Phil Bainbridge
Encyclopedia
Philip Bainbridge, born on 16 April 1958 at Sneyd Green
, Stoke-on-Trent
, was a cricketer
who played for Gloucestershire
and Durham
.
A right-handed middle order batsman and a right-arm medium pace bowler, Bainbridge was an important member of the Gloucestershire team throughout the 1980s, contributing useful runs, initially at No 5 or 6, and bowling deceptively innocuous-looking medium pace seamers. A determined cricketer, he seemed to make runs and take wickets when most needed.
Bainbridge came into the Gloucestershire side in 1977, and won a regular place in 1981. In that season, he passed 1,000 runs for the first time at an average of over 40 runs per innings and made the first of what would be 24 first-class
centuries. He passed 1,000 runs in each of the next three seasons, but in 1985, he was moved up the batting order to No 4 and his batting moved up a notch. He made 1,644 runs at an average of more than 56 runs per innings as Gloucestershire rose from the bottom of the County Championship
table to challenge for the title. Bainbridge was named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1986, but he had a less successful season and talk of him as a potential Test
player subsided.
After four more years, Bainbridge retired from Gloucestershire after the 1990 season to go into business, and became involved in the marketing side of the development of Durham as a first-class county. Having missed the entire 1991 season, he played in most of Durham's first-class games in their two inaugural seasons and he topped both batting and bowling averages in 1993. He was then made captain for 1994, and the side finished 16th, the first time it had not been bottom in the County Championship. But Bainbridge's own form suffered, and he was replaced as captain for 1995 and retired finally from first-class cricket the following year.
Sneyd Green
Sneyd Green is an area in the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. It is in the north-east of the city, approx. from Hanley...
, Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
, was a cricketer
Cricketer
A cricketer is a person who plays the sport of cricket. Official and long-established cricket publications prefer the traditional word "cricketer" over the rarely used term "cricket player"....
who played for 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....
and 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...
.
A right-handed middle order batsman and a right-arm medium pace bowler, Bainbridge was an important member of the Gloucestershire team throughout the 1980s, contributing useful runs, initially at No 5 or 6, and bowling deceptively innocuous-looking medium pace seamers. A determined cricketer, he seemed to make runs and take wickets when most needed.
Bainbridge came into the Gloucestershire side in 1977, and won a regular place in 1981. In that season, he passed 1,000 runs for the first time at an average of over 40 runs per innings and made the first of what would be 24 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...
centuries. He passed 1,000 runs in each of the next three seasons, but in 1985, he was moved up the batting order to No 4 and his batting moved up a notch. He made 1,644 runs at an average of more than 56 runs per innings as Gloucestershire rose from the bottom of the County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
table to challenge for the title. Bainbridge was named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1986, but he had a less successful season and talk of him as a potential 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...
player subsided.
After four more years, Bainbridge retired from Gloucestershire after the 1990 season to go into business, and became involved in the marketing side of the development of Durham as a first-class county. Having missed the entire 1991 season, he played in most of Durham's first-class games in their two inaugural seasons and he topped both batting and bowling averages in 1993. He was then made captain for 1994, and the side finished 16th, the first time it had not been bottom in the County Championship. But Bainbridge's own form suffered, and he was replaced as captain for 1995 and retired finally from first-class cricket the following year.