John Roberts (Somerset cricketer)
Encyclopedia
John Kelvin Roberts, born at Liverpool
on 9 October 1949, played first-class
and List A cricket
for Somerset
in the 1969 and 1970 seasons.
A right-handed tail-end batsman and a left-arm medium pace bowler, Roberts was one of several young players brought in by Somerset in the 1969 season – others included Brian Rose
and Peter Denning
– as the team set out to rebuild after the departure of much of the successful side of the 1960s. Roberts played in six County Championship
matches, with his best bowling performance being four for 38 runs against Yorkshire
at Leeds, the match in which Greg Chappell
also achieved his career-best bowling performance. Roberts had more success in one-day cricket, playing in nine of Somerset's games in the inaugural season of the Sunday league competition; his best performance was four for 18 against Sussex
, the match being played at Torquay
, the first "home" fixture outside Somerset since the county club was founded, also at Torquay, in 1875.
Wisden
in its review of Somerset in 1969 noted Roberts as a promising player: he "displayed a cool head and improved steadily during the year," it said. But in 1970, Somerset recruited other bowlers and Roberts played in only two first-class and two one-day matches, with limited success. He did not appear in the first team after the 1970 season, but remained in the county's second eleven through 1971.
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
on 9 October 1949, played 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...
and List A 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 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...
in the 1969 and 1970 seasons.
A right-handed tail-end batsman and a left-arm medium pace bowler, Roberts was one of several young players brought in by Somerset in the 1969 season – others included Brian Rose
Brian Rose (cricketer)
Brian Charles Rose is an English former cricketer, who played in nine Tests and two ODIs for England from 1977 to 1981.-Life and career:...
and Peter Denning
Peter Denning (cricketer)
Peter William Denning was an English first-class cricketer who played for Somerset from 1969 to 1984. He was known to Somerset cricket fans as 'Dasher' due to his "pace over the ground", and he was also known for an unorthodox stroke called the 'Chewton carve' or 'Chewton chop', a stroke that cut...
– as the team set out to rebuild after the departure of much of the successful side of the 1960s. Roberts played in six County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
matches, with his best bowling performance being four for 38 runs 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....
at Leeds, the match in which Greg Chappell
Greg Chappell
Gregory Stephen Chappell MBE is a former cricketer who captained Australia between 1975 and 1977 and then joined the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation, before returning to the Australian captaincy in 1979, a position he held until his retirement 1983...
also achieved his career-best bowling performance. Roberts had more success in one-day cricket, playing in nine of Somerset's games in the inaugural season of the Sunday league competition; his best performance was four for 18 against 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...
, the match being played at Torquay
Torquay
Torquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998 during the...
, the first "home" fixture outside Somerset since the county club was founded, also at Torquay, in 1875.
Wisden
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
in its review of Somerset in 1969 noted Roberts as a promising player: he "displayed a cool head and improved steadily during the year," it said. But in 1970, Somerset recruited other bowlers and Roberts played in only two first-class and two one-day matches, with limited success. He did not appear in the first team after the 1970 season, but remained in the county's second eleven through 1971.