John Walford (cricketer)

John Erskine Scott Walford (14 August 1899 – 22 August 1961) was an English cricketer.[1] A right-handed batsman and right-arm fast-medium bowler, he played 11 first-class matches between 1923 and 1932,[2] six for Worcestershire and five for the British Army cricket team.[3] He also represented the Egypt national cricket team.[4]

John Walford
Personal information
Full name
John Erskine Scott Walford
Born(1899-08-14)14 August 1899
Hanbury Mount, Worcestershire, England
Died22 August 1961(1961-08-22) (aged 62)
Hammersmith, London, England
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm fast-medium
RoleBowler
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1930–1932Army
1923–1930Worcestershire
First-class debut7 July 1923 Worcestershire v Sussex
Last First-class29 June 1932 Army v Royal Air Force
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 11
Runs scored 198
Batting average 11.00
100s/50s 0/0
Top score 31
Balls bowled 1031
Wickets 29
Bowling average 16.13
5 wickets in innings 2
10 wickets in match 0
Best bowling 6/27
Catches/stumpings 6/0
Source: CricketArchive, 15 June 2008

Biography

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Born in Hanbury Mount, Worcestershire,[2] Walford made his debut for Worcestershire against Sussex in July 1923,[5] although he did not get to bowl and made only 11 and 5 with the bat.[6] Indeed, he played largely as a batsman that season, bowling only half a dozen overs in five matches and gaining no reward.[7] He did however manage what was to remain his highest score[2] when he hit 31 against Northamptonshire in his second match.[8]

There then followed six years in which Walford played no first-class cricket, before he returned to play for the Army against the RAF at The Oval in July 1930.[5] In the first innings of this match he claimed his first wicket, that of Ronald Sugden, and went on to take five more to finish with what would remain his career best of 6–27. (He also took two wickets in the second innings.)[9]

In the next two years, he played four more times for the Army,[5] and consistently took wickets,[7] a notable performance being his 6–31 against the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in August 1931.[10] He also turned out one more time for Worcestershire, against Nottinghamshire in 1930.[5]

His last first-class match was for the Army against the RAF in June 1932,[5] after which he continued to play at lower levels. He played for the MCC against the Netherlands in 1937 and 1939 and against Ireland in 1939. Earlier that year, he played twice for Egypt against HM Martineau's XI.[4] He died at Ravenscourt Park, Hammersmith, London a few days after his 62nd birthday.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Cricinfo profile
  2. ^ a b c d CricketArchive profile
  3. ^ First-class batting and fielding for each team by John Walford at CricketArchive
  4. ^ a b Other matches played by John Walford Archived 26 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine at CricketArchive
  5. ^ a b c d e First-class matches played by John Walford at CricketArchive
  6. ^ Scorecard of Sussex v Worcestershire, 7 July 1923 at CricketArchive
  7. ^ a b First-class bowling in each season by John Walford at CricketArchive
  8. ^ Scorecard of Northamptonshire v Worcestershire, 14 July 1923 at CricketArchive
  9. ^ Scorecard of Army v RAF, 5 July 1930
  10. ^ Scorecard of MCC v Army, 15 August 1931 at CricketArchive