Cedric Boyns
Encyclopedia
Cedric Nigel Boyns is a former English
cricket
er who played at first-class
level for a few years in the late 1970s. He was born in Starbeck, Harrogate
, Yorkshire
.
Boyns started his career at Worcestershire
in 1972
, making a useful 47 opening
for the Second XI against their Derbyshire
equivalents on 31 July. He played two more Second XI matches that season, two in 1973
, and then a considerable number in the second half of 1974
. However, by the end of that year, in 25 innings his debut 47 remained his highest score. 1975
saw Boyns make two Second XI hundreds, on both occasions sharing large partnerships with fellow centurion Keith Wilkinson
. Boyns also bowled for the first time in this season.
The following summer
, he finally made his first-class debut against Somerset
, albeit for Cambridge University
rather than Worcestershire. He failed twice with the bat and bowled only four overs, and three further games for the university brought little change in his fortunes. Nevertheless, Worcestershire selected him to make his first-team debut on 23 June in the local derby
against Warwickshire
in the Benson & Hedges Cup
. Despite his county's 12-run victory
, it was a personal anticlimax: Boyns neither batted nor bowled. Three days later he did get to bat against Gloucestershire
in the Gillette Cup, but was lbw
to Procter
for a duck
. One day later still, he turned out against Surrey
in the John Player League, but once more did not get a turn at the crease.
Boyns worked out some of his frustration with a hundred for the second team against Gloucestershire II, and at the start of July he was rewarded with a County Championship
debut against Lancashire
. Worcestershire won by an innings thanks to a superb all-round
display by Imran Khan
(111*
; 7-53 and 6-46) so Boyns was only allowed a single innings, in which he scored 23. He also bowled seven wicketless overs for a cost of 17 runs. In a losing appearance in the B&H Cup final two weeks later he at least claimed his first senior wickets: Kent
's Graham Johnson
and Alan Ealham
.
The latter part of the 1976 season saw Boyns at last establish himself in the Worcestershire first team, and he claimed his maiden first-class wicket (that of Surrey's Lonsdale Skinner) as well as scoring what would prove to be his highest score, a fighting 95 against Yorkshire
which rescued his county from 76/4 in their first innings and eventually helped ensure a draw.
1977
started strangely for Boyns. He took 3-24 (his career best) against Oxford University
, but this small bowling success was soon to be overtaken by a large batting crisis. Successive first-team innings of 16, 2, 4, 1, 1 and 2 saw Boyns drop to the seconds in the second week of May, but he immediately made an unbeaten 111 against Somerset II and was just as quickly recalled to the team proper. Once back, however, he struggled again, and this time it did not seem to matter whether he played in the first or the second team. In eight successive innings in all cricket he was dismissed for single-figure scores, and though his form had improved slightly by mid-August it was only in the final innings of the season, with Worcestershire following on against Somerset, that he made a significant score once more, with 77*.
In 1978
Boyns had plenty of first-team opportunities from late May to early July, but on the whole did not make the most of them. His highest score during this period was 41*, and though he claimed a List A career-best of 4-34 in the John Player League against Leicestershire
he was soon back in the seconds yet again. Here, as they had on several previous occasions, the runs flowed, with scores of 105*, 87 and 78* leading to his recall. He made 71 against the New Zealanders
in the second half of August, but little else was worthy of note. By 1979
Boyns' days as a Worcestershire cricketer were numbered, and indeed he made only one first-class appearance that summer, against the Sri Lankans
in mid-July, although he did play six times in one-day
matches. His last first-class wicket was that of Sri Lankan Roy Dias
, while his last List A scalp was Sussex
's Tony Pigott
just a few days later.
Although Boyns never again played at first-class level, he did appear for Shropshire
for several years in the early 1980s, both in the Minor Counties Championship and, on a single occasion in 1983
, at List A level in the NatWest Trophy. Shropshire lost the game by 87 runs, unsurprisingly given that their opponents were the Somerset of Botham
, Richards
and Garner
, while Boyns himself scored 12 and did not bowl. The following year
he (and his former Worcestershire team-mate Wilkinson) appeared for the Old Hill
side that won the William Younger Cup, while in 1986
Boyns had two minor outings for MCC
.
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...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who played at 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...
level for a few years in the late 1970s. He was born in Starbeck, Harrogate
Harrogate
Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
.
Boyns started his career at Worcestershire
Worcestershire County Cricket Club
Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Worcestershire...
in 1972
1972 English cricket season
The 1972 English cricket season saw an increase in limited overs cricket with the introduction of the Benson & Hedges Cup, which was part mini-league and part knockout along the lines of soccer's World Cup competition. This caused another reduction in County Championship matches and the B&H was...
, making a useful 47 opening
Batting order (cricket)
In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batsmen play through their team's innings, there always being two batsmen taking part at any one time...
for the Second XI against their Derbyshire
Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Derbyshire...
equivalents on 31 July. He played two more Second XI matches that season, two in 1973
1973 English cricket season
The 1973 English cricket season saw Hampshire win their second-ever title while a very strong Kent side continued to dominate the limited overs game.-Honours:*County Championship - Hampshire*Gillette Cup - Gloucestershire...
, and then a considerable number in the second half of 1974
1974 English cricket season
The 1974 English cricket season continued the recent pattern of joint tours with India and Pakistan again playing three Tests each against England.-Honours:*County Championship - Worcestershire*Gillette Cup - Kent...
. However, by the end of that year, in 25 innings his debut 47 remained his highest score. 1975
1975 English cricket season
The 1975 English cricket season was notable for hosting the first-ever Cricket World Cup which was won by West Indies, who defeated Australia in an exciting final.-Honours:*County Championship - Leicestershire*Gillette Cup - Lancashire...
saw Boyns make two Second XI hundreds, on both occasions sharing large partnerships with fellow centurion Keith Wilkinson
Keith Wilkinson (cricketer)
Keith William Wilkinson is a former English cricketer who played for Worcestershire between 1969 and 1975.After several years in the county's Second XI, Wilkinson made his first-class debut for Worcestershire against Somerset at Weston-super-Mare in early August 1969, scoring 1 in his only innings...
. Boyns also bowled for the first time in this season.
The following summer
1976 English cricket season
The 1976 English cricket season saw Clive Lloyd's new approach to Test cricket as a battery of pace bowlers was used to intimidate the England batsmen. Lloyd adopted the tactic after his own team's experiences against Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee the previous year...
, he finally made his first-class debut against Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
, albeit for Cambridge University
Cambridge University Cricket Club
Cambridge University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team. It now plays all but one of its first-class cricket matches as part of the Cambridge University Centre of Cricketing Excellence , which includes Anglia Ruskin University...
rather than Worcestershire. He failed twice with the bat and bowled only four overs, and three further games for the university brought little change in his fortunes. Nevertheless, Worcestershire selected him to make his first-team debut on 23 June in the local derby
Local derby
In many countries the term local derby, or simply just derby means a sporting fixture between two, generally local, rivals, particularly in association football...
against Warwickshire
Warwickshire County Cricket Club
Warwickshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor...
in the Benson & Hedges Cup
Benson & Hedges Cup
The Benson & Hedges Cup was a one-day cricket competition for first-class counties in England and Wales that was held from 1972 to 2002, one of cricket's longest sponsorship deals....
. Despite his county's 12-run victory
The result in cricket
The result in a game of cricket may be a win for one of the two teams playing, a draw or a tie. In the case of a limited overs game, the game can also end with no result...
, it was a personal anticlimax: Boyns neither batted nor bowled. Three days later he did get to bat against Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Gloucestershire. Its limited overs team is called the Gloucestershire Gladiators....
in the Gillette Cup, but was lbw
Leg before wicket
In the sport of cricket, leg before wicket is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed. An umpire will rule a batsman out LBW under a series of circumstances which primarily include the ball striking the batsman's body when it would otherwise have continued on to hit the batsman's...
to Procter
Mike Procter
Michael John Procter is a former South African cricketer. A fast bowler and hard hitting batsman, his chances for a long and productive test career were wrecked by South Africa's banishment from world cricket in the 1970s and 1980s...
for a duck
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
. One day later still, he turned out against Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
in the John Player League, but once more did not get a turn at the crease.
Boyns worked out some of his frustration with a hundred for the second team against Gloucestershire II, and at the start of July he was rewarded with a County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
debut against Lancashire
Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then...
. Worcestershire won by an innings thanks to a superb all-round
All-rounder
An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a few batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are considered specialists...
display by Imran Khan
Imran Khan
Imran Khan Niazi is a Pakistani politician and former Pakistani cricketer, playing international cricket for two decades in the late twentieth century. After retiring, he entered politics...
(111*
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
; 7-53 and 6-46) so Boyns was only allowed a single innings, in which he scored 23. He also bowled seven wicketless overs for a cost of 17 runs. In a losing appearance in the B&H Cup final two weeks later he at least claimed his first senior wickets: Kent
Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...
's Graham Johnson
Graham Johnson (cricketer)
Graham William Johnson was a cricketer with Kent.He made his debut in 1965 and won his county cap in 1970. He was an opening batsman and off spin bowler.Graham attended the London School of Economics....
and Alan Ealham
Alan Ealham
Alan George Ernest Ealham was a cricketer with Kent.He made his debut in 1966 and won his county cap in 1970. Alan captained the club between 1978 and 1980 and had his benefit in 1982...
.
The latter part of the 1976 season saw Boyns at last establish himself in the Worcestershire first team, and he claimed his maiden first-class wicket (that of Surrey's Lonsdale Skinner) as well as scoring what would prove to be his highest score, a fighting 95 against Yorkshire
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
which rescued his county from 76/4 in their first innings and eventually helped ensure a draw.
1977
1977 English cricket season
The 1977 English cricket season was played out in the aftermath of the Kerry Packer affair. Geoffrey Boycott returned to Test cricket and managed to time things so that he scored his 100th career century in the Headingley Test...
started strangely for Boyns. He took 3-24 (his career best) against Oxford University
Oxford University Cricket Club
Oxford University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team, representing the University of Oxford. It plays its home games at the University Parks in Oxford, England...
, but this small bowling success was soon to be overtaken by a large batting crisis. Successive first-team innings of 16, 2, 4, 1, 1 and 2 saw Boyns drop to the seconds in the second week of May, but he immediately made an unbeaten 111 against Somerset II and was just as quickly recalled to the team proper. Once back, however, he struggled again, and this time it did not seem to matter whether he played in the first or the second team. In eight successive innings in all cricket he was dismissed for single-figure scores, and though his form had improved slightly by mid-August it was only in the final innings of the season, with Worcestershire following on against Somerset, that he made a significant score once more, with 77*.
In 1978
1978 English cricket season
The 1978 English cricket season was played amidst growing concerns about the impact of World Series Cricket. On the domestic front, Kent was the most outstanding county team despite Alan Knott and Derek Underwood having joined WSC.-Honours:...
Boyns had plenty of first-team opportunities from late May to early July, but on the whole did not make the most of them. His highest score during this period was 41*, and though he claimed a List A career-best of 4-34 in the John Player League against Leicestershire
Leicestershire County Cricket Club
Leicestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Leicestershire. It has also been representative of the county of Rutland....
he was soon back in the seconds yet again. Here, as they had on several previous occasions, the runs flowed, with scores of 105*, 87 and 78* leading to his recall. He made 71 against the New Zealanders
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
in the second half of August, but little else was worthy of note. By 1979
1979 English cricket season
The 1979 English cricket season saw the second Cricket World Cup played in England. West Indies defeated England in the final.-Honours:*County Championship - Essex*Gillette Cup - Somerset*Sunday League - Somerset...
Boyns' days as a Worcestershire cricketer were numbered, and indeed he made only one first-class appearance that summer, against the Sri Lankans
Sri Lankan cricket team
The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
in mid-July, although he did play six times in one-day
One-day cricket
Limited overs cricket, also known as one-day cricket and in a slightly different context as List A cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed in one day, whereas Test and first-class matches can take up to five days to complete...
matches. His last first-class wicket was that of Sri Lankan Roy Dias
Roy Dias
Roy Luke Dias is a former Sri Lankan cricketer, who played 20 Test matches as a specialist batsman, and became the first Sri Lankan to hit 1,000 Test runs...
, while his last List A scalp was Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
's Tony Pigott
Tony Pigott
Tony Pigott is a former English cricketer, who played in one Test for England in 1984, when he was called up as an emergency replacement in New Zealand...
just a few days later.
Although Boyns never again played at first-class level, he did appear for Shropshire
Shropshire County Cricket Club
Shropshire County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Shropshire and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy...
for several years in the early 1980s, both in the Minor Counties Championship and, on a single occasion in 1983
1983 English cricket season
The 1983 English cricket season was the scene for the third Cricket World Cup which was deservedly won by India.In Minor Counties cricket, the MCCA Knockout Trophy was inaugurated.-Honours:*County Championship - Essex*NatWest Trophy - Somerset...
, at List A level in the NatWest Trophy. Shropshire lost the game by 87 runs, unsurprisingly given that their opponents were the Somerset of Botham
Ian Botham
Sir Ian Terence Botham OBE is a former England Test cricketer and Test team captain, and current cricket commentator. He was a genuine all-rounder with 14 centuries and 383 wickets in Test cricket, and remains well-known by his nickname "Beefy"...
, Richards
Viv Richards
Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, KNH, OBE is a former West Indian cricketer. Better known by his second name, Vivian or, more popularly, simply as Viv or King Viv Richards was voted one of the five Cricketers of the Century in 2000, by a 100-member panel of experts, along with Sir Donald...
and Garner
Joel Garner
Joel Garner , also known as "Big Joel" or "Big Bird", is a former West Indian cricketer, and a member of the highly regarded late 1970s and early '80s West Indies cricket teams....
, while Boyns himself scored 12 and did not bowl. The following year
1984 English cricket season
The 1984 English cricket season saw a continued dominance by the best-ever Essex team who won a second successive County Championship and also won the Sunday League.-Honours:*County Championship - Essex*NatWest Trophy - Middlesex...
he (and his former Worcestershire team-mate Wilkinson) appeared for the Old Hill
Old Hill Cricket Club
Old Hill Cricket Club is an amateur cricket club in Cradley Heath, West Midlands, England.Founded in 1884 as Haden Hill Victoria, the club has played on Haden Hill ground in Cradley Heath since founding, having purchased it in 1934, with the ground placed owned by a Trust and shared with Old Hill...
side that won the William Younger Cup, while in 1986
1986 English cricket season
The 1986 English cricket season saw Essex win the County Championship for the third time in four seasons.-Honours:*County Championship - Essex*NatWest Trophy - Sussex*Sunday League - Hampshire*Benson & Hedges Cup -...
Boyns had two minor outings for MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
.
External links
- Statistical summary from CricketArchiveCricketArchiveCricketArchive is a website that aims to provide a comprehensive archive of records relating to the sport of cricket. It claims to be the most comprehensive cricket database on the internet, including scorecards for all matches of first-class cricket , List A cricket , Women's Test cricket and...