Sandy Singleton
Encyclopedia
Alexander Parkinson Singleton, known as Sandy (5 August 1914 - 22 March 1999), was an English
all-round
cricketer
: a right-handed opening batsman and slow left arm
bowler. He played his county cricket
for Worcestershire
, captaining the side in 1946
, and also captained Oxford University
and Transvaal. In all he scored 4,700 runs and took 240 wickets in first-class cricket
.
Born in Repton
, Derbyshire
, Singleton attended Shrewsbury School
, captaining the school cricket team. He then went to Oxford, and won a blue three times. In 1934
he claimed what was to remain his career-best innings return of 6-44 against HDG Leveson-Gower's XI at Reigate
. He also made his Worcestershire debut in 1934, playing for both county and university for several seasons, and in the last of these (1937
) he captained the university side and was selected by MCC
to tour Canada
.
He then played for Worcestershire (as an amateur) and while teaching at Repton School
. Singleton later recalled that in Worcestershire's match against the Australians
in 1938
he just failed to hold onto a catch at leg slip that would have dismissed Bradman
for nought: in the event he went on to score 258!
In Worcestershire's final game before the outbreak of war
, Singleton made the first of his four centuries, hitting an unbeaten 102 against Nottinghamshire
, and when county cricket resumed in 1946
, Singleton was made captain of Worcestershire, and enjoyed the most productive summer of his career: he scored 1,773 runs in first-class cricket at an average
of 34.09, as well as taking 43 wickets at 28.23
. He made three centuries and ten half centuries, his best being 164 in a nine-wicket victory
over Warwickshire
in late June.
Whilst serving with the Royal Air Force
in Rhodesia
during the war, Singleton had met his wife Polly; they married in 1941 and had five children: three sons and two daughters. After the end of the 1946 English season they emigrated to Rhodesia permanently, and although he concentrated on farming, he played nine times for the Rhodesian side between 1946-47 and 1949-50, once again being appointed as captain.
After he had retired from playing, Singleton spent nearly twenty years (1964 - 1983) teaching at Peterhouse School in Marondera
, and in 1985 he and his wife emigrated again, this time to Australia
where they settled in Wagga Wagga. Singleton was not a fan of modern one-day cricket
- what he called "the pyjama game" - and believed that it had had an adverse effect on Test cricket
itself. He continued to follow cricket via television until he was afflicted with Alzheimer's Disease
, and died in Wagga Wagga at the age of 84.
Singleton also played league football
. His brother Michael
played three times for Worcestershire in 1946.
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...
all-round
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...
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"....
: a right-handed opening batsman and slow left arm
Left-arm orthodox spin
Left-arm orthodox spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket.Left-arm orthodox spin is bowled by a left arm bowler using the fingers to spin the ball from right to left of the cricket pitch...
bowler. He played his county cricket
County 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 Worcestershire
Worcestershire County Cricket Club
Worcestershire 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 Worcestershire...
, captaining the side in 1946
1946 English cricket season
The 1946 English cricket season was the first full season of first-class cricket to be played in England after World War II. It featured a three-match Test series between England and India, which was arranged at short notice...
, and also captained 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...
and Transvaal. In all he scored 4,700 runs and took 240 wickets in first-class cricket
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...
.
Born in Repton
Repton
Repton is a village and civil parish on the edge of the River Trent floodplain in South Derbyshire, about north of Swadlincote. Repton is close to the county boundary with neighbouring Staffordshire and about northeast of Burton upon Trent.-History:...
, Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
, Singleton attended Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School is a co-educational independent school for pupils aged 13 to 18, founded by Royal Charter in 1552. The present campus to which the school moved in 1882 is located on the banks of the River Severn in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England...
, captaining the school cricket team. He then went to Oxford, and won a blue three times. In 1934
1934 English cricket season
The 1934 English cricket season saw England lose the Ashes they had won via Bodyline in 1932-3, with Don Bradman again the crucial difference between two very strong teams.-Honours:*County Championship - Lancashire...
he claimed what was to remain his career-best innings return of 6-44 against HDG Leveson-Gower's XI at Reigate
Reigate
Reigate is a historic market town in Surrey, England, at the foot of the North Downs, and in the London commuter belt. It is one of the main constituents of the Borough of Reigate and Banstead...
. He also made his Worcestershire debut in 1934, playing for both county and university for several seasons, and in the last of these (1937
1937 English cricket season
-Honours:*County Championship - Yorkshire*Minor Counties Championship - Lancashire II*Wisden - Tom Goddard, Joe Hardstaff, Leonard Hutton, Jim Parks senior, Eddie Paynter-Test series:England defeated New Zealand 1-0 with two matches drawn....
) he captained the university side and was selected by 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...
to tour Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
He then played for Worcestershire (as an amateur) and while teaching at Repton School
Repton School
Repton School, founded in 1557, is a co-educational English independent school for both day and boarding pupils, in the British public school tradition, located in the village of Repton, in Derbyshire, in the Midlands area of England...
. Singleton later recalled that in Worcestershire's match against the Australians
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
in 1938
1938 English cricket season
The 1938 English cricket season was notable for England's remarkable total at The Oval with Len Hutton contributing a record 364.-Honours:*County Championship - Yorkshire*Minor Counties Championship - Buckinghamshire...
he just failed to hold onto a catch at leg slip that would have dismissed Bradman
Donald Bradman
Sir Donald George Bradman, AC , often referred to as "The Don", was an Australian cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time...
for nought: in the event he went on to score 258!
In Worcestershire's final game before the outbreak of war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Singleton made the first of his four centuries, hitting an unbeaten 102 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...
, and when county cricket resumed in 1946
1946 English cricket season
The 1946 English cricket season was the first full season of first-class cricket to be played in England after World War II. It featured a three-match Test series between England and India, which was arranged at short notice...
, Singleton was made captain of Worcestershire, and enjoyed the most productive summer of his career: he scored 1,773 runs in first-class cricket 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 34.09, as well as taking 43 wickets at 28.23
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...
. He made three centuries and ten half centuries, his best being 164 in a nine-wicket victory
The result in cricket
The result in a game of cricket may be a win for one of the two teams playing, a draw or a tie. In the case of a limited overs game, the game can also end with no result...
over 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...
in late June.
Whilst serving with the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
in Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
during the war, Singleton had met his wife Polly; they married in 1941 and had five children: three sons and two daughters. After the end of the 1946 English season they emigrated to Rhodesia permanently, and although he concentrated on farming, he played nine times for the Rhodesian side between 1946-47 and 1949-50, once again being appointed as captain.
After he had retired from playing, Singleton spent nearly twenty years (1964 - 1983) teaching at Peterhouse School in Marondera
Marondera
Marondera is a town in Mashonaland East, Zimbabwe, located about 72 km east of Harare; population 39,384...
, and in 1985 he and his wife emigrated again, this time to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
where they settled in Wagga Wagga. Singleton was not a fan of modern one-day cricket
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...
- what he called "the pyjama game" - and believed that it had had an adverse effect on Test cricket
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...
itself. He continued to follow cricket via television until he was afflicted with Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
, and died in Wagga Wagga at the age of 84.
Singleton also played league football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
. His brother Michael
Michael Singleton
George Michael Singleton CBE MC was an English cricketer who played three first-class games, appearing once for Cambridge University and twice for Worcestershire. Michael took five wickets with his left-arm spin and scored 34 runs in his five innings...
played three times for Worcestershire in 1946.
External links
- Statistical summary 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...