Cecil Dixon
Encyclopedia
For the Welsh footballer see Cecil Dixon (footballer)
Cecil Donovan Dixon - A talented medium-to-fast-medium pace bowler, Cec. Dixon was born in Potchefstroom in the Transvaal
, South Africa
on February 12, 1891, and died in Johannesburg
, South Africa on September 9, 1969, aged 78.
During a first-class
career that spanned the years 1913 to 1924, it would be fair to say that his batting was exactly what one would expect from a ‘tailender’. From 39 innings he amassed just 184 runs with a top score of 27 and ended his career with an average below six. But he was a respected bowler who took five wickets in an innings
on six occasions and ten wickets in a match once.
His best figures, 7 for 16, were gained at the expense of Griqualand West
in a Currie Cup
match played at Johannesburg in 1923/24, and in that season Dixon went on to take 33 wickets at an average of exactly 10 runs apiece. He topped the bowling averages that season and significantly helped Transvaal to their eighth domestic title.
Dixon toured England
with South Africa during the summer of 1924 but was rather disappointing. His only success of note was against Scotland at Glasgow
where he followed an innings of 4 for 14 with one of 6 for 39 to gain his only five wicket haul of the tour and the only ten wicket match collection of his career.
He was left out of all the Test
matches whilst in England that year but had already gained his sole Test ten years earlier at Johannesburg. Playing against an England side led by J.W.H.T. Douglas
in the third match of the series, Dixon failed to score in either innings and took three wickets for 118 runs in the match, including the great Jack Hobbs
twice.
He played just one further first-class match after the 1924 tour and his death in 1969 appeared to go unrecorded at the time. Therefore no obituary appeared within Wisden for him.
Cecil Dixon (footballer)
Cecil Hubert Dixon is an English former professional footballer. A winger, he joined Newport County in 1957 from Cardiff City and went on to make 107 appearances for Newport, scoring 15 goals before finishing his career at Northampton Town.-Career:Dixon began his career at his home town club...
Cecil Donovan Dixon - A talented medium-to-fast-medium pace bowler, Cec. Dixon was born in Potchefstroom in the Transvaal
South African Republic
The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
on February 12, 1891, and died in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, South Africa on September 9, 1969, aged 78.
During a first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
career that spanned the years 1913 to 1924, it would be fair to say that his batting was exactly what one would expect from a ‘tailender’. From 39 innings he amassed just 184 runs with a top score of 27 and ended his career with an average below six. But he was a respected bowler who took five wickets in an innings
Innings
An inning, or innings, is a fixed-length segment of a game in any of a variety of sports – most notably cricket and baseball during which one team attempts to score while the other team attempts to prevent the first from scoring. In cricket, the term innings is both singular and plural and is...
on six occasions and ten wickets in a match once.
His best figures, 7 for 16, were gained at the expense of Griqualand West
Griqualand West cricket team
The Griqualand West cricket team is the first-class cricket team that represents the province of Griqualand West in South Africa. For the purposes of the SuperSport Series, Griqualand West has merged with Free State to form the Eagles from October 2004....
in a Currie Cup
SuperSport Series
The SuperSport Series is the main domestic first class cricket competition in South Africa, first contested in 1889-90. From 1990-91 it became known as the Castle Cup, and from 1996-97 by its current title...
match played at Johannesburg in 1923/24, and in that season Dixon went on to take 33 wickets at an average of exactly 10 runs apiece. He topped the bowling averages that season and significantly helped Transvaal to their eighth domestic title.
Dixon toured England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
with South Africa during the summer of 1924 but was rather disappointing. His only success of note was against Scotland at Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
where he followed an innings of 4 for 14 with one of 6 for 39 to gain his only five wicket haul of the tour and the only ten wicket match collection of his career.
He was left out of all the Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
matches whilst in England that year but had already gained his sole Test ten years earlier at Johannesburg. Playing against an England side led by J.W.H.T. Douglas
Johnny Douglas
John "Johnny" William Henry Tyler Douglas was a cricketer who was captain of the England team and an Olympic boxer.-Early life:...
in the third match of the series, Dixon failed to score in either innings and took three wickets for 118 runs in the match, including the great Jack Hobbs
Jack Hobbs
Sir John Berry "Jack" Hobbs was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches from 1908 to 1930....
twice.
He played just one further first-class match after the 1924 tour and his death in 1969 appeared to go unrecorded at the time. Therefore no obituary appeared within Wisden for him.