Grahame Clinton
Encyclopedia
Grahame Selvey Clinton is a former English
cricket
er. He was an opening batsman who played for Kent
from 1974 to 1978 and for Surrey
from 1979 to 1990.
After his first-class
debut for Kent, against the touring Pakistanis in July 1974, it was 1976 before he played for the first team again. With the exception of 1977, his opportunities for Kent remained limited and his performances for them were mediocre, and he joined Surrey prior to the 1979 season.
At Surrey, he immediately formed with Alan Butcher
a successful opening partnership that lasted until the 1986 season, when Butcher suffered a loss of form and was dropped down the order and then omitted from the side (he was released by Surrey at the end of the season). Their first wicket stands included 277 against Yorkshire in 1984, when Clinton made his highest score of 192, and 266 against Cambridge University
in 1980. Their respective sons, Richard Clinton
and Mark Butcher
, have sometimes appeared in the same Surrey side in recent seasons.
Butcher and Clinton shared 19 century opening partnerships for Surrey. With all partners, Clinton took part in 31 such partnerships, and 73 century stands when all wickets are considered.
He scored over a thousand runs in his first season with Surrey, a feat he achieved on six other occasions: 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1988 and 1990. His best seasons, when he averaged in the forties, were 1984, 1985, 1988 and 1990, suggesting that he improved as a batsman towards the end of his career, However he had poor seasons in 1983 and 1989, when his average fell below 25.
He was still scoring as heavily as ever during his final season, with 1292 runs at 46.14. He and Darren Bicknell
added 321 for the first wicket against Northamptonshire. Appropriately, his final first-class match was against his old county of Kent. He scored 57 in his only innings of a very high-scoring match.
He was by nature a defensive batsman. The Surrey coach Micky Stewart
said that he "formed the backbone of the innings, the platform from which our strokemakers can play." In spite of this, he eventually made himself a valuable member of Surrey's side in List A matches, as his statistics show.
He was famously injury-prone, being taken to hospital in fifteen of the then seventeen first-class counties.
He played 4 matches for Zimbabwe-Rhodesia in 1979-80.
He now teaches cricket at Colfe's School
in London
.
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. He was an opening batsman who played for 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...
from 1974 to 1978 and 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 1979 to 1990.
After 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 for Kent, against the touring Pakistanis in July 1974, it was 1976 before he played for the first team again. With the exception of 1977, his opportunities for Kent remained limited and his performances for them were mediocre, and he joined Surrey prior to the 1979 season.
At Surrey, he immediately formed with Alan Butcher
Alan Butcher
Alan Raymond Butcher is a former English cricketer who is part of a family known for its strong cricketing connections. Although only selected to play for England on one occasion, he was lauded for his skills in first-class cricket and was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1991...
a successful opening partnership that lasted until the 1986 season, when Butcher suffered a loss of form and was dropped down the order and then omitted from the side (he was released by Surrey at the end of the season). Their first wicket stands included 277 against Yorkshire in 1984, when Clinton made his highest score of 192, and 266 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...
in 1980. Their respective sons, Richard Clinton
Richard Clinton
Richard Selvey Clinton is an English cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and occasional right-arm medium-pace bowler....
and Mark Butcher
Mark Butcher
Mark Alan Butcher is a former English Test cricketer, who played county cricket for Surrey from 1992 until his retirement from the sport in 2009. He was a left-handed batsman, and occasional right-arm medium-pace bowler....
, have sometimes appeared in the same Surrey side in recent seasons.
Butcher and Clinton shared 19 century opening partnerships for Surrey. With all partners, Clinton took part in 31 such partnerships, and 73 century stands when all wickets are considered.
He scored over a thousand runs in his first season with Surrey, a feat he achieved on six other occasions: 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1988 and 1990. His best seasons, when he averaged in the forties, were 1984, 1985, 1988 and 1990, suggesting that he improved as a batsman towards the end of his career, However he had poor seasons in 1983 and 1989, when his average fell below 25.
He was still scoring as heavily as ever during his final season, with 1292 runs at 46.14. He and Darren Bicknell
Darren Bicknell
Darren John Bicknell is an English former cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and a slow left-arm bowler.Born in Guildford, Darren is the brother of former England seam bowler Martin Bicknell. However, he struggled to have similar international impact in the 1990s, the selectors instead...
added 321 for the first wicket against Northamptonshire. Appropriately, his final first-class match was against his old county of Kent. He scored 57 in his only innings of a very high-scoring match.
He was by nature a defensive batsman. The Surrey coach Micky Stewart
Micky Stewart
Michael James Stewart OBE is an English former cricketer, coach and administrator. He was awarded the OBE in 1998 for services to cricket....
said that he "formed the backbone of the innings, the platform from which our strokemakers can play." In spite of this, he eventually made himself a valuable member of Surrey's side in List A matches, as his statistics show.
He was famously injury-prone, being taken to hospital in fifteen of the then seventeen first-class counties.
He played 4 matches for Zimbabwe-Rhodesia in 1979-80.
He now teaches cricket at Colfe's School
Colfe's School
Colfe's is a co-educational independent day school in Horn Park in the London Borough of Greenwich. The school is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The official Visitor to the school is HRH Prince Michael of Kent.-History:...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.