Charles Palmer (cricketer)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 England (Eng) |
||
 |
||
| Batting style | Right-hand bat (RHB) | |
| Bowling type | Right-arm medium/offbreak | |
| Tests | First-class | |
| Matches | 1 | 336 |
| Runs scored | 22 | 17,458 |
| Batting average | 11.00 | 31.74 |
| 100s/50s | 0/0 | 33/98 |
| Top score | 22 | 201 |
| Balls bowled | 30 | 26,621 |
| Wickets | 0 | 365 |
| Bowling average | n/a | 25.15 |
| 5 wickets in innings | 0 | 5 |
| 10 wickets in match | 0 | 0 |
| Best bowling | n/a | 8/7 |
| Catches/stumpings | 0/0 | 147/0 |
|
Test debut: 6 February 1954 |
||
Charles Henry Palmer (born 15 May 1919 at Old Hill, Staffordshire, England; died 31 March 2005 in England) was a cricketer who played for Leicestershire and Worcestershire from 1938 to 1959. Palmer also played one Test match for England. He later went on to become a cricket administrator.
Palmer was a small man with poor eyesight and played wearing glasses. This did not stop him becoming a fine batsman and bowler. Palmer first played cricket for Worcestershire in 1938, before the Second World War and a teaching career intervened, although he still played a few games for the Bombay Europeans in Indian domestic cricket in 1946 and some games for Worcestershire. However, he joined Leicestershire as captain and secretary in 1950 and passed 1,000 runs in each of the eight full seasons he played for them. In 1953, Leicestershire finished third in the County Championship, the highest they had achieved at that stage since entering the competition in 1895, and Wisden praised Palmer's "inspiring captaincy".
On the back of this he was appointed player-manager of the England tour side to the West Indies in 1953-54, which was captained by Len Hutton, and it was here that he won his only Test cap, making 22 and 0 and taking no wickets in the 5 overs he bowled. The series was played in bad temper, and Palmer's good-natured style did not help things.
In 1955 Palmer was responsible for one of the most remarkable spells of bowling in cricketing history. Putting himself on to bowl against Surrey to allow his main two bowlers to change ends, he took 8 wickets for 7 runs, with his figures at one stage being 12-12-0-8. Another catch was dropped off his bowling too. However, Surrey still went on to win by 7 wickets.
After retiring as a cricketer, Palmer was appointed chairman of Leicestershire, he became a member of the Marylebone Cricket Club committee, was President of the MCC in 1978/9 and chairman of the Test and County Cricket Board between 1983 and 1985.
