Peter James Eele (27 January 1935 – 25 January 2019) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Somerset and was later a first-class umpire.[1][2]
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Peter James Eele | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 27 January 1935 Taunton, Somerset, England | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 25 January 2019 (aged 83) Wellington, Somerset, England | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Left-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Wicketkeeper | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1958–1965 | Somerset | |||||||||||||||||||||
| First-class debut | 31 May 1958 Somerset v Sussex | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Last First-class | 21 June 1965 Somerset v Cambridge University | |||||||||||||||||||||
| List A debut | 27 May 1964 Somerset v Nottinghamshire | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Last List A | 10 May 1969 Devon v Hertfordshire | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Source: CricketArchive, 6 July 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Eele was a lower-order left-handed batsman and a wicketkeeper. He was the reserve wicketkeeper to Harold Stephenson at Somerset in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and his first-class cricket career was dictated largely by Stephenson's state of health. So 43 of Eele's 54 first-class matches came in two seasons: 1958, when Stephenson was injured for the second half of the season, and 1964, when Stephenson was able to play only three times.[3] When Stephenson left the county somewhat unwillingly at the end of the 1964 season, Somerset recruited Geoff Clayton of Lancashire as his wicketkeeping replacement. Eele stayed as Clayton's deputy for a couple of seasons, but then left the staff.
Eele's batting was his weak point. He passed 40 in a first-class innings only once, though he then went on to make an unbeaten 103 against the Pakistan Eaglets team in 1963.[4] As a wicketkeeper, he was "tidy and unshowy".[5]
After leaving Somerset, Eele played Minor Counties cricket for Devon. From 1981 to 1984 and then again from 1989 to 1990 he was on the first-class umpires list. He umpired 124 first-class and 101 List A matches.[6]
References edit
- ^ "Somerset mourn the loss of Peter Eele". Somerset CCC. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
- ^ "Peter Eele". CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
- ^ "First-class Batting and Fielding in Each Season by Peter Eele". www.cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 6 July 2008.
- ^ "Somerset v Pakistan Eaglets". www.cricketarchive.com. 19 June 1963. Retrieved 6 July 2008.
- ^ David Foot and Ivan Ponting. Somerset Cricket: A Post-War Who's Who (1993 ed.). Redcliffe Press. p. 42. ISBN 1-872971-23-7.
- ^ "Peter Eele as Umpire in First-class Matches". www.cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 6 July 2008.