One of our bowlers is missing

One of our bowlers is missing

April 10, 2018, 4:51 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized

It’s OK it’s not Abbott or Fidel

I thought I’d finished the A-Z this afternoon, so checked everything against various lists and there in the middle of the letter H

Was no George Heath

Particularly embarrassing for me as I went to school with his son.

Sorry George!

Heath, George Edward Mansell (282) born Hong Kong 20.2.1913, died Fareham 6.3.1994. Heath a right-arm pace bowler, first played in the Bournemouth area, joined the groundstaff in 1934, and played for Hampshire Club & Ground v the United Services at Portsmouth in May 1935 where his first victim, bowled, was Hampshire’s amateur batsman, JE Manners. Heath spent two years playing for the Club & Ground, then in May 1937 he made his first-class debut, again at Portsmouth, v Essex and in the second innings he took 4-76, although Essex won. In that first season, he took 79 wickets at 22.92, three times taking five or more wickets in an innings, then in 1938, 97 wickets at 23.77 including 7-89 v Kent at Southampton. John Arlott (1957) said “he bowled a late outswinger, which troubled the best batsmen in the country … (and) as a shock opening bowler he was of very high quality indeed”, also suggesting that in that second season “he was seriously considered for Test selection against Australia”. That did not happen, and his third season brought 57 more expensive wickets, followed by the six-year break, and when he returned he was already 33. In the first three post-war seasons, he took 155 wickets at around 30 each, including his best of 7-49 v Derbyshire in 1947, but with Derek Shackleton playing regularly, there were just four games in 1949 after which he retired. He played all of his 132 first-class matches for Hampshire, taking 404 wickets at 28.11. He was no batsman scoring 586 runs at 5.58 with a best of 34*.

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