Chris Greetham
Encyclopedia
Christopher Herbert Millington Greetham, born at Wargrave
, Berkshire
on 28 August 1936, played first-class cricket
for Somerset
from 1957 to 1966 as a middle-order batsman and a medium-pace bowler. Greetham was a tall, fair-haired right-handed batsman usually used in Somerset's late middle order and a right-arm seam bowler who, for a couple of seasons in the early 1960s, took enough wickets to be classed as an all-rounder. He was considered a good cover fielder, with a strong and accurate throw.
. One week after this innings, he made a second century, 104, including three sixes and 12 fours, against somewhat more demanding opposition in the match against Derbyshire
. The innings, said Wisden
, "revealed he could be relied upon when quick scoring was needed".
The following two seasons, 1960 and 1961, saw Greetham make useful innings and take useful wickets, but he did not advance on his 1959 figures, making around 800 runs in each season and failing to score a century in either. In 1962, however, he made 1,000 runs for the first time in a season, finishing with 1151 at an average
of 26.76 runs per innings, and taking 69 first-class wickets at an average
of 20.91. There were no centuries in this season, but his seven for 56 against Glamorgan
were the best innings bowling figures of his career, and when he took six for 19 and four for 29 against Lancashire
late in the season he achieved 10 wickets in a match for the only time in his first-class career. Wisden was complimentary about Greetham's progress in 1962: "Greetham, previously a useful middle order batsman, developed into an extremely competent all-rounder," it wrote. "A naturally aggressive right-hander, he scored over 1,000 runs for the first time and, bowling at a lively pace, took more wickets during the season than in his previous four years with the county." Greetham was awarded his county cap in 1962.
The 1963 season saw Somerset finish third in the County Championship
, equalling the highest placing in its history to that point. Greetham was one of six players to pass 1,000 runs for the season, and his final aggregate of 1186 was his best for a single season, with the average of 28.23 runs per innings the highest of his career. Against Leicestershire
at Weston-super-Mare
, on a wet pitch, he made 141 in three hours; eight Somerset wickets had fallen for 145 when Greetham was joined by Harold Stephenson
, the Somerset captain, and the pair put on 183 for the ninth wicket in 105 minutes. The stand remains the ninth wicket record for Somerset: it was equalled, but not surpassed, in 1990 by Chris Tavare
and Neil Mallender
. With the recruitment of fast bowler Fred Rumsey
to Somerset in 1963, there was less bowling for Greetham, but he still took 44 wickets.
Greetham was one of several Somerset batsmen for whom the 1964 season saw a regression. Unlike Peter Wight and Brian Roe
, who suffered similar declines, he retained his place for most matches, but his aggregate of runs dropped by more than half to just 504, there was only one score of more than 50, and his average fell too to just 15. His bowling offered no consolation, and his wickets fell to just 17 and the average rose to more than 40 runs per wicket.
There was a small improvement in batting in 1965, when he made 943 runs in all matches at an average of 21.93. The total included centuries in both the home and away matches against Middlesex
. Wisden commented in its reports on both matches about the speed of Greetham's scoring and the power of his strokes, and later in the season noted "a remarkable innings" against Cambridge University
in which Greetham, arriving at the wicket with 45 minutes of the first day to play, reached 73 not out by close of play (he went on to 93). But Greetham's bowling had disappeared almost entirely by this stage: in 28 County Championship matches in 1965, he bowled only six overs and took no wickets, and his only two wickets of the whole season came in the match against Cambridge University.
The 1966 season was, like 1963, a successful one for Somerset, but this time Greetham played almost no part. Dropped after two matches in which he made only 26 runs, he did not regain his place except for one match against Cambridge University, in which he again took two wickets, but again failed with the bat. This was his last first-class match.
Greetham "would have been made for one-day cricket", says one modern directory of Somerset cricketers. In fact, his record in the 10 Gillette Cup matches he played for Somerset between 1963 and 1966 was modest, with 150 runs in 10 innings and just three wickets. He did, however, retain his place in Somerset's one-day side longer than in the first-class team: his last first-team appearance was in the Gillette semi-final defeat by Warwickshire
in August 1966.
This was not, however, his final List A appearance. Having left Somerset at the end of the 1966 season, he appeared in Minor Counties cricket for Devon
in 1968 and 1969, and in the latter season he played in the first round Gillette Cup match against Hertfordshire
, not bowling but scoring 32 out of a Devon total of 75 as Hertfordshire won the match easily.
and Free Foresters in 1970 and 1971 with some success. Outside cricket, he worked as "a diamond sorter, teacher and film extra". He was also secretary of a golf club in Devon.
Wargrave
Wargrave is a large village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire, which encloses the confluence of the River Loddon and the River Thames. It is in the Borough of Wokingham...
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
on 28 August 1936, played first-class cricket
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...
for 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...
from 1957 to 1966 as a middle-order batsman and a medium-pace bowler. Greetham was a tall, fair-haired right-handed batsman usually used in Somerset's late middle order and a right-arm seam bowler who, for a couple of seasons in the early 1960s, took enough wickets to be classed as an all-rounder. He was considered a good cover fielder, with a strong and accurate throw.
Career
He first played for Somerset in 1957 and became a regular player in 1959, when he hit 881 runs in the season and made his highest first-class score, an unbeaten 151 in the match against the Combined ServicesCombined Services cricket team
The Combined Services cricket team represents the British armed forces. The team played at first-class level in England for more than forty years in the mid-twentieth century. Their first first-class match was against Gentlemen of England at Lord's in 1920, while their last was against Oxford...
. One week after this innings, he made a second century, 104, including three sixes and 12 fours, against somewhat more demanding opposition in the match against 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...
. The innings, said Wisden
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
, "revealed he could be relied upon when quick scoring was needed".
The following two seasons, 1960 and 1961, saw Greetham make useful innings and take useful wickets, but he did not advance on his 1959 figures, making around 800 runs in each season and failing to score a century in either. In 1962, however, he made 1,000 runs for the first time in a season, finishing with 1151 at an average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
of 26.76 runs per innings, and taking 69 first-class wickets at an average
Bowling average
Bowling average is a statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the sport of cricket.A bowler's bowling average is defined as the total number of runs conceded by the bowlers divided by the number of wickets taken by the bowler, so the lower the average the better. It is similar to earned...
of 20.91. There were no centuries in this season, but his seven for 56 against Glamorgan
Glamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan 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 Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County...
were the best innings bowling figures of his career, and when he took six for 19 and four for 29 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...
late in the season he achieved 10 wickets in a match for the only time in his first-class career. Wisden was complimentary about Greetham's progress in 1962: "Greetham, previously a useful middle order batsman, developed into an extremely competent all-rounder," it wrote. "A naturally aggressive right-hander, he scored over 1,000 runs for the first time and, bowling at a lively pace, took more wickets during the season than in his previous four years with the county." Greetham was awarded his county cap in 1962.
The 1963 season saw Somerset finish third in the County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
, equalling the highest placing in its history to that point. Greetham was one of six players to pass 1,000 runs for the season, and his final aggregate of 1186 was his best for a single season, with the average of 28.23 runs per innings the highest of his career. 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....
at Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare is a seaside resort, town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, which is within the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It is located on the Bristol Channel coast, south west of Bristol, spanning the coast between the bounding high ground of Worlebury...
, on a wet pitch, he made 141 in three hours; eight Somerset wickets had fallen for 145 when Greetham was joined by Harold Stephenson
Harold Stephenson
Harold William Stephenson was an English first-class cricketer who played for Somerset. He captained Somerset from 1960 until his retirement in 1964....
, the Somerset captain, and the pair put on 183 for the ninth wicket in 105 minutes. The stand remains the ninth wicket record for Somerset: it was equalled, but not surpassed, in 1990 by Chris Tavare
Chris Tavaré
Christopher James Tavaré is an English retired cricketer, who played in thirty one Tests and twenty nine One Day Internationals from 1980 to 1989.-Life and career:...
and Neil Mallender
Neil Mallender
Neil Mallender is a former English cricketer. A right-arm fast-medium bowler and a right-hand lower order batsman who improved as his career progressed, Mallender played first-class cricket in England for Northamptonshire , and for Somerset...
. With the recruitment of fast bowler Fred Rumsey
Fred Rumsey
Frederick Edward Rumsey is an English former cricketer, who played five Test matches for England in the mid 1960s. He is also notable for having played almost exclusively in one-day cricket for the last five years of his career...
to Somerset in 1963, there was less bowling for Greetham, but he still took 44 wickets.
Greetham was one of several Somerset batsmen for whom the 1964 season saw a regression. Unlike Peter Wight and Brian Roe
Brian Roe
Brian Roe, born at Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, on 27 January 1939, played first-class cricket for Somerset between 1957 and 1966.Roe, a diminutive and defensive right-handed batsman, played mostly as an opener, and was a regular member of the Somerset side between 1961 and 1964. He scored 1,000 runs...
, who suffered similar declines, he retained his place for most matches, but his aggregate of runs dropped by more than half to just 504, there was only one score of more than 50, and his average fell too to just 15. His bowling offered no consolation, and his wickets fell to just 17 and the average rose to more than 40 runs per wicket.
There was a small improvement in batting in 1965, when he made 943 runs in all matches at an average of 21.93. The total included centuries in both the home and away matches against Middlesex
Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex 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 Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...
. Wisden commented in its reports on both matches about the speed of Greetham's scoring and the power of his strokes, and later in the season noted "a remarkable innings" against 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...
in which Greetham, arriving at the wicket with 45 minutes of the first day to play, reached 73 not out by close of play (he went on to 93). But Greetham's bowling had disappeared almost entirely by this stage: in 28 County Championship matches in 1965, he bowled only six overs and took no wickets, and his only two wickets of the whole season came in the match against Cambridge University.
The 1966 season was, like 1963, a successful one for Somerset, but this time Greetham played almost no part. Dropped after two matches in which he made only 26 runs, he did not regain his place except for one match against Cambridge University, in which he again took two wickets, but again failed with the bat. This was his last first-class match.
Greetham "would have been made for one-day cricket", says one modern directory of Somerset cricketers. In fact, his record in the 10 Gillette Cup matches he played for Somerset between 1963 and 1966 was modest, with 150 runs in 10 innings and just three wickets. He did, however, retain his place in Somerset's one-day side longer than in the first-class team: his last first-team appearance was in the Gillette semi-final defeat by 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 August 1966.
This was not, however, his final List A appearance. Having left Somerset at the end of the 1966 season, he appeared in Minor Counties cricket for Devon
Devon County Cricket Club
Devon 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 Devon and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy....
in 1968 and 1969, and in the latter season he played in the first round Gillette Cup match against Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire County Cricket Club
Hertfordshire 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 Hertfordshire and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy...
, not bowling but scoring 32 out of a Devon total of 75 as Hertfordshire won the match easily.
After cricket
Greetham played three non-first-class matches for MCCMarylebone 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...
and Free Foresters in 1970 and 1971 with some success. Outside cricket, he worked as "a diamond sorter, teacher and film extra". He was also secretary of a golf club in Devon.