Ricardo Ellcock
Encyclopedia
Ricardo McDonald Ellcock (born 17 June 1965) is a Barbados
-born former English
cricket
er who played first-class
and List A cricket between the early 1980s and the early 1990s. His career was seriously hampered by injury,
and despite being picked to tour with England in 1989-90 he was forced into retirement shortly afterward.
He was educated at Malvern College
. After a couple of seasons of Second XI cricket, and immediately after taking 11 wickets in one such game against Warwickshire
II, Ellcock made his full Worcestershire debut in a County Championship
match against future employers Middlesex
at Worcester at the end of 1982, still only 17 years old. He took three lower-order wickets and scored 0 in his only innings. His next match was against Scotland in the Benson & Hedges Cup
at Mannofield Park
, the first List A game to be played at the Aberdeen
venue. Ellcock took one wicket and did not bat.
He played quite often in 1983, and ended the season with 25 first-class wickets at 37.24
and nine List A wickets at 17.88; the latter figure included 4/43 in a John Player Special League fixture against Kent
,
a career best that he would equal six years later for Middlesex. In the English winter of 1983-84 he played for his native Barbados, as he would do again (albeit very briefly) in 1984-85.
In 1984 Ellcock picked up 29 first-class wickets, his highest in any one season, but his struggles with fitness meant that he would never again approach that figure for Worcestershire, and after three more seasons of little success he moved to Middlesex for the 1989 season. Although he did not play until June, he managed his most productive summer: 32 first-class wickets at under 20 runs apiece, and 16 wickets at 23 in the one-day
game. He matched his List A best with 4/43 versus Nottinghamshire
in July,
and a week later recorded his only five-wicket haul when he claimed 5/35 against Yorkshire
in the Championship.
The England selectors were sufficiently impressed by Ellcock's form to call him up for the winter tour against West Indies. However, his tour had barely begun before it was over: he pulled up after just a few balls in the nets,
and when he was diagnosed with a stress fracture
of his back he was forced to go home without having played a single match on tour.
Ellcock missed the entire 1990 season, but returned to play a few matches for Middlesex in 1991. Despite glimmers of hope, such as the six wickets he took against Somerset
,
he was unable to make a success of his comeback and retired in mid-season. He became a pilot and was the first black captain with Virgin Atlantic.
His brother Dale Ellcock had a short career with Barbados.
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
-born former English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
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 played 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...
and List A cricket between the early 1980s and the early 1990s. His career was seriously hampered by injury,
and despite being picked to tour with England in 1989-90 he was forced into retirement shortly afterward.
He was educated at Malvern College
Malvern College
Malvern College is a coeducational independent school located on a 250 acre campus near the town centre of Malvern, Worcestershire in England. Founded on 25 January 1865, until 1992, the College was a secondary school for boys aged 13 to 18...
. After a couple of seasons of Second XI cricket, and immediately after taking 11 wickets in one such game 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...
II, Ellcock made his full Worcestershire debut in a County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
match against future employers Middlesex
Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex 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 Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...
at Worcester at the end of 1982, still only 17 years old. He took three lower-order wickets and scored 0 in his only innings. His next match was against Scotland in the Benson & Hedges Cup
Benson & Hedges Cup
The Benson & Hedges Cup was a one-day cricket competition for first-class counties in England and Wales that was held from 1972 to 2002, one of cricket's longest sponsorship deals....
at Mannofield Park
Mannofield Park
Mannofield Park is a cricket ground Mannofield district of Aberdeen, Scotland. The cricket ground is the regular home of the Scotland national cricket team and Aberdeenshire Cricket Club. It is also known as Citylets Mannofield for international fixtures....
, the first List A game to be played at the Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
venue. Ellcock took one wicket and did not bat.
He played quite often in 1983, and ended the season with 25 first-class wickets at 37.24
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...
and nine List A wickets at 17.88; the latter figure included 4/43 in a John Player Special League fixture 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...
,
a career best that he would equal six years later for Middlesex. In the English winter of 1983-84 he played for his native Barbados, as he would do again (albeit very briefly) in 1984-85.
In 1984 Ellcock picked up 29 first-class wickets, his highest in any one season, but his struggles with fitness meant that he would never again approach that figure for Worcestershire, and after three more seasons of little success he moved to Middlesex for the 1989 season. Although he did not play until June, he managed his most productive summer: 32 first-class wickets at under 20 runs apiece, and 16 wickets at 23 in the one-day
One-day cricket
Limited overs cricket, also known as one-day cricket and in a slightly different context as List A cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed in one day, whereas Test and first-class matches can take up to five days to complete...
game. He matched his List A best with 4/43 versus 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...
in July,
and a week later recorded his only five-wicket haul when he claimed 5/35 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 Championship.
The England selectors were sufficiently impressed by Ellcock's form to call him up for the winter tour against West Indies. However, his tour had barely begun before it was over: he pulled up after just a few balls in the nets,
and when he was diagnosed with a stress fracture
Stress fracture
A stress fracture is one type of incomplete fracture in bones. It is caused by "unusual or repeated stress" and also heavy continuous weight on the ankle or leg...
of his back he was forced to go home without having played a single match on tour.
Ellcock missed the entire 1990 season, but returned to play a few matches for Middlesex in 1991. Despite glimmers of hope, such as the six wickets he took against 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...
,
he was unable to make a success of his comeback and retired in mid-season. He became a pilot and was the first black captain with Virgin Atlantic.
His brother Dale Ellcock had a short career with Barbados.