Famous Cricketers No 91 - J.C.Laker

Bowling O M R W BB Ave 5i 10m Strike RunR Test match 32.2 17 39 2 1/17 19.50 - - 97.00 20.10 Championship 777.5 259 1620 112 6/16 14.46 11 4 41.66 34.71 Other Surrey matches 116.1 34 238 20 8/51 11.90 2 1 34.85 34.14 Other matches 40 5 151 1 1/57 151.00 - - 240.00 62.91 Season 966.2 315 2048 135 8/51 15.17 13 5 42.94 35.32 Career 10067.1 3228 21459 1141 8/2 18.80 80 19 52.93 35.52 1955 Laker played in only one Test match in 1955 but in that game he played a vital part in England’s eventual three-two Series win against South Africa. The teams came to Kennington Oval tied at two-two and, in a low scoring game, Laker took seven wickets for 84 runs including a haul of five for 56 in South Africa’s second innings to help win the match by 92 runs. In the Championship he again took more than a hunderd wickets for Surrey - 102 altogether at an average of 18.13. Against Nottinghamshire at Kennington Oval he had the remarkable figures of six wickets for 5 runs in sixteen overs as Nottinghamshire were dismissed for just 40 in their second innings. He took eleven wickets for 67 against MCC at Lord’s and took ten wickets in the matches against Glamorgan at Swansea and Warwickshire at Coventry. Note that none of these feats were achieved at Kennington Oval - Laker was not just a deadly bowler on his home ground. As a batsman he hit 78 not out against Sussex at Kennington Oval, one of four half-centuries he hit that year in a total of 708 runs scored at an average of 22.06. He took twenty-six catches to take his career total to over two hundred. Own Team O M R W Opp Ct Total Total 256. Surrey v Cambridge University, Fenner’s, April 30, May 2, 3 (Surrey won by an innings and 70 runs) c A.D.Buckingham b D.J.Smith 44 328 24.4 16 22 2 A.B.D.Parsons b 82 2 P.G.Whiteside lbw 30 15 35 2 J.F.Pretlove c A.J.W.McIntyre 176 R.W.Barber st A.J.W.McIntyre 257. Surrey v MCC, Lord’s, May 4, 5, 6 (Surrey won by seven wickets) c L.Harrison b J.D.Bannister 0 159 12.4 1 39 5 J.M.Parks c A.J.W.McIntyre 129 1 A.S.M.Oakman c and b L.Harrison b D.C.Morgan b J.H.Wardle c K.F.Barrington did not bat - 55-3 18.3 6 28 6 P.E.Richardson c A.J.W.McIntyre 83 C.A.Milton c T.H.Clark D.J.Insole b L.Harrison b D.C.Morgan c W.S.Surridge J.H.Wardle c A.V.Bedser 258. Surrey v Gloucestershire, Kennington Oval, May 7, 9, 10 (Surrey won by eight wickets) c T.W.Graveney b G.E.E.Lambert 36 232 - - - - 126 did not bat - 33-2 24 10 43 1 J.F.Crapp c W.S.Surridge 137 259. Surrey v Somerset, Kennington Oval, May 14, 16 (Surrey won by an innings and 4 runs) c J.G.Lomax b J.W.J.McMahon 6 224 16 8 20 1 G.G.Tordoff c T.H.Clark 99 2 23.3 9 44 3 M.F.Tremlett b 121 3 H.W.Stephenson c T.H.Clark J.W.J.McMahon c and b 260. Surrey v Essex, Ilford, May 18, 19, 20 (Surrey won by five wickets) b D.J.Insole 11 179 8 2 28 2 T.E.Bailey lbw 126 1 R.Smith c and b not out 2 150-5 31 11 67 3 G.Barker st A.J.W.McIntyre 202 D.J.Insole c G.A.R.Lock K.C.Preston b 39