Famous Cricketers No 50 - Reg Simpson

1947 Simpson played in nearly all of Nottinghamshire’s Championship matches in 1947. He started slowly scoring only three fifties in his first seventeen innings but he found his best form at Trent Bridge against Gloucestershire in June scoring 153 with one six, one five and fourteen fours. He hit further hundreds, both at Trent Bridge, against Lancashire and Glamorgan, and batted well enough to be chosen to play in the Gentlemen v Players match at Lord’s in July. There he was dismissed by Walsh and Gladwin for 4 and 0 but his progress was clearly being monitored and he may have come close to selection for the MCC winter tour to West Indies. He played in a representative match at Harrogate for the North v the South, scoring 77 and 57 and he batted well against the touring South Africans at Trent Bridge with scores of 46 and 51. He finished in fifth place in the Nottinghamshire averages with 1439 Championship runs at 37.86. Altogether he scored 1674 runs in the season at an average of 38.04. He also took his first Championship wicket, A.F.T.White, caught and bowled, at Dudley against Worcestershire. Own Team O M R W Opp Ct Total Total 22. Nottinghamshire v Worcestershire, Trent Bridge, May 14, 15, 16 (Match drawn) c R.Howorth b R.E.S.Wyatt 52 242 267 1 st H.Yarnold b R.O.Jenkins 29 214-4d 17-0 23. Nottinghamshire v Leicestershire, Loughborough, May 17, 19 (Leicestershire won by ten wickets) lbw b J.E.Walsh 0 99 332-9d st P.Corrall b J.E.Walsh 11 242 13-0 24. Nottinghamshire v Gloucestershire, Bristol, May 21, 22 (Gloucestershire won by an innings and 167 runs) c J.F.Crapp b T.W.J.Goddard 7 129 393-9d 2 c B.O.Allen b T.W.J.Goddard 6 97 25. Nottinghamshire v Surrey, Trent Bridge, May 24, 26, 27 (Match drawn) c A.J.W.McIntyre b A.V.Bedser 33 401 706-4d lbw b E.A.Bedser 0 201-4 26. Nottinghamshire v Essex, Trent Bridge, May 31, June 2, 3 (Match drawn) c T.H.Wade b R.Smith 63 662-8d - - - - 324 2 0 9 0 180-4 27. Nottinghamshire v Kent, Canterbury, June 7, 9, 10 (Match drawn) c and b A.J.B.Marsham 13 273 344-4d 1 c L.J.Todd b A.J.B.Marsham21 329-7d 109-4 1 28. Nottinghamshire v Middlesex, Lord’s, June 11, 12, 13 (Middlesex won by seven wickets) c L.H.Compton b L.H.Gray 27 317 458-8d c W.F.F.Price b J.M.Sims 20 188 48-3 29. Nottinghamshire v Warwickshire, Edgbaston, June (14), 16, 17 (Match drawn) b C.W.C.Grove 17 358-4 357 30. Nottinghamshire v Kent, Trent Bridge, June 18, 19, 20 (Nottinghamshire won by an innings and 17 runs) b F.Ridgway 70 462-5d 130 315 31. Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire, Bramall Lane, June 21, 23, 24 (Nottinghamshire won by 185 runs) c T.F.Smailes b J.H.Wardle 17 190 121 not out 0 250-7d 134 32. Nottinghamshire v Gloucestershire, Trent Bridge, June 25, 26, 27 (Match drawn) c B.O.Allen b L.M.Cranfield 153 482 249 132-3 33. Nottinghamshire v South Africans, Trent Bridge, June 28, 30, July 1 (Match drawn) c D.M.Ovenstone b L.Tuckett 46 324 365 st G.M.Fullerton b B.Mitchell 51 164-6 34. Nottinghamshire v Sussex, Hove, July 2, 3, 4 (Nottinghamshire won by seven wickets) c A.P.Doggart b G.Cox 16 298 153 not out 56 159-3 303 35. Nottinghamshire v Lancashire, Trent Bridge, July 5, 7, 8 (Match drawn) not out 110 475-5 398 8