John Martin (cricketer, born 1941)
Encyclopedia
John Donald Martin played first-class
cricket
for Oxford University
and Somerset
. He also played Minor Counties cricket for Oxfordshire
and Berkshire
. He was born in Oxford
.
Martin was a tail-end right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast-medium bowler. Educated at Magdalen College School in Oxford, he played Minor Counties cricket for Oxfordshire from 1959, and he took four Somerset wickets in the 1961 Minor Counties Championship challenge match, which was won by Somerset's second eleven. The following season, 1962, he joined Somerset, playing mostly second eleven cricket for the next four summers after the end of the university term, and appearing only twice in the county's first team.
The bulk of Martin's first-class cricket was played for Oxford University. He was a freshman
undergraduate at St Edmund Hall
in 1962 and opened the bowling in the first match of the season against Gloucestershire
: Martin Young
and Ron Nicholls
put on 395 for the first wicket for Gloucestershire, still the highest first-class partnership for any wicket for the county, though Martin did have Young caught behind the wicket. Playing in just six matches because of examinations, Martin took only nine first-class wickets in what Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
declared was a "depressing" season. Four of those came in the University match
, where he won his blue. He was a lot more successful in 1963, taking 26 first-class wickets including his first five-wicket haul, a return of six for 70 in the match against MCC
when his victims included four England Test
batsmen. In the University match, however, he retired with influenza
after bowling only five overs. In 1964, he missed the match with Cambridge entirely through injury, though earlier in the season, he had produced the best bowling figures of his first-class career by taking seven Derbyshire
wickets for just 26 runs in a rain-ruined match.
In December 1964, Martin was a member of an MCC team that toured South America for a month: the team consisted of mainly former public school players and there were matches in Chile, Brazil and Argentina. In the 1965 season, Martin was captain of the Oxford University side and had his best-ever bowling season, taking 37 wickets for the university side at an average of 19.24. After almost leading his side to victory in the 1965 University match, though, Martin played only one further first-class match, his second for Somerset after one in the 1964 season. He continued to play second eleven cricket for Somerset until the end of the 1966 season and made one fleeting appearance six years later for Berkshire in the Minor Counties.
A negligible batsman, he reached double figures only five times in 40 matches (twice in one match) and his highest score was just 14.
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...
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...
for 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...
and 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...
. He also played Minor Counties cricket for Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire County Cricket Club
Oxfordshire 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 Oxfordshire and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy...
and Berkshire
Berkshire County Cricket Club
Berkshire 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 Berkshire and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and MCCA Knockout Trophy....
. He was born in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
.
Martin was a tail-end right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast-medium bowler. Educated at Magdalen College School in Oxford, he played Minor Counties cricket for Oxfordshire from 1959, and he took four Somerset wickets in the 1961 Minor Counties Championship challenge match, which was won by Somerset's second eleven. The following season, 1962, he joined Somerset, playing mostly second eleven cricket for the next four summers after the end of the university term, and appearing only twice in the county's first team.
The bulk of Martin's first-class cricket was played for Oxford University. He was a freshman
Freshman
A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
undergraduate at St Edmund Hall
St Edmund Hall, Oxford
St Edmund Hall is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Better known within the University by its nickname, "Teddy Hall", the college has a claim to being "the oldest academical society for the education of undergraduates in any university"...
in 1962 and opened the bowling in the first match of the season 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....
: Martin Young
Martin Young
Martin Young is a television reporter and interviewer.Born in Glasgow, he attended Dulwich College and Caius College, Cambridge where he was President of the Marlowe Society and a member of Footlights....
and Ron Nicholls
Ron Nicholls
Ronald Bernard Nicholls was an English first class cricketer who played for Gloucestershire....
put on 395 for the first wicket for Gloucestershire, still the highest first-class partnership for any wicket for the county, though Martin did have Young caught behind the wicket. Playing in just six matches because of examinations, Martin took only nine first-class wickets in what Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
declared was a "depressing" season. Four of those came in the University match
The University Match (cricket)
The University Match in a cricketing context is generally understood to refer to the annual fixture between Oxford University Cricket Club and Cambridge University Cricket Club...
, where he won his blue. He was a lot more successful in 1963, taking 26 first-class wickets including his first five-wicket haul, a return of six for 70 in the match against 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...
when his victims included four England 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...
batsmen. In the University match, however, he retired with influenza
Influenza
Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
after bowling only five overs. In 1964, he missed the match with Cambridge entirely through injury, though earlier in the season, he had produced the best bowling figures of his first-class career by taking seven 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...
wickets for just 26 runs in a rain-ruined match.
In December 1964, Martin was a member of an MCC team that toured South America for a month: the team consisted of mainly former public school players and there were matches in Chile, Brazil and Argentina. In the 1965 season, Martin was captain of the Oxford University side and had his best-ever bowling season, taking 37 wickets for the university side at an average of 19.24. After almost leading his side to victory in the 1965 University match, though, Martin played only one further first-class match, his second for Somerset after one in the 1964 season. He continued to play second eleven cricket for Somerset until the end of the 1966 season and made one fleeting appearance six years later for Berkshire in the Minor Counties.
A negligible batsman, he reached double figures only five times in 40 matches (twice in one match) and his highest score was just 14.