Donald Peter Harkness (13 February 1931 –2 September 2021) was an Australian first-class cricketer who played in thirteen matches for Worcestershire in 1954. [1]
The highlight of Harkness' short first-class career came against Cambridge University in late June 1954,when he hit 163 in two and three-quarter hours,by a long way his highest score in first-class cricket. Worcestershire nevertheless lost the match. [2] [3] He also played Birmingham League cricket for Kidderminster. [4] In Sydney senior cricket in the 1950s and 1960s,Harkness scored 1612 runs and claimed 168 wickets in First Grade with Gordon,St George and Sutherland. [5]
Harkness and his wife Eleanor,who predeceased him,had two daughters. He died in September 2021,aged 90. [5]
Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Worcestershire. Its Vitality Blast T20 team has been rebranded the Worcestershire Rapids,but the county is known by most fans as 'the Pears'. The club is based at New Road,Worcester. Founded in 1865,Worcestershire held minor status at first and was a prominent member of the early Minor Counties Championship in the 1890s,winning the competition three times. In 1899,the club joined the County Championship and the team was elevated to first-class status. Since then,Worcestershire have played in every top-level domestic cricket competition in England.
Robert Walter Vivian Robins was an English cricketer and cricket administrator,who played for Cambridge University,Middlesex,and England. A right-handed batsman and right-arm leg-break and googly bowler,he was known for his attacking style of play. He captained both his county and his country;after the Second World War,he served several terms as a Test selector.
Frank Chester was briefly an English first-class cricketer before the First World War. After losing an arm in active service in 1917,he was a Test cricket umpire for 31 years. Wisden stated in his obituary that he "raised umpiring to a higher level than had ever been known in the history of cricket".
Roy Booth was an English first-class cricketer,who played for both Yorkshire and Worcestershire. He was born at Marsden,West Riding of Yorkshire.
Sir George Edmond Brackenbury Abell was an English civil servant and cricketer. Although his civil service career was the more significant,he was an excellent all-round sportsman,who won Blues for Oxford at cricket,rugby union and hockey as well as playing county cricket for Worcestershire. He was born in Worcester,and died at the age of 84 in Ramsbury,Wiltshire.
Noel Keith Hughes was an Australian-English first-class cricketer who played 21 games,all for Worcestershire,in the 1950s. He was born in Zetland,Sydney.
Philip John Whitcombe is a former English first-class cricketer who played 34 matches between 1949 and 1953. 26 of these were for Oxford University,and eight for Worcestershire. He was a wicket-keeper,though he did play in some games as a batsman only.
Roger Charles MacDonald Kimpton,DFC was an Australian first-class cricketer who played 62 first-class games,mostly in the late 1930s. The majority of his appearances were for Oxford University and Worcestershire,although he appeared for the Gentlemen in both 1936 and 1937 and for an England XI in 1937. Unusually,he alternated somewhat between keeping wicket and bowling,although his success with the ball was limited.
Stephen Peter Henderson is a former English first-class cricketer who played for several teams in the late 1970s and 1980s,mostly for Worcestershire,Cambridge University and Glamorgan.
George Herbert Chesterton MBE was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket between 1949 and 1966. The bulk of his appearances were for Worcestershire,whom he represented between 1950 and 1957. He was capped by the county in 1950. Very much a specialist bowler,he never reached 50 in over 100 first-class innings.
George Rodney Cass was an English cricketer:a wicket-keeper who played first-class cricket for Essex and Worcestershire in England,and for Tasmania in Australia,in the 1960s and 1970s. He was capped by Worcestershire in 1970. He was born at Overton,Wakefield,Yorkshire,and educated at Dewsbury Technical College.
Oliver Benjamin Cox is an English cricketer who plays county cricket for Worcestershire as right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper.
Frank Henry Vigar was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Essex County Cricket Club between 1938 and 1954. A right-handed batsman,and leg break bowler,Vigar served as an all-rounder with 8,858 runs at 26.28 and 241 wickets at 37.90. From his rained-off debut in 1938,Vigar went on to play 257 matches for his county. His greatest success came in the "golden summer" of 1947,where he scored 1,735 runs and took 64 wickets. A partnership with Peter Smith of 218 for the final wicket remains an Essex record.
David Eustace Blake was an English amateur cricketer. He was a left-handed batsman who played primarily as an opening batsman and as an occasional wicketkeeper.
Roy Smith played first-class cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club between 1949 and 1955. He was a right-handed middle order batsman and a left-arm orthodox spin bowler.
Adrian Desmond Brown is a former English cricketer. Brown was a right-handed batsman who fielded as a wicket-keeper. He was born in Clacton-on-Sea,Essex.
Francis Edward Collyer is a former English cricketer. Collyer was a right-handed batsman who fielded as a wicket-keeper. He was born at Brentford,Middlesex.
Robert Henry Lyttelton was an English cricketer who appeared in seven first-class matches between 1873 and 1880. A member of the Lyttelton family who were prominent in English cricket in the mid to late 1800s,he did not play county cricket,but appeared for a number of representative sides,in which players were often chosen more for their social status than their cricketing ability. In his later years he was known for his views about sportsmanship in cricket,and he successfully campaigned for changes in the laws of the game to penalise blocking the wicket with the legs. He published two books about cricket and collaborated with others on two more.
John Alexander Dew MBE was an English cricketer. Dew was a right-handed batsman who fielded as a wicket-keeper. He was born at Horsham,Sussex.
Harshad Vallabhbhai Patel is a Kenyan-born English former first-class cricketer.