Lives in Cricket No 10 - John Shepherd

We see Shepherd very much as the man to fill the hole left by Procter’s departure. John has been a marvellous servant to the game and is still a very fine allrounder. He will give a lot of guidance to the younger players, and I imagine he will have the incentive of proving to a few people that he can still play a bit. 148 Mike Procter had been a great success at Gloucestershire – to the extent that the county had been nicknamed ‘Proctershire’ by some fans. The Gillette Cup had been won in 1973 and the B&H in 1977 but the county had limited resources both financially and amongst the playing staff – especially with Procter’s retirement. In hiring John Shepherd, initially with a contract for the 1982 and 1983 seasons, but with an option for 1984, they had clearly seen not just his cricketing skills but also, and perceptively, the probability that he would be able to use his knowledge and experience to help younger members of the playing staff to develop their talents. He was a potential coach in the making from the moment he joined the county. For John Shepherd the offer from Gloucestershire was a big weight off his shoulders. Although his benefit year had significantly improved his financial position, the demands of a very young family meant that his wife was not able to work and although his final year’s salary at Kent of £6,325 (plus bonuses) had not been munificent it was vital that he quickly found similarly remunerated employment. In fact he was offered an increase by Gloucestershire where he was paid £6,800 in his first year. The family moved to the Bristol area and in early May Shep played his first game for the county against Oxford University in The Parks. As had been the case in his first match for the Kent seconds in 1965 and in his first County Championship match in 1967, Shep scored a 50 on his debut – as well as taking three wickets in the University innings. 1982 In 1982, almost inevitably, John Shepherd bore the brunt of Gloucestershire’s bowling attack – he was an ever-present in the side and his 742 overs in the County Championship and 161 overs in one-day games comfortably exceeded the workload of any other Gloucester player. In the absence, for much of the season, of a true strike bowler, Shepherd opened the county’s bowling frequently and his 89 wickets in all competitions at an average of 31 suggested that Gloucestershire’s investment was already paying off handsomely. Amongst the bowling highlights was a six-wicket haul on a cloudy day against Sussex at Hastings in May – Wisden said that Shep ‘toiled magnificently to take six for 75 … bowling unchanged on the slowish wicket until the final few overs.’ There was also an ‘inspired spell of seam bowling’ 149 at Bradford in July which set up a good win against a hitherto undefeated Yorkshire. Shepherd generally batted down the order at seven in both the Championship and the one-day games – he scored 843 108 Third Innings 148 Quoted by Alan Lee in The Cricketer , December 1981. 149 The Times , 14 July 1982.