Lives in Cricket No 10 - John Shepherd

occasions – small wonder that he was an ever-present in the Gloucestershire side that summer. 1984 John Shepherd celebrated his fortieth birthday on 9 November 1983 and looked forward after the extraordinary events of the year to another full season with Gloucestershire in 1984 which, realistically, he saw as being likely to be his last full year in first-class cricket. Could he leave the stage with the spectators still asking for more? In fact Shep was in many ways the man on the burning deck as Gloucestershire had a truly woeful season, finishing bottom in the County Championship, thirteenth in the Sunday League and failing to progress in either of the one-day competitions – including an embarrassing loss to the Combined Universities in the B&H. It was a weak side, ill-led by Graveney who nevertheless survived a vote of confidence at the end of the season. Even the emerging administrative and political talents of the young David Collier, in his second year as Secretary/Manager, could not help the struggling county. But for John Shepherd it was a hard working and personally successful season; he topped the county’s first-class bowling averages and his tally of 72 wickets was by far the highest amongst all the bowlers. He also scored 846 first-class runs cementing, in his last full season, his record of nearly always being one of the leading allrounders in English domestic cricket. In what was indeed to be his final full year in premier-level cricket Shepherd took 97 wickets in all competitions and scored 1,084 runs – not bad for a man in his forty-first year! Personal highlights included a return to Canterbury in June where he took three wickets for 2 runs in twelve balls in Kent’s first innings (four for 39 in all) and then five for 30 (including Woolmer, Tavare and Knott) as the home side was skittled out for 70 in their second innings to set up a rare Gloucestershire win. On nine occasions in the season Shepherd took four or more wickets in an Third Innings 112 Another hard-working season. Shepherd took 72 first-class wickets in 1984.