Bob Carter (cricketer, born 1937)
Encyclopedia
Robert George Mallaby Carter (born 11 July 1937), known as Bob, is a former English cricket
er who played first-class
and List A cricket for Worcestershire
. He was capped by the county in 1965, and was awarded a benefit season
in 1963, which raised about £7,000. All but two of his 523 first-class wickets came for Worcestershire; the others were obtained for MCC
in the very last game of his career.
Carter did not make his debut until the age of nearly 24, when he played for Worcestershire against Oxford University
in early June 1961, taking four wickets in the second innings.
That was his only first-team appearance of the season, and County Championship
appearances had to wait until 1962, when he became a regular in the side from mid-season onward, finishing with a more than handy 70 wickets at 22.07 apiece
. He was in fact to exceed this aggregate only once, in 1971 when he claimed 79 successes.
For the early part of his career, Carter was somewhat overshadowed by his more illustrious team-mates Len Coldwell
and Jack Flavell
, but nevertheless managed to make many appearances, especially when his England team-mates were engaged on Test
duties.
In 1965, the year in which he was capped, he turned in a remarkable performance against Lancashire
. Having come into the team in place of Coldwell, who had been injured, in the second innings Carter returned an analysis
of 4.1-2-7-6, including a hat-trick, as Lancashire were dismissed for 55.
Throughout the rest of the 1960s Carter was in and out of the side, with the nearest he got to being a regular in 1968, when he played 18 times. For the most part he chipped in with useful wickets without producing anything really special. However in 1971 he enjoyed his best season: in 27 first-class games he took 79 wickets at just over 30, but he also found the increasing importance of one-day cricket
to his liking. Worcestershire won the John Player League that season, and Carter played all but one match in the campaign.
He achieved career-best innings returns in both forms of the game during 1971: 7/61 in the Championship against Yorkshire
at Dudley
(the last-ever first-class match at the ground),
and 5/27 against Sussex
in the John Player League.
Carter's Worcestershire career came to an abrupt end midway through the 1972 season, and he was to play only one more first-class game, for MCC
against Kent
in May 1973. This, Carter's only appearance in major cricket for a side other than Worcestershire, saw him end on the losing side: a second-innings duck
saw Kent record an 8-run victory. He took only two wickets in the game, but they were not bad ones with which to bow out: he accounted for Colin Cowdrey
in both innings!
Although Carter's batting was generally extremely poor, as evidenced by his career batting average
of under five in both forms of the game, he did play one significant — if ultimately fruitless — innings. In the 1963 Gillette Cup final against Sussex
at Lord's
, he came to the wicket with Worcestershire 133/9, needing 35 runs to win. In fading light,
he and wicket-keeper
Roy Booth
added 21 before Carter was run out
to end the match.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who played first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
and List A cricket for Worcestershire
Worcestershire County Cricket Club
Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Worcestershire...
. He was capped by the county in 1965, and was awarded a benefit season
Benefit season
A benefit season is a method of financially rewarding professional cricketers that is used by English county cricket teams to compensate long serving players....
in 1963, which raised about £7,000. All but two of his 523 first-class wickets came for Worcestershire; the others were obtained for MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
in the very last game of his career.
Carter did not make his debut until the age of nearly 24, when he played for Worcestershire against Oxford University
Oxford University Cricket Club
Oxford University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team, representing the University of Oxford. It plays its home games at the University Parks in Oxford, England...
in early June 1961, taking four wickets in the second innings.
That was his only first-team appearance of the season, and County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
appearances had to wait until 1962, when he became a regular in the side from mid-season onward, finishing with a more than handy 70 wickets at 22.07 apiece
Bowling average
Bowling average is a statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the sport of cricket.A bowler's bowling average is defined as the total number of runs conceded by the bowlers divided by the number of wickets taken by the bowler, so the lower the average the better. It is similar to earned...
. He was in fact to exceed this aggregate only once, in 1971 when he claimed 79 successes.
For the early part of his career, Carter was somewhat overshadowed by his more illustrious team-mates Len Coldwell
Len Coldwell
Len Coldwell was an English cricketer, who played in seven Tests for England from 1962 to 1964. Coldwell was a right-arm fast-medium bowler who was, for a few years in the early to mid-1960s, half of a respected and feared new-ball partnership in English county cricket...
and Jack Flavell
Jack Flavell
Jack Flavell was an English cricketer who played in four Tests for England from 1961 to 1964. His county cricket career was spent with Worcestershire, with whom Flavell won two County Championship titles...
, but nevertheless managed to make many appearances, especially when his England team-mates were engaged on Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
duties.
In 1965, the year in which he was capped, he turned in a remarkable performance against Lancashire
Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then...
. Having come into the team in place of Coldwell, who had been injured, in the second innings Carter returned an analysis
Bowling analysis
In the sport of cricket, a bowling analysis usually refers to a notation summarising a bowler's performance in terms of overs bowled, how many of those overs are maidens , total runs conceded and number of wickets taken...
of 4.1-2-7-6, including a hat-trick, as Lancashire were dismissed for 55.
Throughout the rest of the 1960s Carter was in and out of the side, with the nearest he got to being a regular in 1968, when he played 18 times. For the most part he chipped in with useful wickets without producing anything really special. However in 1971 he enjoyed his best season: in 27 first-class games he took 79 wickets at just over 30, but he also found the increasing importance of one-day cricket
One-day cricket
Limited overs cricket, also known as one-day cricket and in a slightly different context as List A cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed in one day, whereas Test and first-class matches can take up to five days to complete...
to his liking. Worcestershire won the John Player League that season, and Carter played all but one match in the campaign.
He achieved career-best innings returns in both forms of the game during 1971: 7/61 in the Championship against Yorkshire
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
at Dudley
Tipton Road
The Tipton Road cricket ground in Dudley, England was used for first-class cricket by Worcestershire CCC on 88 occasions between 1911 and 1971. The county also staged 14 List A games there between 1969 and 1977, all in the Sunday League, as well as a number of Second XI matches.One match of the...
(the last-ever first-class match at the ground),
and 5/27 against Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
in the John Player League.
Carter's Worcestershire career came to an abrupt end midway through the 1972 season, and he was to play only one more first-class game, for MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
against Kent
Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...
in May 1973. This, Carter's only appearance in major cricket for a side other than Worcestershire, saw him end on the losing side: a second-innings duck
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
saw Kent record an 8-run victory. He took only two wickets in the game, but they were not bad ones with which to bow out: he accounted for Colin Cowdrey
Colin Cowdrey
Michael Colin Cowdrey, Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge, CBE , better known as Colin Cowdrey, was the Captain of Oxford University, Kent County Cricket Club and the England cricket team in a career that lasted from 1950 to 1976...
in both innings!
Although Carter's batting was generally extremely poor, as evidenced by his career batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
of under five in both forms of the game, he did play one significant — if ultimately fruitless — innings. In the 1963 Gillette Cup final against Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
at Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
, he came to the wicket with Worcestershire 133/9, needing 35 runs to win. In fading light,
he and wicket-keeper
Wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike...
Roy Booth
Roy Booth
Roy Booth was an English first-class cricketer, who played for both Yorkshire and Worcestershire....
added 21 before Carter was run out
Run out
Run out is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. It is governed by Law 38 of the Laws of cricket.-The rules:A batsman is out Run out if at any time while the ball is in play no part of his bat or person is grounded behind the popping crease and his wicket is fairly put down by the opposing...
to end the match.