Ken Biddulph
Encyclopedia
Kenneth David Biddulph played first-class cricket
for Somerset
between 1955 and 1961, and later appeared in List A cricket matches while playing Minor Counties cricket for Durham
between 1962 and 1972. He was born in Chingford
, Essex
and died at his home in Amberley
, Gloucestershire
.
Ken Biddulph was a right-arm fast-medium bowler and a tail-end right-handed batsman. Colin McCool
, who played alongside Biddulph in the Somerset side of the late 1950s, was not complimentary about Biddulph's abilities as an opening bowler in his ghosted book Cricket is a Game (1960), though Biddulph took a total of 162 wickets over the 1959 and 1960 seasons.
. There were seven first-class matches in 1956 and three in 1957. In the match against Derbyshire
at Derby in 1956, he took five wickets for 46 runs in Derbyshire's first innings, finishing the innings off with a spell of five for 8 with the second new ball.
Biddulph gained a more regular place in the first team in 1958 as the deputy for regular fast-medium bowler Bryan Lobb
, playing in almost half the matches as Somerset finished third in the County Championship
, the county's highest position since 1892. In his first match of the season, against Kent
at Dartford, he took six second-innings wickets for 64 runs, his best career performance to that date. He improved that performance later in the season in the home match against Worcestershire at Taunton, when he and Bill Alley
took all the wickets as Worcestershire were dismissed for 68; Biddulph's share was six for 34.
Lobb retired from regular first-class cricket at the end of the 1958 season to become a teacher, and Biddulph stepped up in 1959 to be Somerset's regular opening bowler, usually forming a not-much-more-than-medium-paced opening attack with Alley or Ken Palmer
. He took 79 wickets at an average of 24.35 and was awarded his county cap. He took five or more wickets in an innings four times and improved his own personal best with six for 30 in the match against the Combined Services
at Taunton, and these were the best figures of his entire career. His figures for the 1960 season were similar: 83 wickets at an average of 27.28.
In its review of Somerset's 1960 season, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
wrote that lack of a match winning fast bowler was the main cause for the team's poor performance: "Biddulph, Palmer and Alley bowled accurately enough, but their medium-fast deliveries lacked penetrative power," it wrote. In the 1961 season, Palmer's bowling became much more successful, but Biddulph, by contrast, lost form. He dropped out of the first team halfway through the season and at the end the season, he was not re-engaged. In an article after Biddulph's death, the cricket author Stephen Chalke wrote: "[His] moment on the stage had passed... Ken Biddulph quickly realised when his contract was not renewed in 1961. 'The sports shop in Taunton had a cut-out of me in the window, bowling. And the next time I walked past, it had gone.'"
competition.
Biddulph joined the staff at Wycliffe College in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire as the Cricket and Squash professional in 1985. He retired at the age of 60 in 1992, but he was active in cricket coaching in the West Country almost up to his death.
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...
between 1955 and 1961, and later appeared in List A cricket matches while playing Minor Counties cricket for Durham
Durham County Cricket Club
Durham 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 Durham. Its limited overs team is called the Durham Dynamos. Their kit colours are blue with yellow trim and the shirt sponsor was...
between 1962 and 1972. He was born in Chingford
Chingford
Chingford is a district of north east London, bordering on Enfield and Edmonton to the west, Woodford to the east, Walthamstow and Stratford to the south and Essex to the north. It is situated northeast of Charing Cross and forms part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
and died at his home in Amberley
Amberley, Gloucestershire
Amberley, Gloucestershire is a small village near Stroud in Gloucestershire, England.-Places of interest:*A War memorial to the soldiers who died in World War II*Amberley Church*The Black Horse Pub*The Amberley Inn Hotel-External links:***...
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
.
Ken Biddulph was a right-arm fast-medium bowler and a tail-end right-handed batsman. Colin McCool
Colin McCool
Colin Leslie McCool was an Australian cricketer who played in 14 Tests from 1946 to 1950. McCool, born in Paddington, New South Wales, was an all-rounder who bowled leg spin and googlies with a round arm action and as a lower order batsman was regarded as effective square of the wicket and against...
, who played alongside Biddulph in the Somerset side of the late 1950s, was not complimentary about Biddulph's abilities as an opening bowler in his ghosted book Cricket is a Game (1960), though Biddulph took a total of 162 wickets over the 1959 and 1960 seasons.
Cricket career
Having played for the Somerset second eleven in 1954, Biddulph made his first-class debut in two matches during the 1955 season, taking three wickets in his first match against WorcestershireWorcestershire 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...
. There were seven first-class matches in 1956 and three in 1957. 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...
at Derby in 1956, he took five wickets for 46 runs in Derbyshire's first innings, finishing the innings off with a spell of five for 8 with the second new ball.
Biddulph gained a more regular place in the first team in 1958 as the deputy for regular fast-medium bowler Bryan Lobb
Bryan Lobb
Bryan Lobb was a first-class cricketer who played once for Warwickshire and then more than 100 times for Somerset.-Style and personality:...
, playing in almost half the matches as Somerset finished third in the County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
, the county's highest position since 1892. In his first match of the season, against 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...
at Dartford, he took six second-innings wickets for 64 runs, his best career performance to that date. He improved that performance later in the season in the home match against Worcestershire at Taunton, when he and Bill Alley
Bill Alley
William Edward Alley was a cricketer who played 400 first-class matches for New South Wales, Somerset and a Commonwealth XI....
took all the wickets as Worcestershire were dismissed for 68; Biddulph's share was six for 34.
Lobb retired from regular first-class cricket at the end of the 1958 season to become a teacher, and Biddulph stepped up in 1959 to be Somerset's regular opening bowler, usually forming a not-much-more-than-medium-paced opening attack with Alley or Ken Palmer
Ken Palmer
Ken Palmer is an English former cricketer and umpire, who played in one Test in 1965, and umpired twenty two Tests and twenty three ODIs from 1977 to 2001.-Life and career:...
. He took 79 wickets at an average of 24.35 and was awarded his county cap. He took five or more wickets in an innings four times and improved his own personal best with six for 30 in the match against the Combined Services
Combined 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...
at Taunton, and these were the best figures of his entire career. His figures for the 1960 season were similar: 83 wickets at an average of 27.28.
In its review of Somerset's 1960 season, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
wrote that lack of a match winning fast bowler was the main cause for the team's poor performance: "Biddulph, Palmer and Alley bowled accurately enough, but their medium-fast deliveries lacked penetrative power," it wrote. In the 1961 season, Palmer's bowling became much more successful, but Biddulph, by contrast, lost form. He dropped out of the first team halfway through the season and at the end the season, he was not re-engaged. In an article after Biddulph's death, the cricket author Stephen Chalke wrote: "[His] moment on the stage had passed... Ken Biddulph quickly realised when his contract was not renewed in 1961. 'The sports shop in Taunton had a cut-out of me in the window, bowling. And the next time I walked past, it had gone.'"
After Somerset
Biddulph went into League cricket on leaving Somerset and was a regular in Durham's Minor Counties side from 1962 until 1969, reappearing in four matches during 1972. In this period, he played five List A matches for Durham in the Gillette CupGillette Cup
The Gillette Cup may refer to the following cricket competitions:* Gillette Cup — an English knock-out one-day competition known as the Gillette Cup from 1963 to 1980, now known as the Friends Provident Cup...
competition.
Biddulph joined the staff at Wycliffe College in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire as the Cricket and Squash professional in 1985. He retired at the age of 60 in 1992, but he was active in cricket coaching in the West Country almost up to his death.