David Gibson (cricketer)
Encyclopedia
David Gibson is an English
former cricket
er who played for Surrey
from 1957 to 1969. He was a fast-medium bowler who captured over 500 wickets in his career, and also a useful enough batsman almost to rank as an all-rounder
. He was also a fine rugby
player, appearing at county level and in schoolboy internationals.
His cricket career, though reasonably successful, could be considered an unlucky one. He never took 100 wickets in a season, but came close on several occasions. His best season with the bat saw him fall just four runs short of 1,000 runs. He never made a century, but had scores of 98 and 95 not out. Worst of all, he was struck down by an injury that all but finished his career just as he had appeared to have reached his peak.
in 1957, taking ten wickets in the match against Gloucestershire
, in only his second appearance for the first team and on his debut in the County Championship
. Taking ten wickets in a match was a feat that he would never repeat. In spite of this early success, with Alec Bedser
and Peter Loader
almost ever present as the opening bowlers, he made only one further appearance that season. However he could reflect that he had been a part, if a minor one, of the Surrey side that had won the Championship for an unprecedented sixth season in succession. In his three matches he had taken 17 wickets at an average of 15.58.
In 1958, Surrey won the Championship yet again, the last time that they would do so during Gibson's career. With Alec Bedser having to miss the first half of the season through pneumonia
, Gibson had more opportunities. In 14 matches he took 37 wickets at 19.75. He also made his first fifty with the bat.
In 1959 he played in 22 matches, and captured 56 wickets. His average, however, was a disappointing 29.37. This may be at least partly explained by the fact that 1959 was the driest and sunniest summer for some years, so that conditions were more in favour of the batsmen. He himself managed 405 runs at 16.20, and improved his highest score to 80.
would remain his career best. With the bat he had 399 runs at 15.96, with a highest score of 95*.
He played in 24 games in 1961. Though his average declined to 22.30, he took 95 wickets, the closest he would ever get to reaching 100.
In 1962 he was only able to play in 7 matches, taking 19 wickets at 29.88. The next year, he played in 26 fixtures, and captured 77 wickets at 23.32. 1964 saw him appearing in 17 matches and taking 50 wickets at 23.86.
In recent years his batting had seemed to be in decline, and he had not made a fifty since 1961. But in 1965, in his 32 games he came within four runs of reaching his thousand for the season. His average was more than twice that in any previous season, and he made five fifties, one of them the highest score of his career of 98. His final tally was 996 runs at 34.34. He also had a fine season with the ball, with 86 wickets at 20.47, on nine occasions taking five or more wickets in an innings, with best figures of 6/11.
Seeming to be at the peak of his career, he had cartilage trouble at the start of the 1966 season. He was only able to play in a handful of matches thereafter - just one that season, eight in 1967, none in 1968 and four in 1969 - before being forced to retire. He did enough in his eight matches in 1967 to show what Surrey had been missing, with 300 runs at 37.50 and 18 wickets at 24.55.
He played in the Gillette Cup, a List A competition, from its inception in 1963 until he retired in 1969. However he had no outstanding performances. When Surrey reached the Final against Yorkshire
in 1965 and were heavily defeated, he took 1/66 in the 13 overs that bowlers were then permitted, and scored a duck
.
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...
former 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 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...
from 1957 to 1969. He was a fast-medium bowler who captured over 500 wickets in his career, and also a useful enough batsman almost to rank as an all-rounder
All-rounder
An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a few batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are considered specialists...
. He was also a fine rugby
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...
player, appearing at county level and in schoolboy internationals.
His cricket career, though reasonably successful, could be considered an unlucky one. He never took 100 wickets in a season, but came close on several occasions. His best season with the bat saw him fall just four runs short of 1,000 runs. He never made a century, but had scores of 98 and 95 not out. Worst of all, he was struck down by an injury that all but finished his career just as he had appeared to have reached his peak.
Early career
Gibson made a promising beginning in first-class cricketFirst-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...
in 1957, taking ten wickets in the match 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....
, in only his second appearance for the first team and on his debut in the County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
. Taking ten wickets in a match was a feat that he would never repeat. In spite of this early success, with Alec Bedser
Alec Bedser
Sir Alec Victor Bedser, CBE was a professional English cricketer. He was the chairman of selectors for the English national cricket team, and the president of Surrey County Cricket Club...
and Peter Loader
Peter Loader
Peter James Loader was an English cricketer and umpire, who played thirteen Test matches for England. He played for Surrey and Beddington Cricket Club. A whippet-thin fast bowler with a wide range of pace and a nasty bouncer, he took the first post-war Test hat-trick as part of his 6 for 36...
almost ever present as the opening bowlers, he made only one further appearance that season. However he could reflect that he had been a part, if a minor one, of the Surrey side that had won the Championship for an unprecedented sixth season in succession. In his three matches he had taken 17 wickets at an average of 15.58.
In 1958, Surrey won the Championship yet again, the last time that they would do so during Gibson's career. With Alec Bedser having to miss the first half of the season through pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
, Gibson had more opportunities. In 14 matches he took 37 wickets at 19.75. He also made his first fifty with the bat.
In 1959 he played in 22 matches, and captured 56 wickets. His average, however, was a disappointing 29.37. This may be at least partly explained by the fact that 1959 was the driest and sunniest summer for some years, so that conditions were more in favour of the batsmen. He himself managed 405 runs at 16.20, and improved his highest score to 80.
Later career
In 1960, he had perhaps the best season of his career with the ball. In 27 matches he had 90 victime at 17.60. His innings figures of 7-26 against DerbyshireDerbyshire 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...
would remain his career best. With the bat he had 399 runs at 15.96, with a highest score of 95*.
He played in 24 games in 1961. Though his average declined to 22.30, he took 95 wickets, the closest he would ever get to reaching 100.
In 1962 he was only able to play in 7 matches, taking 19 wickets at 29.88. The next year, he played in 26 fixtures, and captured 77 wickets at 23.32. 1964 saw him appearing in 17 matches and taking 50 wickets at 23.86.
In recent years his batting had seemed to be in decline, and he had not made a fifty since 1961. But in 1965, in his 32 games he came within four runs of reaching his thousand for the season. His average was more than twice that in any previous season, and he made five fifties, one of them the highest score of his career of 98. His final tally was 996 runs at 34.34. He also had a fine season with the ball, with 86 wickets at 20.47, on nine occasions taking five or more wickets in an innings, with best figures of 6/11.
Seeming to be at the peak of his career, he had cartilage trouble at the start of the 1966 season. He was only able to play in a handful of matches thereafter - just one that season, eight in 1967, none in 1968 and four in 1969 - before being forced to retire. He did enough in his eight matches in 1967 to show what Surrey had been missing, with 300 runs at 37.50 and 18 wickets at 24.55.
He played in the Gillette Cup, a List A competition, from its inception in 1963 until he retired in 1969. However he had no outstanding performances. When Surrey reached the Final 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....
in 1965 and were heavily defeated, he took 1/66 in the 13 overs that bowlers were then permitted, and scored a 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...
.