Percy Perrin
Encyclopedia
Percival Albert Perrin (26 May 1876, Stoke Newington
– 20 November 1945 at his country house overlooking Hickling Broad
, Norfolk
), known as either "Percy" or "Peter", was an English
cricket
er, who played for Essex
as a right-handed, middle-order batsman for more than thirty years from 1896.
Perrin was a Tottenham
publican and a property developer who organised his considerable business activities around his cricket, turning out for Essex regularly from 1896 to 1926, and not retiring until 1928. His total of 496 County Championship
matches for Essex is a record for an amateur player
in English cricket.
A tall batsman who initially relied on driving for most of his runs, Perrin developed into a reliable player with virtually all the strokes. He and Charles McGahey, a similarly tall amateur, played together for Essex for many seasons and were known as the "Essex Twins". Perrin was the better batsman: he scored 1,000 in 18 seasons and in his long career made 29,709 runs at an average just short of 36 runs per innings. He scored 66 centuries, the third highest number – after John Langridge
and Ken McEwan
– of any player who never played Test cricket
.
Perrin's biggest innings was a huge unbeaten 343, made out of an Essex total of 597 against Derbyshire
at Chesterfield
in 1904, which is the highest innings ever played by a batsman in a losing team.
Another record statistic from that innings, the 68 fours hit, gives a clue why Perrin was never selected for Test cricket, or even for one of the representative matches such as Gentlemen v Players
: he was slow in the field and not a good runner. On the strength of that innings, though, he was picked as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in the almanack
for 1905.
Apparently a shy man, Perrin captained Essex only occasionally, serving happily under his friends McGahey and Johnny Douglas
and deputising for them when needed. But in retirement, Perrin's knowledge and his availability led him to become an England
selector in 1926 and later from 1930 to 1939, chairing the committee in the last year.
When E.W. Swanton asked Douglas Jardine
about how he regarded the selectors, Jardine replied "We used to let Percy Perrin in the dressing-room, but he used to sit at the end of the balcony and keep quiet; but we wouldn't let any of the others in."
Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...
– 20 November 1945 at his country house overlooking Hickling Broad
Hickling Broad
Hickling Broad lies within The Broads National Park in Norfolk, England,. 4 km south-east of Stalham.It is a National Nature Reserve established by English Nature and in the care of the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, who run boat trips around the reserve for visitors. It is also part of the Upper...
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
), known as either "Percy" or "Peter", was an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
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 for 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...
as a right-handed, middle-order batsman for more than thirty years from 1896.
Perrin was a Tottenham
Tottenham
Tottenham is an area of the London Borough of Haringey, England, situated north north east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:Tottenham is believed to have been named after Tota, a farmer, whose hamlet was mentioned in the Domesday Book; hence Tota's hamlet became Tottenham...
publican and a property developer who organised his considerable business activities around his cricket, turning out for Essex regularly from 1896 to 1926, and not retiring until 1928. His total of 496 County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
matches for Essex is a record for an amateur player
Amateur status in first-class cricket
Amateur status in first-class cricket had a special meaning, especially in England, in that the amateur in this context was not merely someone who played cricket in his spare time but a particular type of first-class cricketer who existed officially until 1962, when the distinction between amateurs...
in English cricket.
A tall batsman who initially relied on driving for most of his runs, Perrin developed into a reliable player with virtually all the strokes. He and Charles McGahey, a similarly tall amateur, played together for Essex for many seasons and were known as the "Essex Twins". Perrin was the better batsman: he scored 1,000 in 18 seasons and in his long career made 29,709 runs at an average just short of 36 runs per innings. He scored 66 centuries, the third highest number – after John Langridge
John Langridge
John George Langridge was a cricketer who played for Sussex. His obituary in Wisden called him "one of the best English cricketers of the 20th century never to play a Test match"....
and Ken McEwan
Ken McEwan
Kenneth Scott McEwan, born at Bedford, South Africa on 16 July 1952, was a cricketer who played principally for Eastern Province and Essex.A right-handed middle-order batsman, McEwan's cricket career coincided almost exactly with the period in which South Africa was banished from international...
– of any player who never played Test cricket
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...
.
Perrin's biggest innings was a huge unbeaten 343, made out of an Essex total of 597 against Derbyshire
Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Derbyshire...
at Chesterfield
Queen's Park, Chesterfield
Queen's Park is a county cricket ground located in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England and lies within a park in the centre of the town established for Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee in 1897...
in 1904, which is the highest innings ever played by a batsman in a losing team.
Another record statistic from that innings, the 68 fours hit, gives a clue why Perrin was never selected for Test cricket, or even for one of the representative matches such as 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...
: he was slow in the field and not a good runner. On the strength of that innings, though, he was picked as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in the almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
for 1905.
Apparently a shy man, Perrin captained Essex only occasionally, serving happily under his friends McGahey and Johnny Douglas
Johnny Douglas
John "Johnny" William Henry Tyler Douglas was a cricketer who was captain of the England team and an Olympic boxer.-Early life:...
and deputising for them when needed. But in retirement, Perrin's knowledge and his availability led him to become an 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...
selector in 1926 and later from 1930 to 1939, chairing the committee in the last year.
When E.W. Swanton asked Douglas Jardine
Douglas Jardine
Douglas Robert Jardine was an English cricketer and captain of the England cricket team from 1931 to 1933–34.When describing cricket seasons, the convention used is that a single year represents an English cricket season, while two years represent a southern hemisphere cricket season because it...
about how he regarded the selectors, Jardine replied "We used to let Percy Perrin in the dressing-room, but he used to sit at the end of the balcony and keep quiet; but we wouldn't let any of the others in."