Ossie Wheatley
Encyclopedia
Oswald Stephen "Ossie" Wheatley, born at Low Fell
, Gateshead
, County Durham
on 28 May 1935, was a cricketer
who played for Cambridge University
, Warwickshire
and Glamorgan
. He was educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham
.
A tall, fair-haired right-arm fast-medium bowler, Wheatley came to prominence for Cambridge University in 1958 when he set the record for the most wickets in the university's abbreviated season with 80 first-class wickets for under 18 each. He played in the university holidays for Warwickshire with very limited success but in 1959 joined that county full-time, taking 100 wickets in the season though at a rather high cost. He repeated the feat in 1960, but at the end of the season was allowed to leave for Glamorgan, where he was appointed captain in place of Wilf Wooller, who had led the county since 1947.
Wheatley formed a hostile new ball partnership with the Test
bowler Jeff Jones
for a few seasons and in six years as captain took more than 600 wickets at an average of less than 20 runs per wicket. He retired from the captaincy at the end of the 1966 season, and played only a few matches in 1967. But in 1968 an early season injury to Jones meant that Wheatley returned to play in 16 County Championship
matches, bowling with such success that he took 82 wickets at a cost of under 13 runs each and topped the national averages for the season. He was named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in the 1969 edition of the almanack
.
Wheatley played only a few games in Glamorgan's Championship-winning season of 1969 and retired after one match on the celebratory tour of the West Indies the following winter. In all matches, he took 1,099 wickets at an average of under 21 runs per wicket. He was never allowed higher up the batting order than number ten (alternating in the last two places with Jones), and his career runs only just exceeded his wickets. His highest score in purely county cricket was only 21, though in a festival match in 1961 for the Gentlemen he hit 34 not out and put on 55 for the tenth wicket with Trevor Bailey
.
In retirement, Wheatley was prominent in cricket administration both at county and national level. He acted as a Test selector for England
and chaired Test and County Cricket Board committees, as well as being president of Glamorgan.
Low Fell
Low Fell is a fell in the English Lake District. It overlooks the lake of Loweswater to the south and to the north is bordered by its neighbour Fellbarrow. It is usually climbed from the villages of Loweswater or Thackthwaite. The fell is largely occupied by grassed enclosures, although there are...
, Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
, County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
on 28 May 1935, was a cricketer
Cricketer
A cricketer is a person who plays the sport of cricket. Official and long-established cricket publications prefer the traditional word "cricketer" over the rarely used term "cricket player"....
who played for 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...
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire County Cricket Club
Warwickshire 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 Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor...
and Glamorgan
Glamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan 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 Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County...
. He was educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham
King Edward's School, Birmingham
King Edward's School is an independent secondary school in Birmingham, England, founded by King Edward VI in 1552. It is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham, and is widely regarded as one of the most academically successful schools in the country, according to...
.
A tall, fair-haired right-arm fast-medium bowler, Wheatley came to prominence for Cambridge University in 1958 when he set the record for the most wickets in the university's abbreviated season with 80 first-class wickets for under 18 each. He played in the university holidays for Warwickshire with very limited success but in 1959 joined that county full-time, taking 100 wickets in the season though at a rather high cost. He repeated the feat in 1960, but at the end of the season was allowed to leave for Glamorgan, where he was appointed captain in place of Wilf Wooller, who had led the county since 1947.
Wheatley formed a hostile new ball partnership with the Test
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...
bowler Jeff Jones
Jeff Jones (cricketer)
Jeff Jones is a former Welsh cricketer, who took forty-four wickets in fifteen Tests for England from 1964 to 1968....
for a few seasons and in six years as captain took more than 600 wickets at an average of less than 20 runs per wicket. He retired from the captaincy at the end of the 1966 season, and played only a few matches in 1967. But in 1968 an early season injury to Jones meant that Wheatley returned to play in 16 County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
matches, bowling with such success that he took 82 wickets at a cost of under 13 runs each and topped the national averages for the season. He was named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in the 1969 edition of the almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
.
Wheatley played only a few games in Glamorgan's Championship-winning season of 1969 and retired after one match on the celebratory tour of the West Indies the following winter. In all matches, he took 1,099 wickets at an average of under 21 runs per wicket. He was never allowed higher up the batting order than number ten (alternating in the last two places with Jones), and his career runs only just exceeded his wickets. His highest score in purely county cricket was only 21, though in a festival match in 1961 for the Gentlemen he hit 34 not out and put on 55 for the tenth wicket with Trevor Bailey
Trevor Bailey
Trevor Edward Bailey CBE was an England Test cricketer, cricket writer and broadcaster.An all-rounder, Bailey was known for his skilful but unspectacular batting...
.
In retirement, Wheatley was prominent in cricket administration both at county and national level. He acted as a Test selector for 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...
and chaired Test and County Cricket Board committees, as well as being president of Glamorgan.