Reg Perks
Encyclopedia
Reginald Thomas David "Reg" Perks (4 October 1911, Hereford
– 22 November 1977, Worcester
) was an English
cricket
er who played in 2 Tests
in 1939, and was the mainstay of Worcestershire's
bowling for a long period from the middle 1930s until the middle 1950s. He was also an aggressive left-handed tail-end slogger, who frequently hit up thirty runs in twenty or so minutes, and on three occasions hit three sixes off consecutive balls. His highest first-class
score of 75 against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge
in 1938 took just thirty minutes. He does, however, hold the world record for the most ducks
in a first-class career, with 156.
Perks was first involved with Worcestershire as early as 1928, when he joined their ground staff. He showed considerable promise in his first season with the first team in 1930, with 59 wickets for 23 each, with 7 for 20 against Leicestershire on a rain-affected wicket his outstanding performance. It was several years before he improved upon this, but by 1935 he was clearly one of the hardest-working of several emerging pace bowlers with 119 wickets for less than 22 each and an annual output of around a thousand overs per season. The following three years saw Perks maintain his form. he took fifteen for 106 against Essex at Worcester in 1937, the best match figures of his career.
Perks was chosen for the tour of South Africa in 1938-1939. He played in only the last match, the famous 'Timeless test' taking 5 for 100 on the most docile of wickets in the first innings. Perks went on to have his best season ever in 1939, with 159 wickets for less than 20 runs each, including thirteen hauls of five or more wickets in an innings in the County Championship
. He again played in one Test against the West Indies but further progress was thwarted by the war.
Perks was 34 when cricket resumed in 1946 and though he never came back into representative calculations, he maintained a surprising consistency for the rest of his career: his first-class averages between 1946 and 1955 were all within the very narrow range from 23.28 in 1946 to 26.16 in 1951. Perks' tireless fast-medium bowling was considered an important part of Worcestershire's rise to third in the County Championship in 1949 and fourth in 1951.
In his last season, 1955, Perks became the first professional captain of Worcestershire, taking five wickets for 79 runs against Hampshire in his last match, in so doing raising his aggregate to 100 wickets for the sixteenth consecutive season. This feat is bettered only by Derek Shackleton
and Tich Freeman
.
Perks played more than 500 matches for Worcestershire. He was the only man to take two thousand wickets for the county: his final total of 2,143 Worcestershire wickets (out of 2,233 in all) easily a county record, being more than 500 victims clear of second-placed Norman Gifford
.
His father Thomas Perks
had one first-class game for MCC
in 1902.
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
– 22 November 1977, Worcester
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
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 2 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...
in 1939, and was the mainstay of Worcestershire's
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...
bowling for a long period from the middle 1930s until the middle 1950s. He was also an aggressive left-handed tail-end slogger, who frequently hit up thirty runs in twenty or so minutes, and on three occasions hit three sixes off consecutive balls. His highest 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...
score of 75 against Nottinghamshire 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...
in 1938 took just thirty minutes. He does, however, hold the world record for the most ducks
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...
in a first-class career, with 156.
Perks was first involved with Worcestershire as early as 1928, when he joined their ground staff. He showed considerable promise in his first season with the first team in 1930, with 59 wickets for 23 each, with 7 for 20 against Leicestershire on a rain-affected wicket his outstanding performance. It was several years before he improved upon this, but by 1935 he was clearly one of the hardest-working of several emerging pace bowlers with 119 wickets for less than 22 each and an annual output of around a thousand overs per season. The following three years saw Perks maintain his form. he took fifteen for 106 against Essex at Worcester in 1937, the best match figures of his career.
Perks was chosen for the tour of South Africa in 1938-1939. He played in only the last match, the famous 'Timeless test' taking 5 for 100 on the most docile of wickets in the first innings. Perks went on to have his best season ever in 1939, with 159 wickets for less than 20 runs each, including thirteen hauls of five or more wickets in an innings in the County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
. He again played in one Test against the West Indies but further progress was thwarted by the war.
Perks was 34 when cricket resumed in 1946 and though he never came back into representative calculations, he maintained a surprising consistency for the rest of his career: his first-class averages between 1946 and 1955 were all within the very narrow range from 23.28 in 1946 to 26.16 in 1951. Perks' tireless fast-medium bowling was considered an important part of Worcestershire's rise to third in the County Championship in 1949 and fourth in 1951.
In his last season, 1955, Perks became the first professional captain of Worcestershire, taking five wickets for 79 runs against Hampshire in his last match, in so doing raising his aggregate to 100 wickets for the sixteenth consecutive season. This feat is bettered only by Derek Shackleton
Derek Shackleton
Derek Shackleton was a Hampshire and England bowler. He took over 100 wickets in 20 consecutive seasons of first-class cricket, but only played in seven Tests for England. As of 2007, he has the seventh-highest tally of first-class wickets, and the most first-class wickets of any player who...
and Tich Freeman
Tich Freeman
Alfred Percy "Tich" Freeman was an English cricketer. A leg spin bowler for Kent and England, he is the only man to take 300 wickets in an English season, and is the second most prolific wicket taker in first class cricket history.-Career:Freeman's common name comes from his extremely short...
.
Perks played more than 500 matches for Worcestershire. He was the only man to take two thousand wickets for the county: his final total of 2,143 Worcestershire wickets (out of 2,233 in all) easily a county record, being more than 500 victims clear of second-placed Norman Gifford
Norman Gifford
Norman Gifford was an English cricketer, who played primarily as a left-arm spinner...
.
His father Thomas Perks
Thomas Perks
Thomas Perks was an English cricketer who played one first-class match, for MCC against London County at Crystal Palace Park in August 1902...
had one 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...
in 1902.