Don Shepherd
Encyclopedia
Don Shepherd was a Welsh
cricket
er, who played for Glamorgan
. One of the great county bowlers, he took more first-class
wickets, 2,218 at 21.32 each, than any other player who never played Test cricket
.
Shepherd began his county career in 1950 as a fast-medium bowler, and was a regular in the Glamorgan team in 1952, when he took 120 wickets. Over the next three seasons, however, he was less successful and appeared to lose some control. Under advice from team-mates, he switched late in 1955 to bowling off-cutters – off-breaks with a pronounced undercut delivered at almost medium pace. The move was an instant success. In 1956, Shepherd took 177 wickets, more than any other player in that English first-class season, and he took more than 100 wickets in 12 seasons in all. On bad wickets, he could be devastating; on good wickets, his accuracy and the speed of delivery meant that he was usually economical.
Shepherd maintained his fitness into his mid forites, and was an integral part of the Glamorgan side that won the County Championship
in 1969. He was rewarded by being named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1970, and he celebrated that accolade by taking more wickets, 106, in the 1970 season than any other player in the English first-class game. His tally from a career spanning 23 summers (1950-72) included 28 instances of ten or more in a match and 123 of five or more in an innings.
In a batting side that included some real rabbits – Jeff Jones
, Ossie Wheatley
– Shepherd batted perhaps higher up the order than he might have in other teams. He averaged less than 10 runs per innings and reached 50 just five times. He could play big shots however and, in 1961, he scored 51 in 15 minutes against the Australians
at Swansea, reaching that score with just 11 scoring strokes, six sixes, three fours, a two and a single. Seven years later, he captained Glamorgan to victory against the 1968 Australians on the same ground.
Shepherd played regularly to the end of the 1971 season, and then retired from first-class cricket after a few games in 1972.
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
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 for 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...
. One of the great county bowlers, he took more 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...
wickets, 2,218 at 21.32 each, than any other player who never played Test cricket
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...
.
Shepherd began his county career in 1950 as a fast-medium bowler, and was a regular in the Glamorgan team in 1952, when he took 120 wickets. Over the next three seasons, however, he was less successful and appeared to lose some control. Under advice from team-mates, he switched late in 1955 to bowling off-cutters – off-breaks with a pronounced undercut delivered at almost medium pace. The move was an instant success. In 1956, Shepherd took 177 wickets, more than any other player in that English first-class season, and he took more than 100 wickets in 12 seasons in all. On bad wickets, he could be devastating; on good wickets, his accuracy and the speed of delivery meant that he was usually economical.
Shepherd maintained his fitness into his mid forites, and was an integral part of the Glamorgan side that won the County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
in 1969. He was rewarded by being named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1970, and he celebrated that accolade by taking more wickets, 106, in the 1970 season than any other player in the English first-class game. His tally from a career spanning 23 summers (1950-72) included 28 instances of ten or more in a match and 123 of five or more in an innings.
In a batting side that included some real rabbits – Jeff Jones
Jeff Jones (cricketer)
Jeff Jones is a former Welsh cricketer, who took forty-four wickets in fifteen Tests for England from 1964 to 1968....
, Ossie Wheatley
Ossie Wheatley
Oswald Stephen "Ossie" Wheatley, born at Low Fell, Gateshead, County Durham on 28 May 1935, was a cricketer who played for Cambridge University, Warwickshire and Glamorgan...
– Shepherd batted perhaps higher up the order than he might have in other teams. He averaged less than 10 runs per innings and reached 50 just five times. He could play big shots however and, in 1961, he scored 51 in 15 minutes against the Australians
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
at Swansea, reaching that score with just 11 scoring strokes, six sixes, three fours, a two and a single. Seven years later, he captained Glamorgan to victory against the 1968 Australians on the same ground.
Shepherd played regularly to the end of the 1971 season, and then retired from first-class cricket after a few games in 1972.