Famous Cricketers No 93 - Keith Fletcher O.B.E.

303. Essex v Nottinghamshire, Chelmsford, August 28, 30, 31 (Match drawn) c G.Frost b M.N.S.Taylor 97 339† - - - - 289 1 c G.S.Sobers b R.A.White 5 228-6d 10 0 42 1 S.B.Hassan b 203-6 304.$ An England XI v An England Under 25 XI, Scarborough, September 1, 2, 3 (An England XI won by 12 runs) not out 68 254-2d† 168 did not bat - 76-4d 150 305.$ T.N.Pearce’s XI v Indians, Scarborough, September 4, 6, 7 (Indians won by five wickets) not out 67 357-3d 306 did not bat - 199-3d 252-5 SEASON’S AVERAGES Batting and Fielding M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct Test matches 2 4 1 30 28* 10.00 - - 1 Championship 19 33 7 1181 164* 45.42 2 4 21 Other Essex match 1 2 2 144 106* - 1 - 3 Other matches 2 2 2 135 68* - - 2 - Season 24 41 12 1490 164* 51.37 3 6 25 Career 305 525 68 15993 228* 34.99 22 90 296 Bowling O M R W BB Ave 5i Championship 24 6 73 2 1-31 36.50 - Career (6b) 164.5 25 } 913 18 4-50 50.72 - (8b) 40.3 2 1972 If the England selectors ever showed impatience with Fletcher’s Test record it certainly showed in 1972. Fletcher finished fifth in the season’s averages behind Geoffrey Boycott and three overseas players, but played in only one Test match, the fourth against Australia at Headingley, when he made 5. In four other innings against the tourists he made 70. Fletcher averaged 68.50 in the eighteen championship matches in which he played and he scored at least one 50 in thirteen of those matches including five centuries. He shared, with Graham Saville, a 2nd wicket stand of 288 unbroken, in two hours and fifty minutes, versus Glamorgan at Swansea. He also scored an excellent 139 against the clock versus Yorkshire at Chelmsford, turning an impending defeat into an unexpected victory. His excellent season prompted the selectors to include him on the winter tour to India and Pakistan. Own Team O M R W Opp Ct Total Total 306.$ Essex v Sussex, Hove, May 3, 4, 5 (Match drawn) c J.M.Parks b A.W.Greig 114 355-7† 248 1 31-2 307.$ Essex v Northamptonshire, Northampton, May 10, 11, 12 (Northamptonshire won by five wickets) lbw b J.C.J.Dye 1 147-9d 129 not out 63 153-1d 172-5 308. Essex v Oxford University, The Parks, May 17, 18 (Essex won by an innings and 90 runs) c R.G.L.Paver b R.J.Lee 48 295-6d† 89 1 116 1 309. Essex v Hampshire, Chelmsford, May 24, 25, 26 (Match drawn) c B.A.Richards b J.M.Rice 62 297-5d 367 lbw b P.J.Sainsbury 25 198-5 185-0d 310.$ Essex v Warwickshire, Chelmsford, May (27), 29, 30 (Match drawn) c J.Whitehouse b P.J.Lewington 70 289-9d - - - - 303-5d 4 0 13 0 28-1 311.$ Essex v Nottinghamshire, Newark-on-Trent, May 31, June 1, 2 (Match drawn) c M.J.Smedley b M.N.S.Taylor 42 119† 277 c M.J.Smedley b W.Taylor 68 236-7 30