Mike Groves
Encyclopedia
Michael Godfrey Melvin Groves (born 14 January 1943) played first-class
cricket
for Western Province
, Oxford University
, Somerset
, MCC
and the Free Foresters between 1961 and 1968. He was born at Taihape
, Manawatu, New Zealand
.
The son of Henry Groves, an Englishman whose single first-class cricket appearance came in India, Mike Groves was born in New Zealand but brought up in South Africa
, where he was educated at Diocesan College
, Cape Town
. Usually a right-handed middle-order batsman and irregular right-arm medium-pace bowler, he played a single match as an 18-year-old in 1960/61 for Western Province
as an opening batsman, scoring 5 and 45. He then came to England and played occasional amateur first-class matches in 1962 before going to Oxford University in autumn 1962 as an undergraduate at St Edmund Hall.
Over the next four cricket seasons, Groves played regularly for Oxford University's first eleven cricket team, but in 1963, despite finishing fourth in the university's batting averages with 485 runs at an average
of 26.94 runs per innings, he was left out of the team for the University Match and did not win a Blue
. His highest score in the season was an unbeaten 74 in the match against Northamptonshire
. In 1964, he failed to match either the aggregate or the average, and his only score of 50 or more for the season was 61, but he retained his place through the Oxford season and was awarded a Blue, scoring eight and 10 not out and taking a single wicket, that of Richard Hutton
, in the match.
Groves played his single full season of first-class cricket in 1965 and had his best year, with 1048 runs at an average of 29.11. He topped the Oxford batting averages with 743 runs at an average of 32.30 and made 69 and 81, his highest score for the university, in the match against Sussex
which came immediately before the University Match. In the University Match itself, Groves top-scored for Oxford with 45 in the first innings, but he and fellow batsman Melville Guest
were barracked by the crowd for slow scoring, with 15 consecutive maiden overs bowled by the two Cambridge spinners. The slow scoring was uncharacteristic, though Wisden
noted that, in an out-of-form batting side and on damp pitches, Groves had not been able in 1965 to bat with the freedom he'd exhibited in previous seasons. After the university term was over, he joined Somerset, and though he began in the second team, for the whole of August he played for the first team, and while there he compiled the highest score of his first-class career, 86, in the match against Derbyshire
at Glastonbury.
Groves returned for a fourth season at Oxford in 1966 but played only four matches because of examination demands. One of those, however, was his third University Match, and after five consecutive drawn games in this fixture the 1966 match was won by an innings by Oxford, with Groves' unbeaten 80 in 98 minutes on the first day one of the batting highlights, enabling Oxford to declare and give Cambridge an awkward half hour's batting at the end of the day. After the game, Groves again joined Somerset, but this time he played only a handful of second eleven matches and did not feature in the first team, which was having one of its most successful seasons.
That was virtually the end of Groves' cricket career, but he appeared over the next 14 seasons in occasional games for either the Free Foresters or the MCC
, and in 1967 and 1968 a couple of those games were rated as first-class fixtures: subsequent matches he played in were not first-class. At the end of the 1968 season, with Somerset looking for a new captain to replace Roy Kerslake
, there was a move to co-opt Groves to the post, but it did not happen.
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 Western Province
Western Province cricket team
Western Province cricket team is the team representing Western Cape province in domestic first-class cricket in South Africa. The team began playing in January 1890 and its main venue has always been Newlands in Cape Town.-Honours:...
, 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...
, 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...
, 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...
and the Free Foresters between 1961 and 1968. He was born at Taihape
Taihape
Taihape is the Northern gateway town of the Rangitikei District, located near the middle of the North Island of New Zealand. It services a large rural community and lies on State Highway 1, which runs through the centre of the North Island.- Economy :...
, Manawatu, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
The son of Henry Groves, an Englishman whose single first-class cricket appearance came in India, Mike Groves was born in New Zealand but brought up in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, where he was educated at Diocesan College
Diocesan College
The Diocesan College, or Bishops as it is more commonly known, is an independent, all-boys school situated in the suburb of Rondebosch in Cape Town, South Africa...
, Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
. Usually a right-handed middle-order batsman and irregular right-arm medium-pace bowler, he played a single match as an 18-year-old in 1960/61 for Western Province
Western Province cricket team
Western Province cricket team is the team representing Western Cape province in domestic first-class cricket in South Africa. The team began playing in January 1890 and its main venue has always been Newlands in Cape Town.-Honours:...
as an opening batsman, scoring 5 and 45. He then came to England and played occasional amateur first-class matches in 1962 before going to Oxford University in autumn 1962 as an undergraduate at St Edmund Hall.
Over the next four cricket seasons, Groves played regularly for Oxford University's first eleven cricket team, but in 1963, despite finishing fourth in the university's batting averages with 485 runs at an average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
of 26.94 runs per innings, he was left out of the team for the University Match and did not win a Blue
University Sporting Blue
A Blue is an award earned by sportsmen and women at a university and some schools for competition at the highest level. The awarding of Blues began at Oxford and Cambridge Universities...
. His highest score in the season was an unbeaten 74 in the match against 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...
. In 1964, he failed to match either the aggregate or the average, and his only score of 50 or more for the season was 61, but he retained his place through the Oxford season and was awarded a Blue, scoring eight and 10 not out and taking a single wicket, that of Richard Hutton
Richard Hutton
Richard Anthony Hutton is a former English cricketer, who played in five Tests for England in 1971. A right-handed batsman and right-arm seam bowler, Hutton's bowling was probably his stronger discipline, but he was considered an all-rounder...
, in the match.
Groves played his single full season of first-class cricket in 1965 and had his best year, with 1048 runs at an average of 29.11. He topped the Oxford batting averages with 743 runs at an average of 32.30 and made 69 and 81, his highest score for the university, in the match 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...
which came immediately before the University Match. In the University Match itself, Groves top-scored for Oxford with 45 in the first innings, but he and fellow batsman Melville Guest
Melville Guest
Melville Richard John Guest, OBE is a former British diplomat and first-class cricketer.He was born in what was then Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia two weeks after the death of his father, a RAF pilot who was killed in action over the English Channel. He attended Oxford University, where he played...
were barracked by the crowd for slow scoring, with 15 consecutive maiden overs bowled by the two Cambridge spinners. The slow scoring was uncharacteristic, though Wisden
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
noted that, in an out-of-form batting side and on damp pitches, Groves had not been able in 1965 to bat with the freedom he'd exhibited in previous seasons. After the university term was over, he joined Somerset, and though he began in the second team, for the whole of August he played for the first team, and while there he compiled the highest score of his first-class career, 86, 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 Glastonbury.
Groves returned for a fourth season at Oxford in 1966 but played only four matches because of examination demands. One of those, however, was his third University Match, and after five consecutive drawn games in this fixture the 1966 match was won by an innings by Oxford, with Groves' unbeaten 80 in 98 minutes on the first day one of the batting highlights, enabling Oxford to declare and give Cambridge an awkward half hour's batting at the end of the day. After the game, Groves again joined Somerset, but this time he played only a handful of second eleven matches and did not feature in the first team, which was having one of its most successful seasons.
That was virtually the end of Groves' cricket career, but he appeared over the next 14 seasons in occasional games for either the Free Foresters or the 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...
, and in 1967 and 1968 a couple of those games were rated as first-class fixtures: subsequent matches he played in were not first-class. At the end of the 1968 season, with Somerset looking for a new captain to replace Roy Kerslake
Roy Kerslake
Roy Cosmo Kerslake, born at Paignton, Devon on 26 December 1942, played first-class cricket for Cambridge University and Somerset, and captained Somerset for one season in 1968...
, there was a move to co-opt Groves to the post, but it did not happen.