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Somerset County Cricket Club in 1948

In the 1948 season, Somerset County Cricket Club competed in the County Championship, finishing twelfth out of seventeen teams. They were officially captained by three amateurs through the season; initially by Mandy Mitchell-Innes; then by Jake Seamer; and finally by George Woodhouse. The strains on consistent leadership were reflected in Somerset's variable form: after failing to win their first eight matches. Somerset did not win, lose or draw twice in consecutive matches in their following eight matches. In all, they won five times that season, and depended heavily upon the batting of Harold Gimblett, who scored 1,741 runs, and was Somerset's only player to score a century.

Somerset County Cricket Club
1948 season
CaptainMandy Mitchell-Innes,
Jake Seamer,
George Woodhouse
County Championship12th (of 17)
Most runsHarold Gimblett (1,741)[1]
Most wicketsHorace Hazell (92)[2]
Most catchesMaurice Tremlett (26)[1]
Most wicket-keeping dismissalsWally Luckes (55)[1]
← 1947 1949 →

Other than Gimblett, only two Somerset batsmen scored over 1,000 runs in the County Championship, Bertie Buse and Miles Coope, but both players did so at a significantly lower average. The team's bowling was led Horace Hazell, who claimed 92 wickets in the Championship. Maurice Tremlett, who had been highly praised for his performance on debut in 1947 continued to show promise, scoring over 1,000 first-class runs in all first-class matches and claiming 86 wickets, positioning himself as the county's leading all-rounder.

Background edit

County cricket had sojourned during the Second World War, and only returned in 1946. Most of the players had seen war service in some form or another, and very few of them had played much cricket of any form, which resulted in a temporary drop in quality. As most of the players were the same as those from before the war, it also meant that the average age of a county cricketer was higher than usual.[3] The social change that was occurring all around Great Britain also had an effect on county cricket, and at Somerset it resulted in their professional players gathering together to ask for better playing conditions and greater pay. Despite these changes, and the relative weakness of amateur players in comparison to the professionals, Somerset, as like many other counties, insisted on naming amateurs as captains.[3] In 1946, Bunty Longrigg, who had captained Somerset before the war had resumed his duties, but he retired at the end of the season as was replaced by Jack Meyer for 1947. Meyer had reluctantly agreed to captain the side in the absence of any other candidates, but stepped down at the end of his single season, citing his fading eyesight and lumbago.[4]

Somersetshire will be captained by three amateurs in rotation, N. S. Mitchell-Innes in May, J. W. Seamer in June and part of July and G. E. S. Woodhouse for the rest of the season.

—Manchester Guardian, 1948[5]

As a result of Meyer's resignation, the Somerset committee was once more required to recruit a captain for the following season. Still limiting themselves by requiring an amateur to take on the role—Somerset would not appoint a professional captain until 1956—[6] the committee found that there was no player "of a suitable pedigree who could make himself available for the whole summer."[7] So, with no single candidate suitable, the Somerset committee announced that the club would be captained by three players; first by Mandy Mitchell-Innes and then by Jake Seamer during their respective periods of leave from the Sudan Political Service. Once both of these had returned to their duties, George Woodhouse would take over.[5] In his history of Somerset County Cricket Club, Peter Roebuck describes the situation as a "remarkable state of affairs",[5] while David Foot suggests that the true number of captains was closer to seven.[7]

Squad edit

The following players made at least one appearance for Somerset in first-class matches. Age given is at the start of Somerset's first match of the season (5 May 1948).

Key
  • † denotes that the player appeared as a wicket-keeper for Somerset in 1948
  • Apps denotes the number of appearances made by the player for Somerset in 1948
  • Ref denotes the reference for the player details
Name Nationality Birth date Batting style Bowling style Apps Ref
Les Angell   England (1922-06-29)29 June 1922 (aged 25) Right-handed — 2 [8]
John Barnwell   England (1914-06-23)23 June 1914 (aged 33) Right-handed Right-arm medium 1 [9]
Paddy Bucklan   England (1916-09-24)24 September 1916 (aged 31) Left-handed Left-arm fast-medium 1 [10]
Bertie Buse   England (1910-08-05)5 August 1910 (aged 37) Right-handed Right-arm medium 28 [11]
Fred Castle   England (1909-04-08)8 April 1909 (aged 39) Right-handed Right-arm leg break 5 [12]
Miles Coope   England (1916-11-28)28 November 1916 (aged 31) Right-handed Right-arm leg break 29 [13]
Harold Gimblett   England (1914-10-19)19 October 1914 (aged 33) Right-handed Right-arm medium 23 [14]
Peter Graham   England (1920-12-27)27 December 1920 (aged 27) Right-handed Right-arm fast 6 [15]
Horace Hazell   England (1909-09-30)30 September 1909 (aged 38) Left-handed Left-arm orthodox spin 29 [16]
Eric Hill   England (1923-07-09)9 July 1923 (aged 24) Right-handed — 22 [17]
Trevor Jones   England (1920-04-09)9 April 1920 (aged 28) Right-handed Right-arm leg break 2 [18]
George Langdale   England (1916-03-11)11 March 1916 (aged 32) Left-handed Right-arm off break 4 [19]
Johnny Lawrence   England (1911-03-29)29 March 1911 (aged 37) Right-handed Right-arm leg break and googly 24 [20]
Wally Luckes †   England (1901-01-01)1 January 1901 (aged 47) Right-handed — 27 [21]
Jack Meyer   England (1905-03-15)15 March 1905 (aged 43) Right-handed Right-arm slow-medium 2 [22]
Mandy Mitchell-Innes (captain)   England (1914-09-07)7 September 1914 (aged 33) Right-handed Right-arm medium 5 [23]
Jim Redman   England (1926-03-01)1 March 1926 (aged 22) Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium 2 [24]
Stuart Rogers   England (1923-03-18)18 March 1923 (aged 25) Right-handed — 7 [25]
Jake Seamer (captain)   England (1913-06-23)23 June 1913 (aged 34) Right-handed Right-arm leg break and googly 11 [26]
Harold Stephenson †   England (1920-07-18)18 July 1920 (aged 27) Right-handed — 8 [27]
Michael Sutton   England (1921-03-29)29 March 1921 (aged 27) Right-handed Right-arm off break 1 [28]
Maurice Tremlett   England (1923-07-05)5 July 1923 (aged 24) Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium 28 [29]
Tony Vickery   England (1925-08-26)26 August 1925 (aged 22) Right-handed — 3 [30]
Micky Walford   England (1915-11-27)27 November 1915 (aged 32) Right-handed Left-arm orthodox spin 4 [31]
Hugh Watts   England (1922-03-04)4 March 1922 (aged 26) Left-handed Right-arm leg break 10 [32]
Arthur Wellard   England (1902-04-08)8 April 1902 (aged 46) Right-handed Right-arm off break, Right-arm fast-medium 21 [33]
George Woodhouse (captain)   England (1924-02-15)15 February 1924 (aged 24) Right-handed Right-arm medium 14 [34]
Compiled from County Championship batting statistics,[1] and three other matches, against Glamorgan,[35] Oxford University,[36] and the Australians.[37]

County Championship edit

Season standings edit

Note: Pld = Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, LWF = Lost but won on 1st innings, DW1 = Won on 1st innings in drawn match played under 1-day rules, DL1 = Lost on 1st innings in drawn match played under 1-day rules, DWF = Won on 1st innings in drawn match, DLF = Lost on 1st innings in drawn match, ND = No Decision on 1st innings, Pts = Points, (C) = Champions.

Team Pld W L LWF DW1 DL1 DWF DLF ND Pts
Glamorgan (C) 26 13 4 1 0 0 3 3 2 172
Surrey 26 12 8 1 1 0 3 1 0 168
Middlesex 26 13 4 0 0 0 1 7 1 160
Yorkshire 26 11 1 3 0 0 3 7 1 156
Lancashire 26 8 2 0 0 0 14 1 1 152
Derbyshire 26 11 6 0 0 0 4 3 2 148
Warwickshire 26 9 6 1 0 0 5 3 2 132
Gloucestershire 26 9 5 1 0 1 4 5 1 128
Hampshire 26 9 6 2 0 0 1 7 1 120
Worcestershire 26 6 7 1 0 0 7 4 1 104
Leicestershire 26 6 10 1 0 0 5 3 1 96
Somerset 26 5 10 4 0 0 4 2 1 92
Essex 26 5 6 2 0 0 4 7 2 84
Nottinghamshire 26 5 9 1 0 0 4 5 2 80
Kent 26 4 11 0 0 0 7 3 1 76
Sussex 26 4 10 1 0 0 5 5 1 72
Northamptonshire 26 3 8 1 0 0 3 11 0 52
Source: CricketArchive[38]

Match log edit

No. Date Opponents Venue Result Ref
1 8–11 May Derbyshire County Ground, Taunton Lost by 4 wickets [39]
2 15–18 May Gloucestershire County Ground, Taunton Lost by an innings and 58 runs [40]
3 19–21 May Middlesex Lord's, London Lost by 10 wickets [41]
4 22–25 May Glamorgan St. Helen's, Swansea Lost by 137 runs [42]
5 29 May–1 June Warwickshire Rowdens Road, Wells Drawn [43]
6 2–3 June Essex County Ground, Taunton Lost by 9 wickets [44]
7 5–7 June Derbyshire Rutland Recreation Ground, Ilkeston Lost by 11 runs [45]
8 9–11 June Yorkshire St George's Road, Harrogate Drawn [46]
9 12–15 June Worcestershire New Road, Worcester Won by 3 wickets [47]
10 19–22 June Hampshire Recreation Ground, Bath Lost by 36 runs [48]
11 26–29 June Nottinghamshire Recreation Ground, Bath Won by an innings and 25 runs [49]
12 30 June–1 July Lancashire Aigburth, Liverpool Lost by an innings and 1 run [50]
13 3–6 July Northamptonshire Town Ground, Kettering Drawn [51]
14 7–9 June Lancashire County Ground, Taunton Lost by 9 wickets [52]
15 10–13 July Warwickshire Courtaulds Ground, Coventry Drawn [53]
16 17–20 July Leicestershire Agricultural Showgrounds, Frome Won by 166 runs [54]
17 21–23 July Kent Mote Park, Maidstone Lost by 10 wickets [55]
18 24–27 July Worcestershire County Ground, Taunton Lost by 174 runs [56]
19 28–30 July Hampshire Dean Park, Bournemouth Won by 212 runs [57]
20 31 July–3 August Gloucestershire Ashley Down Ground, Bristol Drawn [58]
21 4–6 August Sussex Clarence Park, Weston-super-Mare Lost by 6 wickets [59]
22 7–10 August Glamorgan Clarence Park, Weston-super-Mare Lost by 8 runs [60]
23 11–13 August Surrey Clarence Park, Weston-super-Mare Lost by 8 wickets [61]
24 14–17 August Essex County Ground, Chelmsford Won by 6 wickets [62]
25 18–20 August Sussex The Saffrons, Eastbourne Drawn [63]
26 21–24 August Yorkshire County Ground, Taunton Drawn [64]

Batting averages edit

Player Matches Innings Runs Average Highest score 100s 50s
Harold Gimblett 20 37 1,741 48.36 310 4 10
Bertie Buse 25 45 1,208 28.09 98* 0 8
Miles Coope 26 48 1,107 23.55 89 0 8
George Woodhouse 13 24 484 23.04 75 0 3
Maurice Tremlett 26 46 924 22.00 96* 0 3
Arthur Wellard 18 31 480 18.46 60 0 1
Eric Hill 21 40 670 16.75 85 0 3
Johnny Lawrence 23 39 604 16.32 73 0 4
Qualification: 400 runs. Source: CricketArchive[1]

Bowling averages edit

Player Matches Balls Wickets Average BBI 5wi 10wm
Horace Hazell 26 5,179 92 19.45 7/35 7 0
Johnny Lawrence 23 3,327 76 21.57 6/29 6 1
Maurice Tremlett 26 4,236 80 24.82 8/31 4 0
Arthur Wellard 18 3,643 50 30.08 6/80 1 0
Bertie Buse 25 2,851 34 37.32 3/21 0 0
Qualification: 30 wickets. Source: CricketArchive[2]

Other first-class edit

Match log edit

No. Date Opponents Venue Result Ref
1 5–7 May Glamorgan Rodney Parade, Newport Lost by 98 runs [65]
2 23–25 June Oxford University Recreation Ground, Bath Lost by 125 runs [66]
3 28–30 August Australians County Ground, Taunton Lost by an innings and 374 runs [67]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e "Batting and Fielding for Somerset: County Championship 1948". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Bowling for Somerset: County Championship 1948". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  3. ^ a b Foot (1986), pp. 147–148.
  4. ^ Roebuck (1991), p. 232.
  5. ^ a b c Roebuck (1991), p. 242.
  6. ^ Roebuck (1991), pp. 271–272.
  7. ^ a b Foot (1986), p. 155.
  8. ^ "Player Profile: Les Angell". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  9. ^ "Player Profile: John Barnwell". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  10. ^ "Player Profile: Joe Buckland". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  11. ^ "Player Profile: Bertie Buse". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  12. ^ "Player Profile: Fred Castle". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  13. ^ "Player Profile: Miles Coope". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  14. ^ "Player Profile: Harold Gimblett". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  15. ^ "Player Profile: Peter Graham". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  16. ^ "Player Profile: Horace Hazell". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  17. ^ "Player Profile: Eric Hill". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  18. ^ "Player Profile: Trevor Jones". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  19. ^ "Player Profile: George Langdale". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  20. ^ "Player Profile: Johnny Lawrence". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  21. ^ "Player Profile: Wally Luckes". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  22. ^ "Player Profile: Jack Meyer". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  23. ^ "Player Profile: Norman Mitchell-Innes". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  24. ^ "Player Profile: Jim Redman". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  25. ^ "Player Profile: Stuart Rogers". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  26. ^ "Player Profile: Jake Seamer". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  27. ^ "Player Profile: Harold Stephenson". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  28. ^ "Player Profile: Michael Sutton". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  29. ^ "Player Profile: Maurice Tremlett". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  30. ^ "Player Profile: Alan Vickery". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  31. ^ "Player Profile: Micky Walford". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  32. ^ "Player Profile: Hugh Watts". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  33. ^ "Player Profile: Arthur Wellard". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  34. ^ "Player Profile: George Woodhouse". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  35. ^ "Glamorgan v Somerset: Other First-Class matches in England 1948". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  36. ^ "Somerset v Oxford University: University Match 1948". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  37. ^ "Somerset v Australians: Australia in British Isles 1948". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  38. ^ "County Championship 1948 Table". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  39. ^ "Somerset v Derbyshire". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  40. ^ "Somerset v Gloucestershire". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  41. ^ "Middlesex v Somerset". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  42. ^ "Glamorgan v Somerset". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  43. ^ "Somerset v Warwickshire". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  44. ^ "Somerset v Essex". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  45. ^ "Derbyshire v Somerset". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  46. ^ "Yorkshire v Somerset". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  47. ^ "Worcestershire v Somerset". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  48. ^ "Somerset v Hampshire". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  49. ^ "Somerset v Nottinghamshire". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  50. ^ "Lancashire v Somerset". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  51. ^ "Northamptonshire v Somerset". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  52. ^ "Somerset v Lancashire". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  53. ^ "Warwickshire v Somerset". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  54. ^ "Somerset v Leicestershire". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  55. ^ "Kent v Somerset". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  56. ^ "Somerset v Worcestershire". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  57. ^ "Hampshire v Somerset". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  58. ^ "Gloucestershire v Somerset". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  59. ^ "Somerset v Sussex". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  60. ^ "Somerset v Glamorgan". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  61. ^ "Somerset v Surrey". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  62. ^ "Essex v Somerset". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  63. ^ "Sussex v Somerset". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  64. ^ "Somerset v Yorkshire". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  65. ^ "Glamorgan v Somerset: Other First-Class matches in England 1948". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  66. ^ "Somerset v Oxford University: University Match 1948". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  67. ^ "Somerset v Australians: Australia in British Isles 1948". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 June 2011.

Bibliography edit

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