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

SEASON’S AVERAGES Batting and Fielding M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct Test matches v India 3 3 2 189 123* 189.00 1 1 1 Test matches v Pakistan 3 4 1 208 122 69.33 1 1 2 Championship 7 13 0 244 61 18.76 - 1 5 Other Essex match 1 2 0 32 27 16.00 - - - Other matches 2 3 1 136 100 68.00 1 - 2 Season 16 25 4 809 123* 38.52 3 3 10 Career 386 655 92 21269 228* 37.77 37 119 359 Bowling O M R W BB Ave 5i Other Essex match 3 0 18 0 - - - Other matches 8.4 0 42 2 2-20 21.00 - Season 11.4 0 60 2 2-20 30.00 - Career (6b) 242.2 36 } 1222 26 4-50 47.00 - (8b) 40.3 2 1974/75 – MCC in Australia and New Zealand This tour will be remembered mostly for the hostility and short pitched bowling delivered by Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee. Given little protection from the umpires, batsmen faced as many as three, or even more bouncers in an over. However, it was generally accepted that without the umpires’ leniency, Thomson and Lillee would still have carried Australia to victory and the Ashes, such was the pace of their attack. Dennis Amiss, John Edrich twice and David Lloyd all sustained broken bones and only two players played in all six Tests. Fletcher missed the third Test after scoring 17, 19, 4, and 0, falling twice to Lillee and once to Thomson. He returned for the fourth Test for Thomson to have him caught in the second innings and he fell to both bowlers in the fifth Test, but all was not lost as he scored 40 and 63 in that game, reportedly playing with freedom. In the sixth Test at Melbourne, without Thomson and with Lillee sustaining an injury after but a few overs, Fletcher added 192 runs with Mike Denness for the fourth wicket and Fletcher finished on 146. Denness and Fletcher continued their new found form in New Zealand when they put on 266 together for the fourth wicket in the first Test at Auckland, Fletcher going on to make his highest Test score of 216. Own Team O M R W Opp Ct Total Total 387. MCC v South Australia, Adelaide, November 1, 2, 3, 4 (Match drawn) lbw b T.J.Jenner 43 349-9d 247 not out 11 82-3 320 388. MCC v Victoria, Melbourne, November 8, 9, 10, 11 (Match drawn) c G.L.Tamblyn b J.D.Higgs 9 392-9d - - - - 293-8d 1 1 0 5 0 174-8 1 389.$ MCC v New South Wales, Sydney, November 15, 16, 17, 18 (MCC won by six wickets) c and b K.J.O’Keeffe 79 332-7d† 338 not out 57 181-4 174 1 390. MCC v Queensland, Brisbane, November 22, 23, 24, 25 (MCC won by 46 runs) c G.S.Chappell b F.M.Francke 17 258 226 c G.K.Whyte b G.Dymock 34 175† 161 391. ENGLAND v AUSTRALIA, Brisbane, November 29, 30, December 1, 3, 4 (Australia won by 166 runs) b D.K.Lillee 17 265 309 1 c G.S.Chappell b T.J.Jenner 19 166 288-5d 1 392. MCC v Western Australia, Perth, December 7, 8, 9, 10 (Western Australia won by 120 runs) did not bat - 314-5d 265-8d absent hurt - 177 346-5d 393. ENGLAND v AUSTRALIA, Perth, December 13, 14, 15, 17 (Australia won by nine wickets) c I.R.Redpath b D.K.Lillee 4 208 481 1 c R.W.Marsh b J.R.Thomson 0 293 23-1 37