Jamaica with the Hon Lionel Tennyson s XI in 1926-27 and 1927-28. In first-class matches he never managed a half century (highest score 47) and despite almost a third of his innings being not outs, his batting average was just 7.52. His career wicket keeping tally was 152 catches and 93 stumpings.

JOHN BAYLEY Born May 1794, Mitcham Died November 1874, Mitcham Bayley was a hard-hitting right-handed batsman and good slow round-arm bowler for Middlesex and Surrey. However, 5 stumpings in his career statistics show that he must have been an occasional wicket-keeper as well. Bayley played on the Green for Mitcham against the Marylebone Cricket Club in a 2-day match, 31 July-1 August 1820. He bowled and took 1 wicket in MCC s first innings. Bayley scored 9 and 11 for Mitcham who lost the game by 2 runs. Twenty six years later, aged 52, he was still playing on the Green, this time for Mitcham against Surrey Club. In a drawn game, he was more successful, taking 6 wickets with his bowling in Surrey s first innings, though he didn t make any runs with the bat. Bayley's first significant match was for the B's against England in 1822. From the following year he was on the staff at Lord's, and this is where he played most of his games, for the St John's Wood Club. His bowling was at its best in the late 1830s when he was over 40 years old. From 1839 to 1847 he appeared occasionally for Surrey, in just 5 matches, with a batting average of 36 as he was dismissed only once in 5 innings. His 83rd and last first-class game was for M.C.C. in 1850, at the age of 56. His career therefore spanned 29 seasons, with overall runs scored of 936 at an average of 7.37. His bowling shows 350 wickets, taking 5 in an innings 31 times and 10 in a match on 9 occasions.

THOMAS SEWELL, Senior Born May 1806, Mitcham Died November 1888, Sevenoaks Sewell played 104 first-class games over his career, for a variety of sides, including Middlesex, Surrey, Kent and a combined Kent-Sussex XI. As a middle-order batsman he scored 1956 runs in 210 innings, at an average of 9.97 per innings. His expertise was as a good field, including sometime wicket-keeping - 4 stumpings over his career, and 56 catches, some of which were presumably behind the stumps. Thomas's Mitcham-born son, Tom jr, also played for Mitcham and as a professional for Surrey, and others. Tom jr is one of the Mitcham cricketers remembered on the Ruff Memorial Stone. DANIEL HAYWARD Born August 1808, Mitcham Died May, 1852, Cambridge Hayward played for Mitcham as early as 1825 when only aged 16, and for Surrey as a professional from 1839 to 1847, though in only 3 matches. He lived in Cambridge for most of his life, playing for the Cambridge Town Club between 1832 and 1851. He kept wicket some of the time. Thus, we know that he stumped one in his first match at Lord's, for Cambridge against Marylebone, in July 1832. He scored 43 and stumped two off the bowling of John Bayley for Surrey, also against Marylebone. Daniel's height was 5'6" and weight 10 stones. He was by trade a gardener. His sons, Daniel and Thomas, also played first-class cricket. His grandson, son of Daniel jr, was the great Tom Hayward, who played for Surrey and England.

Daniel is one of the cricketers named on the Ruff Memorial Stone, in the corner of the Green, and there is more about him in the publication, Outstanding. JAMES SOUTHERTON Born November 1827, Petworth Died June 1880, Mitcham James Southerton had a long first-class career as a professional, including representing Hampshire, Sussex and Surrey in the same season! As a slow right-hand round-arm bowler he took 100 wickets in a season 10 times. He was the first bowler to take 200 wickets in a season - 210 at 14.63 in 1870. He toured Australia twice, including with Lillywhite in 1876/77 when he played in the first 2 Test matches between England and Australia. He is the oldest man to have a made his Test debut, a record that could yet be broken, but was also the first Test player to die, a record that he will forever hold. Southerton occasionally stood behind the stumps, most often when the wicket-keeper was brought on to bowl. He took 3 stumpings over his career. When he wasn't representing Surrey, or otherwise playing as a professional, he frequently turned out for Mitcham, and was a regular in the end of season game on the Green between Marrieds and Singles. He lived in Mitcham most of his life, and took over as licensee of the Cricketers public house only a few years before he died. He was instrumental in bringing the early Australian team to practice on the Green, and he also spent much time on the Green bowling to youngsters to bring on their game.

After his death, his wife kept on the Cricketers for many years. His son also represented Mitcham, and went on to become editor of Wisden; his daughter married Alfred Clarke. With Richardson, Strudwick and Sandham, James Southerton is in the elite of Mitcham cricketers. He is remembered on the Ruff Memorial Stone. GEORGE SPILLMAN Born October 1856, Strand, London Died April 1911, Brighton Spillman was a wicket-keeper and right-hand bat who played 12 first-class matches for Middlesex and the South. He scored 477 runs in those games, with a highest score of 87 and average 23.85. He was wicket-keeper for Middlesex against Surrey at the Oval in May 1886, making 1 catch and 1 stumping in Surrey s first innings. He made 0 and 19 as Middlesex lost by an innings and 33 runs. The same year, he played against the Australians at Lords, making 87 in Middlesex s first innings and 6 in the second. He took 2 catches and made a stumping in the Australians scond innings but agonisingly this wasn t enough as the Australinans won by 1 wicket. We re not quite sure where the Mitcham connection came in, but he is pictured in the 1891 Mitcham 1 st XI, when he would have been aged 34 alongside A.F. Clarke and Tom Richardson - in the 1937 Mitcham Yearbook.

MITCHAM KEEPERS OF THE LAST 100 YEARS 1919 1 st XI wicketkeeper could be W T Lunt 1920-1926 George Windsor Over the years our current President was told that George was a reliable keeper of the highest quality and most suitable to follow in the line of his illustrious predecessors Strudwick, Bale and Sullivan. 1927-1939 Tommy Knight Regarded by many players and former members of his time as being Mitcham s greatest ever keeper (excluding Strudwick, Bale and possibly Sullivan). Knight was undoubtedly a wicketkeeper of the highest class and quality. Apparently he liked to stand up to the stumps for even the fastest bowlers, saying that this made them concentrate even harder to bowl an accurate line. He made the task look easy. Most people who played with Tommy said that he could well have been an outstanding keeper at County level and it is believed that he had turned down various approaches by Surrey and other first class counties. He apparently was brilliant keeping to all types of bowling under any conditions. Agile with safe hands and fearless, he kept everyone on their toes and he was very much the senior pro -type figure and example. Saturday 1 st XI Keeper 1946-1950 Alf Hilliard (may also have played during WW2) Known as a very reliable, unflashy and competent keeper, Alf was safe and sound rather than spectacular. He was a No 10/11 batsman. 1 st XI 1951 Bert Smith Bert was an outstanding wicketkeeper batsman who played mainly for the Mitcham CC Wednesday XI. His Saturday cricket for Mitcham was limited by his business commitments as a baker and confectioner in his family

firm, but he filled the breach as keeper for the Saturday 1 st XI in the 1951 season. Bert was a prolific run scorer in midweek cricket and his Wednesday XI involvement spanned 18 years. In his time Bert represented the Young Players of Surrey and the Club Cricket Conference. His total run aggregate in Club cricket was approaching 40,000 with some 85 centuries included. In 1937 his aggregate was 2,041 runs in all cricket. 1st XI 1952-53 and 1955-56 Alf Turnbull A natural ball player, Alf made himself into a very capable keeper to suit the requirements of the Club. He was also a great encourager. A very good batsman, but due to the strength of the Club, usually batted in the lower orders for the 1 st XI. As a prolific run getter he usually opened in 2 nd XI cricket. Alf became captain of the 1 st XI in 1957-59, which were three outstanding seasons (42 wins against 12 losses). Alf also skippered the side for a further season in 1963. In company with Arthur Stainforth captain of the 2 nd XI, Alf brought on many young and promising players who were to establish themselves in the years to come. He was responsible for introducing a Colts coaching scheme. He was a former Chairman and Vice President of the Club. Alf was also a good enough footballer to have played for Tooting and Mitcham. 1 st XI 1954 Brian Sorenson For the 1954 season Alf made way for New Zealander Brian Sorenson (who was believed to have played some games for Auckland). Brian was brilliant standing up to all bowling and a capable LH batsman. He was top quality in both capacities. 1957-58 Charlie Spillard As Alf Turnbull was skippering the 1 st XI in 1957 he decided not to keep wicket, making way for Charlie Spillard a gutsy self-taught keeper of a

reasonable standard. Charlie was also a useful, if slightly unorthodox LH batsman who kept the scoring moving. Charlie made way for Roy Harford to take over as keeper part way through the 1958 season. He returned to the 1 st XI in the 1964 and 1965 seasons. He played midweek cricket for the Wanderers CC and was a renown amateur boxer. 1958-60 Roy Harford Carshalton born Roy joined Mitcham CC in 1955. He progressed through the ranks to establish himself as one of our premier wicket keepers, making a 1 st XI place his own in 1959. Roy had not played in 1956-57 due to his National Service. Roy was a brilliant, fearless, brave keeper who enjoyed standing up to all types of bowlers, particularly the accurate fast bowling of Eaton Swaby. Roy s view was that standing up kept the batsman in the crease and also made the likes of Eaton bowl faster as he felt somewhat aggrieved that a wicket keeper would dare to stand up to his bowling! Roy took many leg side stumpings off the quick bowlers. He was a great showman and crowd pleaser - an outstanding performer. Roy played a few matches for the the Warwickshire 2 nd XI, and then, after emigrating to New Zealand in 1961, represented Auckland and then his new country in 1967 in three test matches against India, taking 11 catches. Remarkably, of his 25 first-class matches, 13 were played for the national team. For Mitcham, Roy was a capable middle order batsman who liked to dominate. He also represented Surrey Club and Ground on a number of occasions and the Surrey Association. Roy also played County second team table tennis. Our President ranks Roy as a very close second among the Mitcham CC keepers he skippered Jeff Cullip being ranked by him as the best.

THEY ALSO PLAYED ON THE GREEN ROBERT ABEL Born November 1857, Rotherthithe Died December 1936, Stockwell Bobby Abel, known as "The Guv'nor", is amongst the most famous Surrey players. He played 514 matches for Surrey between 1881 and 1904, scoring 27,605 runs at an average of 36.61, with 64 centuries. He played for England in 13 Tests, scoring 744 runs at 37.20 and a highest of 132 not out against Australia in Sydney in 1892. During the course of two seasons with Surrey, persistent injuries to the usual wicket-keeper, H.Wood, saw Abel, amongst others, drafted in as an emergency keeper. In subsequent years, too, he was occasionally called on to wear the gloves. What, though, is the connection with Mitcham? There is a record of Abel having played for Mitcham before becoming established in the Surrey side. Frederick Gale, in an interview with W.A.Bettesworth for "Chats on the Cricket Field" is recorded as follows: "The match was... Mitcham v Sutton, on a Bank Holiday. Sutton had 14 runs to get, and had three wickets to go down. They had got 7 of these when George Jones was put on with orders to bowl his hardest. The first ball went towards Abel, at short slip, who was then quite unknown. He made a jump, caught it with the left hand, and rolled over on his back. The next ball also came somewhere near him. He sprang up like a spider and just got it. The next ball went to the wicket-keeper, who was standing back. He succeeded in partly stopping it, and it went over his head into the hands of Abel, who had got round him like a shadow. I wrote particulars of this to Fred Burbidge, who was a great advocate for Abel. The Hon. Robert

Grimston afterwards noticed his fielding, and told me that Burbidge had recommended him as a brilliant short slip. By their influence I think Abel was permanently fixed in the Surrey eleven." There is no mention of Abel having played for Mitcham in the biography by David Kynaston, nor have I yet found a newspaper record to back it up. But Gale's recollection is very precise and so deserves credence - in which case here is another Surrey and England great who played some of his early cricket with Mitcham! JACK HARROW Born 8 October 1888, Mitcham Died 19 July 1958 Jack Harrow is most famous as a footballer of some note. He joined Chelsea in 1911 for a fee of 50 from Croydon Common, and remained with them until 1926. Playing mainly at left-back, he was captain for many of those years, and led Chelsea to the FA Cup final in 1915, though they lost 3-0 to Sheffield United. Jack was in the army during WW1, but was demobilised in time to play in Chelsea's successful London Victory Cup team in 1919. He was the first Chelsea player to make over 300 appearances and ended with 333 in all competitions, his career ended by an eye injury. He played twice for the England national team, with caps against Northern Ireland and Sweden in 1922 and 1923 respectively, both games that England won. On his retirement as a footballer, Jack was on the training staff at Chelsea until 1938 and was later an assistant storekeeper for Mitcham Borough Council. He also went on to play a good deal of cricket for Mitcham.

The Club Yearbook for 1959 marked his passing, noting that the Club had lost one of its oldest players and supporters. He was a member of the Mitcham Wednesday XI from its formation, playing regularly in its first few seasons. A hard hitting batsman, the Yearbook says that he will also be remembered as a wicket-keeper and a great sportsman. DAVID SMITH Born January 1956, Balham David Smith joined Mitcham as a colt. A brave and determined opening batsman, ne went on to play for three counties Surrey, Worcestershire and Sussex and two Tests for England. At 6'4" and 15 stones David Smith (nickname Smudger) is an unlikely wicket-keeper, but he kept wicket for Surrey for less than half an hour as they bowled "declaration bowling' to Essex at Chelmsford in May 1988. The bowlers were Jack Richards and Alec Stewart. There were no byes conceded as Essex took 45 runs off 8.1 overs. As a batsman, his ability to play fast bowling led to a call up for England s 1985-86 Caribbean tour. He top-scored on a poor pitch in both innings of the Trinidad Test (47 and 32). The journalist Scyld Berry said of this performance: Nobody in the world could have batted better than Smudger in the Trinidad Test... He just had so much time against the fast bowlers and stood up to them swaying and hooking, wheras everyone else was ducking. Injury meant that he could not play in the next Test in Antigua, and unfortunately this marked the end of his Test career.

In 319 first-class matches, and 513 innings, he scored 15,265 runs at 36.17, including 28 hundreds. One of the new names commemorated on the Ruff memorial stone, which he came along to unveil, there is more about Smudger in our Outstanding II publication. ALEC STEWART Born April 1963, Merton Park Alec Stewart played 133 Tests (82 as wicket-keeper) and 170 ODIs for England from 1990 to 2003, including captaining the side on a number of occasions. Indeed, he had the unusual distinction of simultaneously captaining the side, opening the batting and keeping wicket! The younger son of Mickey Stewart a former England test cricketer and good friend to Mitcham cricket Alec made his Surrey debut in 1981. But before he played first-class cricket he played a number of times on the Green. This scorecard shows he was a member of Eaton Swabey s XI against Mitcham in 1979, alongside his father Mickey Stewart and brother Neil Stewart. Alec would have been aged about 16 at this time. He didn t bat. Interestingly, Ewan Green made a substantial score in this match, and was caught by one of the Stewarts. He can t remember which, but thinks it was probably Alec standing up behind the stumps. Ewan would also like to point out that no byes were conceded by the Mitcham keeper in this game, one Ewan Green, but 12 by the future England keeper!