Philip Oliver (cricketer)
Encyclopedia
Philip Robert Oliver is a former English
cricket
er. Oliver was a right-handed batsman who bowled right-arm off break
. He was born in West Bromwich
, Staffordshire
.
for Shropshire
in the 1972 Minor Counties Championship against Durham
, with Oliver representing the county from 1972 to 1974. It was for Shropshire that he made his List A debut for against Essex
in the 1974 Gillette Cup
, a match in which he scored 2 runs before being dismissed by Ray East
. He later made his first-class
debut for Warwickshire
against Glamorgan
in the 1975 County Championship. A regular over the coming seasons, Oliver played 89 first-class matches for Warwickshire from 1975 to 1982, with his final first-class appearance coming against Yorkshire
in the 1982 County Championship. A batting all-rounder
, Oliver scored 2,679 runs in 89 first-class appearances, at an average
of 24.80. In the process he made 9 fifties and 2 centuries
. His highest score, an unbeaten
171, came against Northamptonshire
in the 1981 County Championship. It was the 1981 season which was his most successful, with him scoring 554 runs at an average of 50.36. In no other season did he average above 30, although the 1980 season
was the season in which he scored his most runs in a season, 772 at an average of 22.57. Used as an occasional bowler
, Oliver took 27 wickets at a bowling average
of 78.33, with best figures of 2/38.
He made his first List A appearance for Warwickshire in his debut season, debuting in that format for the county against Glamorgan in the 1975 John Player League
. He made 112 List A appearances for Warwickshire from 1975 to 1982, the last of which came against Surrey
in the final of the 1982 NatWest Trophy
at Lord's
. He scored 1,698 runs in his 112 appearances, which came at an average of 22.94, with Oliver scoring 4 fifties. His highest score of 78 not out came against Hampshire
in the 1978 John Player League
. Used more often with the ball in List A cricket when compared to first-class cricket, Oliver took 51 wickets at an average of 39.43, with best figures of 3/36. The 1979 season was his mst successful in terms of runs, 459, and wickets, 16. In no other season did he take more wickets or score more runs in List A cricket. He left Warwickshire at the end of the 1983 season
.
, before joining Staffordshire
late in the 1987 season
, with him making his debut for the county in the Minor Counties Championship against Durham. He played Minor counties cricket for Staffordshire from 1987 to 1993, making 28 Minor Counties Championship appearances 4 MCCA Knockout Trophy
appearances. Oliver made 136 not out and 124 in a Minor Counties Championship match against Norfolk
in 1988. He is one of only 2 other players to have scored a century in both innings of a Minor Counties Championship match for Staffordshire. He made his first List A appearance for Staffordshire against Surrey in the 1988 NatWest Trophy
. He made 2 further List A appearances for Staffordshire, against Glamorgan in the 1989 NatWest Trophy
and Northamptonshire in the 1990 NatWest Trophy
. In his 3 List A matches for the county, he scored 45 runs at an average of 15.00, with a high score of 28. Playing for Staffordshire allowed him to represent the Minor Counties cricket team in List A cricket, with Oliver making his debut for the team in the 1988 Benson & Hedges Cup against Northamptonshire. He made 5 further appearances for the team, the last of which came against Derbyshire
in the 1989 Benson & Hedges Cup. He scored 125 runs in his 6 matches, which came at an average of 20.83, with a high score of 48.
Following his retirement, Oliver has gone on to write about cricket. He currently runs Cicada Sports alongside Herefordshire
cricketer Christopher Boroughs
and businessman Steve Copson. The store, which specialises in sporting equipment, has sponsored cricketers Peter Trego
, Alan Richardson and Stephen Adshead
. The company also provides clothing and equipment to Berkshire
, Herefordshire and Cambridgeshire
. He is the current coach of the Unicorns cricket team, which plays in the Clydesdale Bank 40
.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
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. Oliver was a right-handed batsman who bowled right-arm off break
Off break
Off break is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. It is the attacking delivery of an off spin bowler. Off breaks are known as off spinners....
. He was born in West Bromwich
West Bromwich
West Bromwich is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands, England. It is north west of Birmingham lying on the A41 London-to-Birkenhead road. West Bromwich is part of the Black Country...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
.
Warwickshire
Oliver made his debut in county cricketCounty cricket
County cricket is the highest level of domestic cricket in England and Wales. For the 2010 season, see 2010 English cricket season.-First-class counties:...
for Shropshire
Shropshire County Cricket Club
Shropshire County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Shropshire and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy...
in the 1972 Minor Counties Championship against 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...
, with Oliver representing the county from 1972 to 1974. It was for Shropshire that he made his List A debut for against Essex
Essex County Cricket Club
Essex 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 Essex. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles, their team colours this season are blue.The club plays most of its home games...
in the 1974 Gillette Cup
1974 Gillette Cup
The 1974 Gillette Cup was the twelfth Gillette Cup, an English limited overs county cricket tournament. It was held between 29 June and 7 September 1974...
, a match in which he scored 2 runs before being dismissed by Ray East
Ray East
Raymond Eric East was an English cricketer who played for Essex County Cricket Club.One of the most popular characters to play county cricket in recent times, East is remembered as much for his on field wit as his fine slow left arm spin bowling...
. He later made his 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...
debut for 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...
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 the 1975 County Championship. A regular over the coming seasons, Oliver played 89 first-class matches for Warwickshire from 1975 to 1982, with his final first-class appearance coming 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....
in the 1982 County Championship. A batting all-rounder
All-rounder
An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a few batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are considered specialists...
, Oliver scored 2,679 runs in 89 first-class appearances, 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 24.80. In the process he made 9 fifties and 2 centuries
Century (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a batsman reaches his century when he scores 100 or more runs in a single innings. The term is also included in "century partnership" which occurs when two batsmen add 100 runs to the team total when they are batting together. A century is regarded as a landmark score for...
. His highest score, an unbeaten
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
171, came 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 the 1981 County Championship. It was the 1981 season which was his most successful, with him scoring 554 runs at an average of 50.36. In no other season did he average above 30, although the 1980 season
1980 English cricket season
The 1980 English cricket season demonstrated that the West Indies cricket team had now consolidated itself as a formidable team, producing the most notable individual performances in winning the summer's Test series 1-0, though rain limited the opportunity of either side to win the remaining four...
was the season in which he scored his most runs in a season, 772 at an average of 22.57. Used as an occasional bowler
Bowling (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, bowling is the action of propelling the ball toward the wicket defended by a batsman. A player skilled at bowling is called a bowler; a bowler who is also a competent batsman is known as an all-rounder...
, Oliver took 27 wickets at a bowling average
Bowling average
Bowling average is a statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the sport of cricket.A bowler's bowling average is defined as the total number of runs conceded by the bowlers divided by the number of wickets taken by the bowler, so the lower the average the better. It is similar to earned...
of 78.33, with best figures of 2/38.
He made his first List A appearance for Warwickshire in his debut season, debuting in that format for the county against Glamorgan in the 1975 John Player League
1975 John Player League
The 1975 John Player League was the seventh competing of what was generally known as the Sunday League. The competition was won for the first time by Hampshire County Cricket Club.-Standings:...
. He made 112 List A appearances for Warwickshire from 1975 to 1982, the last of which came against Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
in the final of the 1982 NatWest Trophy
1982 NatWest Trophy
The 1982 NatWest Trophy was the 2nd NatWest Trophy. It was an English limited overs county cricket tournament which was held between 3 July and 4 September 1982...
at Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
. He scored 1,698 runs in his 112 appearances, which came at an average of 22.94, with Oliver scoring 4 fifties. His highest score of 78 not out came against Hampshire
Hampshire County Cricket Club
Hampshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Hampshire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1863 as a successor to the Hampshire county cricket teams and has played at the Antelope Ground from then until 1885, before moving to the County Ground where it...
in the 1978 John Player League
1978 John Player League
The 1978 John Player League was the tenth competing of what was generally known as the Sunday League. The competition was won for the second time by Hampshire County Cricket Club.-Standings:...
. Used more often with the ball in List A cricket when compared to first-class cricket, Oliver took 51 wickets at an average of 39.43, with best figures of 3/36. The 1979 season was his mst successful in terms of runs, 459, and wickets, 16. In no other season did he take more wickets or score more runs in List A cricket. He left Warwickshire at the end of the 1983 season
1983 English cricket season
The 1983 English cricket season was the scene for the third Cricket World Cup which was deservedly won by India.In Minor Counties cricket, the MCCA Knockout Trophy was inaugurated.-Honours:*County Championship - Essex*NatWest Trophy - Somerset...
.
Later career
After leaving Warwickshire, he played a single Minor Counties Championship match for Shropshire in 1985 against DevonDevon County Cricket Club
Devon County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Devon and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy....
, before joining Staffordshire
Staffordshire County Cricket Club
Staffordshire County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Staffordshire and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy...
late in the 1987 season
1987 English cricket season
In the 1987 English cricket season Nottinghamshire pulled off the Championship and NatWest Trophy "double"-Honours:*County Championship - Nottinghamshire*NatWest Trophy - Nottinghamshire*Sunday League - Worcestershire...
, with him making his debut for the county in the Minor Counties Championship against Durham. He played Minor counties cricket for Staffordshire from 1987 to 1993, making 28 Minor Counties Championship appearances 4 MCCA Knockout Trophy
MCCA Knockout Trophy
The Minor Counties Cricket Association Knockout Cup was started in 1983 as a knockout one-day competition for the Minor Counties in English cricket...
appearances. Oliver made 136 not out and 124 in a Minor Counties Championship match against Norfolk
Norfolk County Cricket Club
Norfolk County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Norfolk and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy...
in 1988. He is one of only 2 other players to have scored a century in both innings of a Minor Counties Championship match for Staffordshire. He made his first List A appearance for Staffordshire against Surrey in the 1988 NatWest Trophy
1988 NatWest Trophy
The 1988 NatWest Trophy was the 8th NatWest Trophy. It was an English limited overs county cricket tournament which was held between 22 June and 3 September 1988...
. He made 2 further List A appearances for Staffordshire, against Glamorgan in the 1989 NatWest Trophy
1989 NatWest Trophy
The 1989 NatWest Trophy was the 9th NatWest Trophy. It was an English limited overs county cricket tournament which was held between 28 June and 2 September 1989...
and Northamptonshire in the 1990 NatWest Trophy
1990 NatWest Trophy
The 1990 NatWest Trophy was the 10th NatWest Trophy. It was an English limited overs county cricket tournament which was held between 27 June and 1 September 1990...
. In his 3 List A matches for the county, he scored 45 runs at an average of 15.00, with a high score of 28. Playing for Staffordshire allowed him to represent the Minor Counties cricket team in List A cricket, with Oliver making his debut for the team in the 1988 Benson & Hedges Cup against Northamptonshire. He made 5 further appearances for the team, the last of which came 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...
in the 1989 Benson & Hedges Cup. He scored 125 runs in his 6 matches, which came at an average of 20.83, with a high score of 48.
Following his retirement, Oliver has gone on to write about cricket. He currently runs Cicada Sports alongside Herefordshire
Herefordshire County Cricket Club
Herefordshire County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Herefordshire and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy...
cricketer Christopher Boroughs
Christopher Boroughs
Christopher William Boroughs is an English cricketer. Boroughs is a right-handed batsman who bowls right-arm medium pace. He was born at Stourbridge, Worcestershire....
and businessman Steve Copson. The store, which specialises in sporting equipment, has sponsored cricketers Peter Trego
Peter Trego
Peter David Trego is an English cricketer who plays for Somerset. He is a right-handed batsman and right-arm medium pace bowler...
, Alan Richardson and Stephen Adshead
Stephen Adshead
Stephen John Adshead is an English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and wicketkeeper who, in nearly six years as a first-class cricketer, has played for Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Leicestershire and Worcestershire.Adshead's first-class best of 156 not out came against Essex in 2009.He...
. The company also provides clothing and equipment to Berkshire
Berkshire County Cricket Club
Berkshire County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Berkshire and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and MCCA Knockout Trophy....
, Herefordshire and Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire County Cricket Club
Cambridgeshire County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Cambridgeshire and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy.The club is based at The Avenue...
. He is the current coach of the Unicorns cricket team, which plays in the Clydesdale Bank 40
Clydesdale Bank 40
The ECB40, currently known as the Clydesdale Bank 40 for sponsorship reasons, is a forty-over limited overs cricket competition for the English first-class counties. It began in the 2010 English cricket season as a replacement for the Pro40 and Friends Provident Trophy competitions...
.
External links
- Philip Oliver at ESPNcricinfo
- Philip Oliver at 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...