Vic Marks
Encyclopedia
Vic Marks is a former Somerset
and England
cricket
er, who played in six Tests
and thirty four ODIs.
The cricket correspondent, Colin Bateman, noted, "in typical self-deprecating style, Vic Marks entitled one of his books, Marks Out of XI. He was probably out of the England XI slightly too often. While he was never a fashionable cricketer, he was a determined and highly effective off-spinner cum batsman whose Test figures stand comparison with those often picked ahead of him, such as Geoff Miller
and Eddie Hemmings
".
and Oxford University
, for whom he played between 1975 and 1978 (alongside Imran Khan
and Chris Tavaré
, and opposite Peter Roebuck
of Cambridge University
, subsequently Marks' captain
at Somerset
). Marks captained Oxford University in 1976 and 1977.
Marks made his first-class
debut in the 1975 English domestic season, and five years later made his ODI debut against the West Indies
. His Test
debut was in 1982 against Pakistan.
He went on to play six Test matches, but was an important member of the ODI squad for a number of years, appearing thirty four times and taking forty four wickets at a bowling average
of 25.79. His haul of five for 20 for England against New Zealand
in 1984 was, for some years, England's bowling return best in One Day Internationals; it remains the best one-day innings analysis by an England slow bowler, and Marks is the only England slow bowler ever to have taken two ODI five-wicket hauls (he also claimed five for 39 against Sri Lanka in 1983). Marks was the first England bowler of any description to achieve this feat (although seamers
Darren Gough
, Mark Ealham
and Andrew Flintoff
subsequently emulated it).
Marks had a distinguished first-class career between 1975 and 1989 for Somerset. He also played a season for Western Australia
playing in the 1986-87 Sheffield Shield winning team. In 342 first-class matches he took 859 wickets at 33.28, and scored 12,419 runs
at a batting average
of 30.29.
As a cricketer he was popular and well-liked; Wisden
editor, Matthew Engel
, labeled him "a mild, nervy, self-deprecating farm boy with an Oxford degree and no enemies". This was an unusual distinction in the Somerset side of the 1980s, where three explosive personalities, Viv Richards, Joel Garner
and Ian Botham
, had a dispute with captain Peter Roebuck
, which resulted in Somerset (under the influence from Roebuck and new club Secretary Tony Brown) opting not to renew Richards' and Garner's contracts in 1986, and Botham leaving the club in protest.
After retiring as a professional cricketer, he turned his hand to journalism and broadcasting, and is now a regular summariser on Test Match Special
. He writes regularly about cricket for The Observer
newspaper.
He is currently Chairman of Cricket at Somerset.
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset 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 Somerset...
and 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...
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 in six Tests
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...
and thirty four ODIs.
The cricket correspondent, Colin Bateman, noted, "in typical self-deprecating style, Vic Marks entitled one of his books, Marks Out of XI. He was probably out of the England XI slightly too often. While he was never a fashionable cricketer, he was a determined and highly effective off-spinner cum batsman whose Test figures stand comparison with those often picked ahead of him, such as Geoff Miller
Geoff Miller
Geoffrey Miller is an English former cricketer, who played in thirty four Tests and twenty five ODIs for England from 1976 to 1984...
and Eddie Hemmings
Eddie Hemmings (cricketer)
Edward Ernest Hemmings is a former English cricketer, who played in sixteen Tests and thirty three ODIs for England from 1982 to 1991. He made his England debut relatively late in his career, at the age of 33, having predominantly represented Nottinghamshire in the County Championship...
".
Life and career
Marks was educated at Blundell's SchoolBlundell's School
Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school located in the town of Tiverton in the county of Devon, England. The school was founded in 1604 by the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the time, and relocated to its present location on the...
and Oxford University
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, for whom he played between 1975 and 1978 (alongside Imran Khan
Imran Khan
Imran Khan Niazi is a Pakistani politician and former Pakistani cricketer, playing international cricket for two decades in the late twentieth century. After retiring, he entered politics...
and Chris Tavaré
Chris Tavaré
Christopher James Tavaré is an English retired cricketer, who played in thirty one Tests and twenty nine One Day Internationals from 1980 to 1989.-Life and career:...
, and opposite Peter Roebuck
Peter Roebuck
Peter Michael Roebuck was an English cricketer who achieved later renown as an Australian newspaper columnist and radio commentator. A consistent county performer with over 25,000 runs, and "one of the better English openers of the 1980s", Roebuck captained the English county side Somerset...
of 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...
, subsequently Marks' captain
Captain (cricket)
The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player...
at Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset 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 Somerset...
). Marks captained Oxford University in 1976 and 1977.
Marks made 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 in the 1975 English domestic season, and five years later made his ODI debut against the West Indies
West Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
. His 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...
debut was in 1982 against Pakistan.
He went on to play six Test matches, but was an important member of the ODI squad for a number of years, appearing thirty four times and taking forty four wickets at a bowling average
Bowling average
Bowling average is a statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the sport of cricket.A bowler's bowling average is defined as the total number of runs conceded by the bowlers divided by the number of wickets taken by the bowler, so the lower the average the better. It is similar to earned...
of 25.79. His haul of five for 20 for England against New Zealand
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
in 1984 was, for some years, England's bowling return best in One Day Internationals; it remains the best one-day innings analysis by an England slow bowler, and Marks is the only England slow bowler ever to have taken two ODI five-wicket hauls (he also claimed five for 39 against Sri Lanka in 1983). Marks was the first England bowler of any description to achieve this feat (although seamers
Seam bowling
Seam bowling is a phrase used for a bowling technique in cricket whereby the ball is deliberately bowled on to its seam, to cause a random deviation. Practitioners are known as seam bowlers or seamers....
Darren Gough
Darren Gough
Darren Gough is a retired English cricketer and former captain of Yorkshire County Cricket Club. The spearhead of England's bowling attack through much of the 1990s, he is England's highest wicket-taker in one-day internationals with 234, and took 229 wickets in his 58 Test matches, making him...
, Mark Ealham
Mark Ealham
Mark Alan Ealham is a retired English cricketer, who played domestic cricket for Kent C.C.C. and Nottinghamshire C.C.C.. He is an all-rounder and is a former England international at both Test and one-day cricket....
and Andrew Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top...
subsequently emulated it).
Marks had a distinguished first-class career between 1975 and 1989 for Somerset. He also played a season for Western Australia
Western Warriors
The Western Australia cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team representing the state of Western Australia...
playing in the 1986-87 Sheffield Shield winning team. In 342 first-class matches he took 859 wickets at 33.28, and scored 12,419 runs
Run (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a run is the basic unit of scoring. Runs are scored by a batsman, and the aggregate of the scores of a team's batsmen constitutes the team's score. A batsman scoring 50 or 100 runs , or any higher multiple of 50 runs, is considered a particular achievement...
at a batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
of 30.29.
As a cricketer he was popular and well-liked; Wisden
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
editor, Matthew Engel
Matthew Engel
Matthew Lewis Engel is a British writer and editor who began his career in 1972. He worked on The Guardian newspaper for nearly 25 years, reporting on a wide range of political and sporting events including a stint as Washington correspondent beginning on 9/11. He now writes a column in the...
, labeled him "a mild, nervy, self-deprecating farm boy with an Oxford degree and no enemies". This was an unusual distinction in the Somerset side of the 1980s, where three explosive personalities, Viv Richards, Joel Garner
Joel Garner
Joel Garner , also known as "Big Joel" or "Big Bird", is a former West Indian cricketer, and a member of the highly regarded late 1970s and early '80s West Indies cricket teams....
and Ian Botham
Ian Botham
Sir Ian Terence Botham OBE is a former England Test cricketer and Test team captain, and current cricket commentator. He was a genuine all-rounder with 14 centuries and 383 wickets in Test cricket, and remains well-known by his nickname "Beefy"...
, had a dispute with captain Peter Roebuck
Peter Roebuck
Peter Michael Roebuck was an English cricketer who achieved later renown as an Australian newspaper columnist and radio commentator. A consistent county performer with over 25,000 runs, and "one of the better English openers of the 1980s", Roebuck captained the English county side Somerset...
, which resulted in Somerset (under the influence from Roebuck and new club Secretary Tony Brown) opting not to renew Richards' and Garner's contracts in 1986, and Botham leaving the club in protest.
After retiring as a professional cricketer, he turned his hand to journalism and broadcasting, and is now a regular summariser on Test Match Special
Test Match Special
Test Match Special is a British radio programme covering professional cricket, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 , Five Live Sports Extra and the internet to the United Kingdom and the rest of the world...
. He writes regularly about cricket for The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
newspaper.
He is currently Chairman of Cricket at Somerset.