Famous Cricketers No 50 - Reg Simpson

REGINALD THOMAS SIMPSON Reginald Thomas Simpson was born on February 27th 1920 at Sherwood, Nottingham, just four miles from the Trent Bridge ground where he was to perform with such distinction, firstly as a player and later as a Committee man for so many years. He never received any coaching and none of his immediate family played cricket but he was introduced to the game at Mountford House Preparatory School, Nottingham, and became determined to do well. He then went to Nottingham High School where he was good enough to gain a place in the first team at the age of thirteen. By the time he was fifteen, and still at school, he had performed well enough to attract the attention of the County Club and he played in a few games for Nottinghamshire Club and Ground. His career was launched. One day in the summer of 1935 a well known member of the Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club Committee, Mr C.C.Lowater, predicted that a schoolboy he had just watched, Reg Simpson, would one day play for England. Thirteen years later that prediction was fulfilled at Durban in South Africa, when Simpson made his Test debut in the famous Test Match won by England off the last ball of the match with Cliff Gladwin’s leg-bye. But this is getting ahead of our story. In Simpson’s first season after leaving school, he headed the averages for the Notts and Derbys Border League with an average of 56.60 per innings. Like so many aspiring young cricketers of his time Simpson found his progress interrupted by the Second World War. At the outbreak of war he joined a special branch of the Nottinghamshire police and so was able, in 1940, to accept an invitation to play for a Nottinghamshire County XI against an R.A.F.XI at Trent Bridge. He delighted the crowd with an innings of 134 not out, partnering the County captain, G.F.H.Heane, in a stand of 213. The Nottinghamshire crowd were convinced that a new star had been found. In 1941 Simpson enlisted in the R.A.F. to begin training as a pilot. The major part of his training took place in Arizona, and after final preparations in England he was given a posting flying Transport Command aircraft in the Far East. Whilst on leave he was able to play cricket at Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi and Karachi and it was during this time that he made his first-class debut, playing for Sind against Karachi at Karachi Gymkhana Stadium. In seven innings during the 1944/45 winter he scored 324 runs including five half-centuries. In August 1944, whilst on overseas leave in England, he had hit 529 runs in nine innings with a highest score of 99 and represented England elevens in games against Australian and Dominion XI’s. These performances drew a favourable comment from Wisden in 1945. After promotion to Flight-Lieutenant, Simpson arrived home on demobilisation leave in July 1946. He was invited to play for Nottinghamshire against Somerset at Trent Bridge scoring 29 before being caught and bowled by Horace Hazell. He did not find County cricket easy at first making only 82 runs in his first ten innings with seven scores in single figures. A brilliant 201 against Warwickshire at Trent Bridge showed the public of what he was capable and he finished the season with 592 runs from twenty-six innings at an average of 24.66. He was awarded his County cap. In the uncertain days after the war Simpson pondered his future. He wanted to play cricket as an amateur and he started off as Assistant Secretary at Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club before his future was finally secured by an appointment at Gunn and Moore, the sports goods manufacturers. In 1947, his first full season of cricket, he scored 1674 runs at an average of 38.04, hitting three hundreds and gaining selection for the then prestigious Gentlemen v Players match at Lord’s. Although his contributions were modest, 4 and 0, it showed that his efforts were being noted. In 1948, playing against Bradman’s all conquering Australians at Trent Bridge, he played two fine innings of 74 and 70, impressing as fine a judge as Bill O’Reilly by the way he shaped against Ray Lindwall. As a result of these innings he was selected in the twelve for the First Test at Trent Bridge although he did not make the final eleven. His turn was to come in the winter of 1948/49 when he toured South Africa 3