Charles Lee (17 March 1924 – 4 September 1999) was an English

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

er, who played two matches for

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

in 1952, one for the

Minor Counties The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes unde ...

in 1953, and 268 matches for

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

between 1954 and 1964. He captained Derbyshire in his last two seasons in the game, and scored over 12,000 runs for the club. Lee was born in Eastwood,

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

, Yorkshire, England, and became a schoolteacher after leaving the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

in 1947. He appeared for Yorkshire Second XI for a couple of seasons before making his debut against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. He played his only

County Championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...

game for Yorkshire against

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

in August 1952, deputising for

Len Hutton Sir Leonard Hutton (23 June 1916 – 6 September 1990) was an English cricketer. He played as an opening batsman for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1934 to 1955 and for England in 79 Test matches between 1937 and 1955. ''Wisden Cricketer ...

, and was an instant success, opening the batting and scoring 74 and 14 as Yorkshire cruised to a nine wicket win. Despite this bright start Lee was not retained by the county, and his county career might have ended there. He played in a match for the Minor Counties against the Australian tourists at

Stoke on Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

in 1953 and, though he only scored 23, he was their sole source of resistance as they crumbled for 56 and 65 against

Ray Lindwall Raymond Russell Lindwall (3 October 1921 – 23 June 1996) was a cricketer who represented Australia in 61 Tests from 1946 to 1960. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. He also played top-flight rugby league f ...

and

Richie Benaud Richard Benaud (; 6 October 1930 – 10 April 2015) was an Australian cricketer who, after his retirement from international cricket in 1964, became a highly regarded commentator on the game. Benaud was a Test cricket all-rounder, blending l ...

. Derbyshire were impressed by his knock, and he joined the county for a ten-year stint in which he played 268 matches and rose to the captaincy. Lee's new start was initially impeded by a broken leg, suffered while playing football, but he soon established himself in the team in the 1954 season and was awarded his

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

in the 1956 season. A canny right-hander, he made 1,000 runs for eight successive seasons, nudging the ball into the gaps without often dominating the bowling. He cut loose in the occasional run chase, hitting five sixes off

Jim McConnon James Edward McConnon (21 June 1922 – 26 January 2003) was an English cricketer, who played in two Tests in 1954 as an off-spin bowler. He played for Glamorgan from 1950 to 1961, albeit missing the 1956 season when he decided to play for ...

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

in the 1958 season and five more at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

in the 1961 season. In the 1963 season, he became county captain but, with their fast bowler Les Jackson in decline, he had little ammunition to work with. Derbyshire took the wooden spoon in his first season at the helm, but recovered to 12th in the 1964 season under his genial leadership before he decided to return to teaching. A right-handed batsman, Lee scored 12,129 runs in all matches, with eight centuries and a best of 150 for Derbyshire against

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

and 147 against

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

. He averaged 26.59 and took 202 catches. He took 21 wickets at 34.33 with his occasional right arm medium pace, with a best of 2 for 9 against Surrey. He played in just two Gillette Cup matches, scoring 42 against

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

.Charles Lee at Cricket Archive
/ref> Lee played cricket for Swinton C.C. and was captain of Rotherham C.C. in 1971. As a footballer, he was on

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...

's books at one time. Lee died in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

at the age of 75.

References

External links

Wisden Obituaries 1999
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Charles 1924 births 1999 deaths English cricketers Yorkshire cricketers Derbyshire cricket captains Cricketers from Rotherham Minor Counties cricketers English cricketers of 1946 to 1968 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel Military personnel from Yorkshire Royal Air Force airmen