Famous Cricketers No 91 - J.C.Laker

SEASON’S AVERAGES Batting and Fielding M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct Plunket Shield 4 4 0 77 35 19.25 - - 3 Career 158 218 37 3460 100 19.11 1 11 111 Bowling O M R W BB Ave 5i 10m Strike RunR Plunket Shield 228.1 88 379 24 5/44 15.79 3 1 57.04 27.68 Career 6530.1 2075 14070 724 8/2 19.43 51 12 54.11 35.91 1952 Surrey won the first of their seven consecutive Championships this year and a glance at the bowling figures will explain why. Three bowlers, A.V.Bedser, G.A.R.Lock and J.C.Laker, took 304 Championship wickets between them at a joint average of 16.28. Laker’s share in this carnage was eighty-six wickets at 16.87. Seven times he took more than five wickets in an innings and, against the touring Indian side at Kennington Oval, he took ten for 119 in the match as Surrey won by 141 runs. He played in all four Test matches this year taking four wickets, including his fiftieth in Tests, in the Headingley game and another four at Lord’s where his bowling was instrumental in the England win. At Old Trafford and Kennington Oval he scarcely got on to bowl as the Indians crumbled before the pace attack of F.S.Trueman and A.V.Bedser. He was selected for the first time to appear for the Players against the Gentlemen at Lord’s where he took six for 48 in the first innings of the Gentlemen. He had an indifferent season with the bat scoring only 310 runs at an average of 10.68 with a top score of just 26. In his defence it has to be said that neither England nor Surrey really needed him to make many runs. He took fifteen catches. Own Team O M R W Opp Ct Total Total 159. MCC v Yorkshire, April 30, May 1, (MCC won by an innings and 23 runs) b D.B.Close 17 318 18 7 44 3 H.Halliday c T.E.Bailey 142 W.Watson b J.H.Wardle b 28 7 64 3 L.Hutton c J.A.Young 153 1 F.A.Lowson b D.B.Close st B.A.Barnett 160. Surrey v MCC, Lord’s, May 3, (5), 6 (Match drawn) did not bat - 4-0 13 1 32 2 R.T.Spooner c G.A.R.Lock 185-9d C.Gladwin b 161. Surrey v Indians, Kennington Oval, May 7, 8, 9 (Surrey won by 141 runs) c S.G.Shinde b G.S.Ramchand 7 219 29.4 6 64 6 P.K.Roy b 158 C.T.Sarwate lbw V.S.Hazare b M.K.Mantri c A.V.Bedser G.S.Ramchand c A.V.Bedser H.G.Gaekwad c J.F.Parker c C.T.Sarwate b S.G.Shinde 1 188 25.1 7 55 4 C.T.Sarwate b 108 V.S.Hazare lbw D.G.Phadkar b N.R.Chowdhury b 162. Surrey v Gloucestershire, Kennington Oval, May 10, 12 (Surrey won by 135 runs) c A.E.Wilson b B.D.Wells 1 151 20.2 8 28 4 J.F.Crapp c J.F.Parker 91 D.M.Young c A.J.W.McIntyre F.P.McHugh b B.D.Wells b c T.W.Graveney b B.D.Wells 4 205 29.1 8 53 4 C.A.Milton c A.J.W.McIntyre 130 J.F.Crapp c W.S.Surridge A.E.Wilson b G.E.E.Lambert b 163. MCC v Indians, Lord’s, May 17, 19, 20 (Match drawn) b Ghulam Ahmed 16 383-8d 26 8 56 1 V.S.Hazare b 255 27