Peter Marner
Encyclopedia
Peter Thomas Marner was an English cricketer
who played first-class cricket
for Lancashire
and then Leicestershire
. He was rated by Trevor Bailey
as the most formidable English batsman without a Test cricket
cap.
Marner was born in Oldham
, Lancashire
. An all-rounder
, he played for Crompton in the Central Lancashire League aged 15, and made his first-class debut for Lancashire in 1952, aged 16 years and five months, against Sussex
at Hove
. This made him the youngest person to ever play for Lancashire, beating the record set in 1879 by Johnny Briggs
. Powerfully built, he was a hard-hitting right-handed middle-order batsman, right-arm medium-pace seam bowler, and a good slip fielder.
Marner is also in the record books for being the first person to win a limited-overs Man of the Match
award, when Lancashire played its first Gillette Cup match against Leicestershire at Old Trafford in May 1963. He scored the format's maiden century in that game with an innings of 121, and also took 3 wickets for 49 runs.
He clashed with the authorities at Lancashire, and moved to Leicestershire after the 1964 season. He toured Pakistan with a Commonwealth XI in 1967, but never played Test cricket
. He reached 1,000 first-class runs in 12 seasons, scored 18 centuries, took 360 wickets, and held 379 catches.
Marner was also talented in rugby union
playing for Oldham and the British Army
during a two year stint of National Service
. He also represented the Combined Services in cricket during that period. He suffered a neck injury playing rugby which interrupted his career in both sports in the 1950s.
He was married, with one son, Nick Marner, who was a useful league fast bowler. He died in Oldham after a short illness.
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 first-class cricket
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...
for Lancashire
Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then...
and then Leicestershire
Leicestershire County Cricket Club
Leicestershire 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 Leicestershire. It has also been representative of the county of Rutland....
. He was rated by 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...
as the most formidable English batsman without a Test cricket
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...
cap.
Marner was born in Oldham
Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
. 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 played for Crompton in the Central Lancashire League aged 15, and made his first-class debut for Lancashire in 1952, aged 16 years and five months, against Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
at Hove
Hove
Hove is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, with which it forms the unitary authority Brighton and Hove. It forms a single conurbation together with Brighton and some smaller towns and villages running along the coast...
. This made him the youngest person to ever play for Lancashire, beating the record set in 1879 by Johnny Briggs
Johnny Briggs (cricketer)
Johnny Briggs was a left arm spin bowler for Lancashire County Cricket Club between 1879 and 1900 who still stands as the second-highest wicket-taker in the county's history after Brian Statham...
. Powerfully built, he was a hard-hitting right-handed middle-order batsman, right-arm medium-pace seam bowler, and a good slip fielder.
Marner is also in the record books for being the first person to win a limited-overs Man of the Match
Man of the match
In sport, a Man of the Match or Player of the Game or Man of the Series award is given to the outstanding player, almost always the one who makes the most impact, in a particular match or series. The term was originally used more often in cricket before being adopted by other sports. This can be a...
award, when Lancashire played its first Gillette Cup match against Leicestershire at Old Trafford in May 1963. He scored the format's maiden century in that game with an innings of 121, and also took 3 wickets for 49 runs.
He clashed with the authorities at Lancashire, and moved to Leicestershire after the 1964 season. He toured Pakistan with a Commonwealth XI in 1967, but never played Test cricket
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...
. He reached 1,000 first-class runs in 12 seasons, scored 18 centuries, took 360 wickets, and held 379 catches.
Marner was also talented in rugby union
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...
playing for Oldham and the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
during a two year stint of National Service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
. He also represented the Combined Services in cricket during that period. He suffered a neck injury playing rugby which interrupted his career in both sports in the 1950s.
He was married, with one son, Nick Marner, who was a useful league fast bowler. He died in Oldham after a short illness.
External links
- Profile from CricketArchiveCricketArchiveCricketArchive is a website that aims to provide a comprehensive archive of records relating to the sport of cricket. It claims to be the most comprehensive cricket database on the internet, including scorecards for all matches of first-class cricket , List A cricket , Women's Test cricket and...