Queen’s Park faithful took stylist Tom to their Hearts
TOM GRAVENEY gave a wry chuckle at the suggestion that our interview should concern, in the main, his matches against Derbyshire. “Ah, Derbyshire,” he said. “Well, I’ve got plenty of good memories, certainly from when I played at Queen’s Park. But it was never easy when I batted against their bowlers.” So let’s set the scene. Thomas William Graveney, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and England. Born Riding Mill, Northumberland, 16 June 1927 but brought up in Bristol. Tall, rosy-cheeked elegant right-hand batsman who made 47,793 first-class runs in his flowing style, average 44.91 with 122 hundreds. In 79 Tests he scored 4,882 runs, averaging 44.48, with 11 hundreds, the highest of which, 258, was made at Trent Bridge in 1957 against the West Indies. Served in Suez with the Gloucestershire Regiment in 1946, achieving the rank of Captain. Became the first former professional cricketer to be elected President of MCC in 2004. Died 3 November 2015, aged 88. Those are the bare facts. What they cannot convey is the majesty of Graveney’s batting, a predominantly front-foot player whose aesthetic qualities belonged in the picturesque setting of grounds like Cheltenham, New Road at Worcester or Chesterfield’s Queen’s Park. He was also a delightful man with phenomenal recollections of matches from long ago, the kind of strokes he played in a certain innings and a memory for statistics that was usually spot on. “Derbyshire always had good bowlers. When I started they had George Pope and Bill Copson along with Les Jackson, Cliff Gladwin and Bert Rhodes, Harold’s dad. Then along came Derek Morgan, Edwin Smith, Harold Rhodes and Brian Jackson. They were always difficult, particularly on some of the green pitches in the county. The problem was that they could get you out at any time. You’d feel set, get to 30 or 40, and then something would happen. If they didn’t get you they could nearly always keep you quiet. Les was an exceptional bowler. I faced the world’s fastest in my time: Ray Lindwall, Keith Miller, Wes Hall, Charlie Griffith, Roy Gilchrist and the South Africans Neil Adcock and Peter Heine. England had Frank Tyson, Fred Trueman and Brian Statham and although Les wasn’t as quick as these, he had a nasty break-back that came at you. Whenever I saw him I used to rub the inside of my thigh in anticipation! They also had good captains, Guy Willatt and Donald Carr and later on Charlie Lee and Morgan. I first came across Donald at an Officers’ Cadet Training Unit in Wrotham, Kent but I really got to know him very well when we toured India, Pakistan and Ceylon in 1951-52. He was vice-captain and skippered the team in the final Test against India at Madras.” Graveney made Derbyshire’s acquaintance early in his career, at Bristol in July 1948. He had been doing just about enough to retain his place, partly because Jack Crapp and George Emmett were sometimes with the England team against Australia. Derbyshire made 207, Gloucestershire being all out on the second morning for 202, Graveney caught Pope bowled Gladwin 0. Derbyshire were then bowled out for 210 and with 15 minutes left the Gloucestershire captain BO Allen sent Graveney in first with the fast bowler George Lambert to preserve his best batsmen. “I wasn’t expecting to go in and I was out first ball, caught Dawkes bowled Jackson 0. It was the only time I bagged a pair – and on the same day, too. Derbyshire won, I was dropped and only got back in again when Emmett was summoned to Headingley for the Test only be made twelfth man.” There was a measure of revenge when his brother Ken took all ten wickets in the second innings at Queen’s Park in 1949 and Tom made 95 at Bristol a year later and 89 at Gloucester in 1951. But these were as nothing when compared to his performance at Queen’s Park on Wednesday and Thursday 4-5 August 1954. By now Graveney was in the England team and would tour Australia under Len Hutton’s captaincy the following winter. During that wet summer, Derbyshire pressed hard for the Championship and Gladwin soon had Gloucestershire’s openers back in the pavilion. When Jackson bowled Arthur Milton three wickets were down for 32. Graveney – who came to the crease at 2-1 – and Emmett added 82 before Emmett was bowled by Jackson for 50. With the score 114-4, the veteran Crapp joined Graveney and a tense struggle developed between the past and present England batsmen and the home attack: Jackson, Gladwin, Morgan, Bert Rhodes and Smith. “I had to be careful at the start because we were in a bit of a fix but gradually Jack and I got on top of the bowling. After tea, we were able to open up a bit.” In the last two hours of the day, Graveney increased his score from 94 to 204, he and Crapp adding 205 in 202 minutes before Crapp was caught at the wicket off Arnold Hamer for 95, with two sixes and 11 fours. By the close, Gloucestershire were 366 for six, a big score in a three-day match and next morning they batted until noon, declaring at 399 for nine. Graveney made 222 (four sixes and 26 fours) before being caught by Rhodes off Gladwin. A personal memory might not come amiss. On that Wednesday, I sat in teenage misery, fully appreciative of the majesty of Graveney’s batting but wishing it could have been played in circumstances less damaging to Derbyshire’s Championship hopes. An elderly man nearby noted the dejection. “Never mind, lad,” he said. “The result of this match won’t matter in time (Gloucestershire won) but you’ll never forget Graveney’s innings.” More pertinent are the memories of the then 20-year-old off-spinner Edwin Smith “It was magnificent. I think I went for about 50 in 19 overs and apart from Les and Cliff we were all under the cosh. I remember he hit me back for a
