jack bannister

obituaries
FRED LUCAS
ERIC MARTIN
JIM PLEASS
KEN
graveney
The former captain, chairman and
president of Gloucestershire has died in
Texas aged 90.
Graveney played 111 first-class
matches between 1947 and 1964 as a
lower order left-handed batsman and an
effective right-arm out swing bowler.
He played three matches in 1947,
only one in 1948 but made his
breakthrough in 1949 when he took 59
wickets – his best return – and played
21 matches. Graveney took four of his
six five-wicket hauls in 1949 including
all 10 against Derbyshire at a cost of
just 66, the second-best figures in
Gloucestershire’s history.
He retired from first-class cricket at
the end of the 1951 season because of a
back problem. However, he played a few
second team matches in 1962 and was
appointed Gloucestershire captain in
1963 following the resignation of
Tom Pugh.
He retired for the second time after
the 1964 season but continued to
serve Gloucestershire as a committee
member, chairman and then president.
Graveney’s younger brother Tom and
son David both played for and captained
Gloucestershire. It was on Ken’s
recommendation that Gloucestershire
signed Tom, who went on to become one
of England’s most stylish batsmen of the
1950s and 1960s.
The former Kent middle-order
batsman, better known as a
professional footballer with Charlton
Athletic, has died in Woolwich aged 81.
Lucas made 185 appearances as a
wing half for Charlton between 1955
and 1964 before moving to Crystal
Palace,
Although awarded his Second
XI cap by Kent in 1951, his only
first-class appearances came three
years later. He made 38 in his debut
against Essex at Ilford and he also
figured in a defeat by Derbyshire at
Chesterfield a month later.
mel ryan
The former Yorkshire fast-bowler, who often shared the
new ball with Fred Trueman, has died aged 82.
Ryan made 150 first-class appearances for Yorkshire
between 1954 and 1965 and was a hard-working bowler
who helped them to win the County Championship four
times during his career.
Huddersfield-born, he took 413 wickets during his
career including two 10-wicket match hauls and five
wickets in an innings on 12 occasions with a best return
for 7-45 against Warwickshire at Edgbaston in 1958.
The former Nottinghamshire toporder
batsman, who scored 4,086
runs between 1949 and 1959, has
died aged 90.
He made 24 half-centuries and
three centuries with a best of 133
against Leicestershire at Trent
Bridge in 1959.
Martin’s most successful season
was 1954, when he made 977 runs
and was awarded his county cap. He
was a first-team regular until 1956
but played only 17 more first-class
matches in his last three seasons.
martin crowe
Martin Crowe, the former New Zealand and Somerset batsman,
has died in Auckland aged 53 after a long battle against lymphoma.
Crowe, one of the finest batsmen produced by New Zealand,
made almost 5,500 runs in 77 Test appearances between 1981
and 1996.
Crowe came from a cricketing family. His father Dave played
domestic first-class cricket in New Zealand and his elder brother
Jeff played alongside him in the New Zealand team.
Crowe impressed on New Zealand’s tour to England in 1983 and
was signed by Somerset for the following season as a replacement
for Viv Richards who was touring with the West Indies.
Crowe scored almost 4,000 runs in 48 first-class matches for
Somerset between 1984 and 1988 with the highest of his 14
centuries for them, 206 not out, coming against Warwickshire at
Edgbaston in 1987.
He scored heavily for New Zealand – 17 Test centuries and four
more in one day internationals – and in domestic cricket and
ended his career with 71 first-class centuries in 247 matches and
11 more in one day cricket.
BRIAN TURNER
The last surviving member
of Glamorgan’s 1948 County
Championship-winning side has died
aged 92. He played in 15 matches
that summer, including the victory
over Hampshire that secured their
first title.
An effective middle-order batsman
and athletic fielder he scored 4,293
runs in 253 innings and became the
first Glamorgan batsman to make
a century on Yorkshire soil in 1955.
After retiring he remained involved as
a committee member and was a key
figure in the formation of Glamorgan
Former Players’ Association.
The former Yorkshire seam-bowler has died aged 77.
He had match figures of 3-17 from 20 overs in his firstclass
debut against the South Africans in 1960 and his
second and final first-class appearance came against
Gloucestershire the following summer.
Turner worked as senior lecturer and head of
mechanical science at Rotherham Technical College
but continued to play as a professional in the leagues
and took more than 1,100 wickets for Golcar in the
Huddersfield League.
20 BtB issue 18 / thepca.co.uk