Michael Norman (Northamptonshire cricketer)
Encyclopedia
Michael Eric John Charles Norman (born, 19 January 1933, Northampton
, Northamptonshire
) was a professional Cricket
er who spent his career between two clubs, Northamptonshire
and Leicestershire
.
, who regarded the young Norman as 'another Dennis Brookes
in the making.' It took several seasons for Norman to establish himself in the first team, but in 1959, Brookes' last season, the Northampton Grammer School old boy made his presence felt with just over 1,000 runs and a maiden Championship century against Warwickshire
. The following year, where he established a long running opening partnership with Brian Reynolds
, Norman 'improved immensely' according to the Annual Report, and the four summers between 1960 and 1963 brought him 7,150 County runs. His four hundreds in 1963 included 152 against Nottinghamshire
at Northampton, his highest for the County, but the next two seasons found him struggling for any degree of consistency. Against Glamorgan
in 1964 he suffered the miserable experience of a 'king pair (falling to the first ball of each innings, on the same day, to Ossie Wheatley
both times. At the end of 1965, Norman made his move to Leicestershire
and enjoyed a new lease of cricketing life. he played on until 1975, combining cricket with teaching in the last few years of his career, and adapted with conspicuous success to the rough-and-tumble of the John Player League which Leicestershire won, with the help of Newman in 1974.
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
) was a professional 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 spent his career between two clubs, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club
Northamptonshire 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 Northamptonshire. Its limited overs team is called the Northants Steelbacks. The traditional club colour is Maroon. During the...
and 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....
.
Career
Norman's first-class debut, against India in 1952, coincided with that of Frank TysonFrank Tyson
Frank Holmes Tyson is an England cricketer of the 1950s who became a journalist and cricket commentator after he emigrated to Australia in 1960. Nicknamed "Typhoon Tyson" by the press he was regarded by many commentators as one of the fastest bowlers ever seen in cricket and took 76 wickets in...
, who regarded the young Norman as 'another Dennis Brookes
Dennis Brookes
Dennis Brookes was an English cricketer who played for Northamptonshire between 1934 and 1959 . He also played in one Test match for England against West Indies in 1948. Brookes was President of Northamptonshire from 1982 to 1984...
in the making.' It took several seasons for Norman to establish himself in the first team, but in 1959, Brookes' last season, the Northampton Grammer School old boy made his presence felt with just over 1,000 runs and a maiden Championship century against 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...
. The following year, where he established a long running opening partnership with Brian Reynolds
Brian Reynolds (cricketer)
Brian Leonard Reynolds was a professional Cricketer who spent his entire career at Northamptonshire.-Biography:...
, Norman 'improved immensely' according to the Annual Report, and the four summers between 1960 and 1963 brought him 7,150 County runs. His four hundreds in 1963 included 152 against Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire 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 Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
at Northampton, his highest for the County, but the next two seasons found him struggling for any degree of consistency. 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...
in 1964 he suffered the miserable experience of a 'king pair (falling to the first ball of each innings, on the same day, to 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...
both times. At the end of 1965, Norman made his move to 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....
and enjoyed a new lease of cricketing life. he played on until 1975, combining cricket with teaching in the last few years of his career, and adapted with conspicuous success to the rough-and-tumble of the John Player League which Leicestershire won, with the help of Newman in 1974.
External links
- Player Profile: Michael Norman from CricinfoCricinfoESPNcricinfo is believed to be the largest cricket-related website on the World Wide Web. Content includes news,articles, live scorecards,live text commentary and a comprehensive and searchable database called 'StatsGuru', of historical matches and players from the 18th century to the present...
- Player Profile: Michael Norman from CricketArchiveCricketArchiveCricketArchive is a website that aims to provide a comprehensive archive of records relating to the sport of cricket. It claims to be the most comprehensive cricket database on the internet, including scorecards for all matches of first-class cricket , List A cricket , Women's Test cricket and...