Gilbert Parkhouse
Encyclopedia
William Gilbert Anthony Parkhouse (12 October 1925, Swansea
, Wales – 10 August 2000, Carmarthen
, Wales) was a Welsh cricket
er who played in seven Tests
for England in 1950, 1950-51 and 1959.
Parkhouse was a right-handed batsman who spent most of his career as an opener for Glamorgan
. He also played rugby union
for Swansea.
As a cricketer, he was a fast scorer and a stroke-maker. His obituary in Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
said: "There were no obvious flaws in technique: he was orthodox, and happy to get on the back foot against both the quicks – he was a skilled hooker – and the slows... It was his effortless cover driving... that is best remembered... and he could on-drive beautifully."
at Stonehouse
in Gloucestershire, Parkhouse appeared in wartime non-first-class matches for Glamorgan and also in fixtures arranged for the 1945 season. Wisden for 1946 called him "a player of splendid natural style".
He made his first-class
debut in a pre-season friendly match in 1948, batting at No 3, and remained in that batting position for the whole of the season, which brought Glamorgan's first County Championship
. In his first Championship game, against Essex
he scored 46 and 59. In mid-season he hit his first century, 117 against Sussex
at Swansea
, and a week later he hit a second, 103 against Yorkshire
at Hull
. In his first season as a whole, despite some loss of form in August, he made 1204 runs at an average
of 25.07 runs per innings, and was awarded his county cap.
Glamorgan did not retain the Championship in 1949, but Parkhouse improved his figures, making 1491 runs at an average of 33.13. He improved his personal highest score twice in the season, with 126 against Hampshire
in the first Championship game of the season and, in early July, 145 on an easy-paced Trent Bridge
pitch against Nottinghamshire
.
from early June. The move was an instant success: Parkhouse scored 121 and 148 against Somerset
in his first two innings as an opening batsman, the latter his highest score to date. In the next first-class match, he made 127 against Combined Services
for three centuries in consecutive innings. And only 10 days later, he hit 161 against Surrey
, again bettering his personal best.
This form propelled Parkhouse into the England
team for the second Test in the 1950 series against the West Indies
, played at Lord's. It was a somewhat makeshift side hit by injury to Denis Compton
and late withdrawals by Reg Simpson
and Trevor Bailey
. Parkhouse batted at No 5 and faced 30 balls without scoring in the first innings against the spin of Sonny Ramadhin
and Alf Valentine
before Valentine bowled him. The second innings was better: he made 48 out of a partnership of 78 for the fourth wicket with Cyril Washbrook
, and was second highest scorer behind Washbrook. The innings won praise from Wisden: "Parkhouse... signalised his first Test with a very good innings, in which he showed encouraging confidence and a variety of strokes until he hit a full toss
straight to silly mid off in the last over
of the fourth day when wanting only two runs for 50. This mistake came at a time when thoughts were raised that Washbrook might be capable of saving the match if someone could stay with him." The victory was West Indies' first over England in England.
Returning to Glamorgan, Parkhouse equalled his best score with a second innings of 161 within a month, this time against Gloucestershire
at Stradey Park
, Llanelli
. And in the very next game, he went one better, scoring 162 against Worcestershire
at Kidderminster
in a match ruined by rain.
The third Test, at Trent Bridge
, followed the pattern of Parkhouse's previous match, with a disappointing first innings followed by a better second. Batting at No 3, he made 13 in a first-innings collapse that saw England at 25 for four before recovering to 223 all out. After West Indies had replied with 558, Simpson and Washbrook opened England's second innings with a stand of 212, before both were out within a quarter of an hour. "Even then," Wisden reported, "England were far from finished, for (John) Dewes
and Parkhouse, without looking as safe as the first pair, batted well, and at one period the score stood 326 for two with England only nine runs behind." But then Parkhouse was out for 69, two other batsmen followed quickly and the match was lost by 10 wickets.
Ten of the 11 England team reconvened at Lord's the next day for the annual Gentlemen v Players
match, often an indication of who was in the running for the Test team, and Parkhouse's 81 in the second innings almost won the match for the Players. But when the team for the fourth Test at The Oval
was announced, eight of the 11, including Parkhouse, had gone, though in his case, Wisden reported, it was because he had "a bad cold". He missed 10 days of county cricket. In all cricket in the 1950 season, he made 1997 runs at an average of 45.38.
Parkhouse was then chosen for the 1950-51 Ashes series in Australia (and tour of New Zealand) under the captaincy of Freddie Brown. He was not a success. Wisden reported: "For all the polish of some of his off-side play, Parkhouse did not impress against fast bowlers and he was susceptible to the short bouncer. He shared an all-too-common fault of not putting his body right behind the ball when facing a pace attack. In his defence it must be said that illness and injuries kept him out of several key games and restricted the so valuable match practice."
Parkhouse played in only one of the first-class matches before the first Test match, and was not selected for that. He then made 58 and an unbeaten 46 in a four-day match against what was termed "An Australian XI", consisting of Arthur Morris
, Keith Miller
and Neil Harvey
with younger players, most of whom later played Test cricket: Wisden said that Parkhouse despite "useful scores... was not at his best". The two innings got him into the Test team for the second match, played at Melbourne
. In the first innings of a low-scoring match, he scored nine in a general collapse of England's upper batting order. In the second innings, batting at No 6, he made 28 as England failed by 29 runs to make a target of just 179. A score of 92, his highest of the tour, in the next match against New South Wales cemented his place in the Test side for the third match, at Sydney
. But in yet another defeat for the England team, he made 25 and 15.
With the series already lost, England brought David Sheppard
in to replace Parkhouse for the fourth Test, and a combination of limited opportunity and unimpressive scores meant that he did not reclaim a Test place until, on the New Zealand leg of the tour, an injury crisis brought him back to the side for the second of the two-match series. In a low-scoring match, he made 2 and 20.
In fact, the 1951 season set the pattern for the next eight seasons of Parkhouse's career. In each season from 1951 to 1958, he made his 1000 runs for the year, but he never made more than two centuries in a season, and in 1952 and 1958 he made none at all. His batting average in most of these seasons was around 30, with 1642 runs at 35.69 in 1957 the best year, and 1126 at 24.47 in 1958 the worst. From 1953 he went back to opening the innings, initially, with Emrys Davies, then with Clift or captain Wilf Wooller, finally forming a regular partnership with Bernard Hedges
. In 1954, he raised his own highest score with an innings of 182 against Middlesex
at Lord's. And two years later, in 1956, he raised it again, to 201, in the match against Kent
at Swansea.
following a disastrous Ashes tour of Australia the previous winter, the England selectors picked him, alongside the young left-handed Lancashire
batsman Geoff Pullar
, as a new opening partnership for the third Test at Leeds
. Wisden reported that the new partnership "proved highly satisfactory". The 146 the pair put on in their first innings together "was England's best start in 26 Tests and the highest for the first wicket against India". Parkhouse made 78 and Pullar 75, and England won by an innings.
Parkhouse and Pullar were retained for the fourth Test, at Old Trafford, and Pullar took advantage to score 131, the first century by a Lancastrian for England on his home ground. Parkhouse mistimed a hook in the first innings and was out for 17. In the second innings after England had not enforced the follow-on, India bowled defensively and the cricket was dull: "Parkhouse and Pullar, both anxious to gain places in the M.C.C. team to tour West Indies [in 1959-60], declined to take risks and the purposeless cricket was derided by the majority of the crowd of 13,000," Wisden reported. Parkhouse made 49, which was the highest score of the innings. But it was his last innings as a Test player: he was replaced for the fifth Test by Raman Subba Row
, and was not picked for the winter tour.
Despite this, the 1959 was Parkhouse's best in first-class cricket, surpassing even his 1950 season. He made in all 2243 runs, the only time he passed 2000 runs in a season and his average of 48.76 runs per innings put him ninth on the first-class list for the season among county players.
in May 1960 meant that he had scored a century against each of the other 16 first-class counties.
In 1962, his 124 against Cambridge University
was his 32nd century for Glamorgan, beating Emrys Davies' county record of 31. But later that season he was dropped for 12 county matches, the first time he had not been selected for Glamorgan when available since his debut in 1948. In 1963, he made only 11 appearances and after half a dozen matches in 1964, he retired from first-class cricket.
After retirement, there was a brief spell as a coach for Worcestershire
and then he moved to Edinburgh, where he coached both cricket and rugby at Stewart's Melville College
until retirement back to Wales in 1987.
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, Wales – 10 August 2000, Carmarthen
Carmarthen
Carmarthen is a community in, and the county town of, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is sited on the River Towy north of its mouth at Carmarthen Bay. In 2001, the population was 14,648....
, Wales) was a Welsh cricket
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 in seven Tests
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...
for England in 1950, 1950-51 and 1959.
Parkhouse was a right-handed batsman who spent most of his career as an opener for Glamorgan
Glamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County...
. He also played rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
for Swansea.
As a cricketer, he was a fast scorer and a stroke-maker. His obituary in Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
said: "There were no obvious flaws in technique: he was orthodox, and happy to get on the back foot against both the quicks – he was a skilled hooker – and the slows... It was his effortless cover driving... that is best remembered... and he could on-drive beautifully."
First-class cricketer
Educated at Wycliffe CollegeWycliffe College (Gloucestershire)
Wycliffe College is a co-educational independent school located in the town of Stonehouse in Gloucestershire, in the West of England. The school was founded in 1882 by GW Sibly, and comprises a Nursery School for ages 2 – 4, a Preparatory School for ages 4 – 13, and a Senior School catering for...
at Stonehouse
Stonehouse, Gloucestershire
Stonehouse, Gloucestershire is an urban area within the Stroud District, in the UK. It is home to a number of factories, such as Dairy Crest and Schlumberger. The town is close to the M5 motorway. Stonehouse railway station has a regular train service to London...
in Gloucestershire, Parkhouse appeared in wartime non-first-class matches for Glamorgan and also in fixtures arranged for the 1945 season. Wisden for 1946 called him "a player of splendid natural style".
He made his 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...
debut in a pre-season friendly match in 1948, batting at No 3, and remained in that batting position for the whole of the season, which brought Glamorgan's first County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
. In his first Championship game, against Essex
Essex County Cricket Club
Essex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Essex. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles, their team colours this season are blue.The club plays most of its home games...
he scored 46 and 59. In mid-season he hit his first century, 117 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 Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, and a week later he hit a second, 103 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 Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
. In his first season as a whole, despite some loss of form in August, he made 1204 runs at an 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 25.07 runs per innings, and was awarded his county cap.
Glamorgan did not retain the Championship in 1949, but Parkhouse improved his figures, making 1491 runs at an average of 33.13. He improved his personal highest score twice in the season, with 126 against Hampshire
Hampshire County Cricket Club
Hampshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Hampshire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1863 as a successor to the Hampshire county cricket teams and has played at the Antelope Ground from then until 1885, before moving to the County Ground where it...
in the first Championship game of the season and, in early July, 145 on an easy-paced Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge is a Test, One-day international and County cricket ground located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England and is also the headquarters of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. As well as International cricket and Nottinghamshire's home games, the ground has hosted the Finals Day of...
pitch against Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire 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 Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
.
Test player
In the 1950 season, Parkhouse had what Wisden termed an "almost meteoric rise to fame", in which he beat the Glamorgan records for number of centuries in a single season and for the fastest time to 1,000 runs. With opener Phil Clift not available, Glamorgan shuffled the batting line-up around before promoting Parkhouse from No 3 to open with Emrys DaviesEmrys Davies
David Emrys Davies was a Glamorgan cricketer and in his later years a Test cricket umpire.Davies was born in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales. His first class career for Glamorgan lasted for thirty one years, from 1924 till 1954...
from early June. The move was an instant success: Parkhouse scored 121 and 148 against Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset 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 Somerset...
in his first two innings as an opening batsman, the latter his highest score to date. In the next first-class match, he made 127 against Combined Services
Combined Services cricket team
The Combined Services cricket team represents the British armed forces. The team played at first-class level in England for more than forty years in the mid-twentieth century. Their first first-class match was against Gentlemen of England at Lord's in 1920, while their last was against Oxford...
for three centuries in consecutive innings. And only 10 days later, he hit 161 against Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
, again bettering his personal best.
This form propelled Parkhouse into the England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
team for the second Test in the 1950 series against the West Indies
West Indian cricket team in England in 1950
The West Indies cricket team toured England in the 1950 season to play a four-match Test series against England.West Indies won the series 3-1 with no matches drawn.-Test series summary:* at Old Trafford – England won by 202 runs...
, played at Lord's. It was a somewhat makeshift side hit by injury to Denis Compton
Denis Compton
Denis Charles Scott Compton CBE was an English cricketer who played in 78 Test matches, and a footballer...
and late withdrawals by Reg Simpson
Reg Simpson
Reginald Thomas Simpson is an English former cricketer, who played in twentry seven Tests from 1948 to 1955.-Life and career:...
and Trevor Bailey
Trevor Bailey
Trevor Edward Bailey CBE was an England Test cricketer, cricket writer and broadcaster.An all-rounder, Bailey was known for his skilful but unspectacular batting...
. Parkhouse batted at No 5 and faced 30 balls without scoring in the first innings against the spin of Sonny Ramadhin
Sonny Ramadhin
Sonny Ramadhin was a West Indian cricketer, and a dominant bowler of the 1950s. He was the first West Indian cricketers of Indian origin, and was one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1951.- Biography and career :...
and Alf Valentine
Alf Valentine
Alfred Louis Valentine, April 28, 1930–11 May 2004 , was a West Indian cricketer in the 1950s and 1960s. He is most famous for his performance in the West Indies' 1950 tour of England, which was immortalised in the Victory Calypso.-The 1950 tour:...
before Valentine bowled him. The second innings was better: he made 48 out of a partnership of 78 for the fourth wicket with Cyril Washbrook
Cyril Washbrook
Cyril Washbrook was an English cricketer, who played for Lancashire and England. He had a long career, split by World War II, and ending when he was aged 44. Washbrook, who is most famous for opening the batting for England with Len Hutton, which he did fifty one times, played a total of 592...
, and was second highest scorer behind Washbrook. The innings won praise from Wisden: "Parkhouse... signalised his first Test with a very good innings, in which he showed encouraging confidence and a variety of strokes until he hit a full toss
Full toss
A full toss is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. It describes any delivery that reaches the batsman without bouncing on the pitch first....
straight to silly mid off in the last over
Over (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, an over is a set of six consecutive balls bowled in succession. An over is normally bowled by a single bowler. However, in the event of injury preventing a bowler from completing an over, it is completed by a teammate....
of the fourth day when wanting only two runs for 50. This mistake came at a time when thoughts were raised that Washbrook might be capable of saving the match if someone could stay with him." The victory was West Indies' first over England in England.
Returning to Glamorgan, Parkhouse equalled his best score with a second innings of 161 within a month, this time against Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Gloucestershire. Its limited overs team is called the Gloucestershire Gladiators....
at Stradey Park
Stradey Park
Stradey Park was a rugby union stadium located near the centre of the town of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It was the home of the Scarlets region and Llanelli RFC rugby teams. The stadium was a combination of seating and standing with a total capacity of 10,800...
, Llanelli
Llanelli
Llanelli , the largest town in both the county of Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed , Wales, sits on the Loughor estuary on the West Wales coast, approximately west-north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. The town is famous for its proud rugby...
. And in the very next game, he went one better, scoring 162 against 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...
at Kidderminster
Kidderminster
Kidderminster is a town, in the Wyre Forest district of Worcestershire, England. It is located approximately seventeen miles south-west of Birmingham city centre and approximately fifteen miles north of Worcester city centre. The 2001 census recorded a population of 55,182 in the town...
in a match ruined by rain.
The third Test, at Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge is a Test, One-day international and County cricket ground located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England and is also the headquarters of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. As well as International cricket and Nottinghamshire's home games, the ground has hosted the Finals Day of...
, followed the pattern of Parkhouse's previous match, with a disappointing first innings followed by a better second. Batting at No 3, he made 13 in a first-innings collapse that saw England at 25 for four before recovering to 223 all out. After West Indies had replied with 558, Simpson and Washbrook opened England's second innings with a stand of 212, before both were out within a quarter of an hour. "Even then," Wisden reported, "England were far from finished, for (John) Dewes
John Dewes
John Dewes is a former English cricketer, who played for Cambridge University and Middlesex, and was chosen for five Tests between 1948 and 1950.-Life and career:...
and Parkhouse, without looking as safe as the first pair, batted well, and at one period the score stood 326 for two with England only nine runs behind." But then Parkhouse was out for 69, two other batsmen followed quickly and the match was lost by 10 wickets.
Ten of the 11 England team reconvened at Lord's the next day for the annual Gentlemen v Players
Gentlemen v Players
The Gentlemen v Players game was a first-class cricket match that was generally played on an annual basis between one team consisting of amateurs and one of professionals . The first two games took place in 1806 but the fixture was not revived until 1819. It was more or less annual thereafter...
match, often an indication of who was in the running for the Test team, and Parkhouse's 81 in the second innings almost won the match for the Players. But when the team for the fourth Test at The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
was announced, eight of the 11, including Parkhouse, had gone, though in his case, Wisden reported, it was because he had "a bad cold". He missed 10 days of county cricket. In all cricket in the 1950 season, he made 1997 runs at an average of 45.38.
Parkhouse was then chosen for the 1950-51 Ashes series in Australia (and tour of New Zealand) under the captaincy of Freddie Brown. He was not a success. Wisden reported: "For all the polish of some of his off-side play, Parkhouse did not impress against fast bowlers and he was susceptible to the short bouncer. He shared an all-too-common fault of not putting his body right behind the ball when facing a pace attack. In his defence it must be said that illness and injuries kept him out of several key games and restricted the so valuable match practice."
Parkhouse played in only one of the first-class matches before the first Test match, and was not selected for that. He then made 58 and an unbeaten 46 in a four-day match against what was termed "An Australian XI", consisting of Arthur Morris
Arthur Morris
Arthur Robert Morris MBE is a former Australian cricketer who played 46 Test matches between 1946 and 1955. An opener, Morris is regarded as one of Australia's greatest left-handed batsmen. He is best known for his key role in Don Bradman's Invincibles side, which made an undefeated tour of...
, Keith Miller
Keith Miller
Keith Ross Miller MBE was an Australian Test cricketer and a Royal Australian Air Force pilot during World War II. Miller is widely regarded as Australia's greatest ever all-rounder. Because of his ability, irreverent manner and good looks he was a crowd favourite...
and Neil Harvey
Neil Harvey
Robert Neil Harvey MBE is a former Australian cricketer who represented the Australian cricket team between 1948 and 1963, playing in 79 Test matches. He was the vice-captain of the team from 1957 until his retirement...
with younger players, most of whom later played Test cricket: Wisden said that Parkhouse despite "useful scores... was not at his best". The two innings got him into the Test team for the second match, played at Melbourne
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
. In the first innings of a low-scoring match, he scored nine in a general collapse of England's upper batting order. In the second innings, batting at No 6, he made 28 as England failed by 29 runs to make a target of just 179. A score of 92, his highest of the tour, in the next match against New South Wales cemented his place in the Test side for the third match, at Sydney
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
. But in yet another defeat for the England team, he made 25 and 15.
With the series already lost, England brought David Sheppard
David Sheppard
David Stuart Sheppard, Baron Sheppard of Liverpool was the high-profile Bishop of Liverpool in the Church of England who played cricket for Sussex and England in his youth...
in to replace Parkhouse for the fourth Test, and a combination of limited opportunity and unimpressive scores meant that he did not reclaim a Test place until, on the New Zealand leg of the tour, an injury crisis brought him back to the side for the second of the two-match series. In a low-scoring match, he made 2 and 20.
County stalwart
Parkhouse returned to county cricket with Glamorgan in 1951 and, with the return of Clift as opening batsman, he resumed the No 3 batting position he had held before. By his 1950 standards, he had a modest season, scoring 1282 runs at an average of 27.86 with just two centuries. Wisden noted that he "disappointed" and added: "Lack of confidence against spin bowlers retarded the progress of this young batsman, and the fact that he was no longer opening partner for Emrys Davies may have been another disturbing factor."In fact, the 1951 season set the pattern for the next eight seasons of Parkhouse's career. In each season from 1951 to 1958, he made his 1000 runs for the year, but he never made more than two centuries in a season, and in 1952 and 1958 he made none at all. His batting average in most of these seasons was around 30, with 1642 runs at 35.69 in 1957 the best year, and 1126 at 24.47 in 1958 the worst. From 1953 he went back to opening the innings, initially, with Emrys Davies, then with Clift or captain Wilf Wooller, finally forming a regular partnership with Bernard Hedges
Bernard Hedges
Bernard Hedges is a former Welsh cricketer who played for Glamorgan.Hedges was the first player to score a List A century for Glamorgan, doing so in 1963 with an innings of 103 against Somerset. He played most of his cricket as an opening batsman despite starting his career in the middle...
. In 1954, he raised his own highest score with an innings of 182 against Middlesex
Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex 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 Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...
at Lord's. And two years later, in 1956, he raised it again, to 201, in the match 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...
at Swansea.
Indian summer
The 1959 season saw a significant return to form for Parkhouse, and the style of his batting and the quick runs that he and Hedges made as the county's opening partnership were factors, in Wisden's view, in Glamorgan's rise from the depths of the County Championship in 1958 to challenge for the title. By mid-season, Parkhouse had already made four centuries and, in a season of Test experimentation against a modest Indian sideIndian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
following a disastrous Ashes tour of Australia the previous winter, the England selectors picked him, alongside the young left-handed 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...
batsman Geoff Pullar
Geoff Pullar
Geoffrey Pullar was an English cricketer, who played for Lancashire, Gloucestershire and in twenty eight Tests for England....
, as a new opening partnership for the third Test at Leeds
Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....
. Wisden reported that the new partnership "proved highly satisfactory". The 146 the pair put on in their first innings together "was England's best start in 26 Tests and the highest for the first wicket against India". Parkhouse made 78 and Pullar 75, and England won by an innings.
Parkhouse and Pullar were retained for the fourth Test, at Old Trafford, and Pullar took advantage to score 131, the first century by a Lancastrian for England on his home ground. Parkhouse mistimed a hook in the first innings and was out for 17. In the second innings after England had not enforced the follow-on, India bowled defensively and the cricket was dull: "Parkhouse and Pullar, both anxious to gain places in the M.C.C. team to tour West Indies [in 1959-60], declined to take risks and the purposeless cricket was derided by the majority of the crowd of 13,000," Wisden reported. Parkhouse made 49, which was the highest score of the innings. But it was his last innings as a Test player: he was replaced for the fifth Test by Raman Subba Row
Raman Subba Row
Raman Subba Row is an English former cricketer who played for England, Cambridge University, Surrey and Northamptonshire.-Life and career:...
, and was not picked for the winter tour.
Despite this, the 1959 was Parkhouse's best in first-class cricket, surpassing even his 1950 season. He made in all 2243 runs, the only time he passed 2000 runs in a season and his average of 48.76 runs per innings put him ninth on the first-class list for the season among county players.
Final first-class seasons
Normal service resumed for Parkhouse over the next three seasons as he reverted to the 1950s pattern of scoring his 1000 runs for the season, making two centuries (or fewer), and averaging around 30 runs per innings. His 121 against LeicestershireLeicestershire County Cricket Club
Leicestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Leicestershire. It has also been representative of the county of Rutland....
in May 1960 meant that he had scored a century against each of the other 16 first-class counties.
In 1962, his 124 against Cambridge University
Cambridge University Cricket Club
Cambridge University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team. It now plays all but one of its first-class cricket matches as part of the Cambridge University Centre of Cricketing Excellence , which includes Anglia Ruskin University...
was his 32nd century for Glamorgan, beating Emrys Davies' county record of 31. But later that season he was dropped for 12 county matches, the first time he had not been selected for Glamorgan when available since his debut in 1948. In 1963, he made only 11 appearances and after half a dozen matches in 1964, he retired from first-class cricket.
After retirement, there was a brief spell as a coach 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...
and then he moved to Edinburgh, where he coached both cricket and rugby at Stewart's Melville College
Stewart's Melville College
Stewart's Melville College is an all boys boarding and day private school situated in the heart of Edinburgh, Scotland...
until retirement back to Wales in 1987.