Lives in Cricket No 10 - John Shepherd

target they fell just short on 210 for nine, helped by a hard-hitting 79 from Shep which included 28 runs from one over bowled by Peter Lindsey. In August he was invited to take part in a forty-over testimonial match for Kent stalwart Dave Halfyard at Maidstone. Playing for the Cavaliers against Halfyard’s XI, Shep helped his team to victory with the top score of 47 which won him a silver medallion and twenty guineas as Man of the Match. The match was televised by the BBC – Shepherd’s first television appearance. Shepherd’s bowling was progressing well and he followed Colin Page’s mantra that he must always try to pitch the ball up and get the batsman to play at every ball; a simple message and one that was crucially important in Shepherd’s allround development. Another part of Shepherd’s progress as a bowler was his ability to mimic techniques that he saw others use successfully. For example he watched first-team bowlers Alan Brown and Alan Dixon in the nets and experimented with copying their styles and methods. John Shepherd was almost an ever-present in Kent’s Second Eleven in his first season, scoring 735 runs at an average of 30.62 and taking 32 wickets at 26.59. He scored a further 256 runs at 42.66 and took 13 wickets at 10.38 for the Club and Ground. All in all, this was an excellent debut season at the club – not least if his unfamiliarity with English conditions is taken into account. He also fielded well, mainly at slip. He played whenever he could – including turning out regularly for the club side St Lawrence in Canterbury. The county, who had given Shepherd a guarantee of two years employment, must have been very pleased that what was clearly something of a gamble looked like it would pay off. Shepherd himself was not riddled with self-doubt – from the moment he arrived in England he expected to succeed in English cricket. At the end of the 1965 season John Shepherd played in an International Cavaliers versus a West Indian XI match at Blackheath – the game was, as all of the Cavaliers matches were, mainly played for entertainment, but it was significant in that it was the first time he had appeared in West Indies colours. The West Indies side was captained by Sobers and included Kanhai and Gibbs – Shepherd acquitted himself well with an innings of 28. Whilst adapting to the demands of professional cricket in England was one challenge that had to be met, assimilating to the very different surroundings of Kent and of England was no less important. In this respect it was friends at the county who played a crucial role. Twenty-year-old Alan Ealham was Shepherd’s colleague in the Second Eleven and he became a close friend. Later Mike Denness, a more senior member of Kent’s staff, and his wife Molly offered Shepherd a home at a time when he was occasionally feeling a bit lonely – the welcome he received into Denness’s family life was warm and appreciated. Similarly the club captain Colin Cowdrey endeavoured to make Shepherd at home – including inviting him to spend Christmas Day with his family. Shepherd also made friends at St Lawrence Cricket Club (for whom he played a number of matches) – many from the rather well-heeled farming world in the Canterbury area. Clearly Shepherd’s genial personality and openness made building friendships easy, but equally importantly he never then, nor hardly ever since, Kentish Apprentice 29