James Dermott Monteith (2 June 1943 – 6 December 2009) was an Irish international cricketer. Monteith was a right-handed

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the ball with a bat to score runs and prevent the loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since September 2021, officially referred to as a batter (historically, the ...

who bowled

slow left-arm orthodox Left-arm orthodox spin, Left-arm off spin also known as slow left-arm orthodox spin bowling, is a type of Finger spin, left-arm finger spin bowling (cricket), bowling in the sport of cricket. Left-arm orthodox spin is bowled by a left-arm bow ...

. Monteith was educated at the

Royal Belfast Academical Institution The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today is ...

and

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

Career

Monteith played the majority of his club cricket for

Lisburn Cricket Club Lisburn Cricket Club is a cricket club in Lisburn, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, playing in the Premier League of the NCU Senior League. Established in 1836, the club is the oldest in Northern Ireland. It is also one of the most successful, h ...

and also had spells at Queen's University and

Middlesex County Cricket Club Middlesex 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 Middlesex which has effectively been subsumed within the ceremonial ...

. He also toured with the

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

and

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

. Monteith captained

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

on 38 occasions, winning 11 times, passing James Boucher's record number of wickets in 1984 and ended his playing career with Ireland with 326 wickets in 76 matches. It remains an Irish record. While a bowling all-rounder, who rarely went in above No 8, on his international debut in 1965 against MCC 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 ...

, he scored a half century batting at 4 and didn’t bowl. In his last match he made his highest score of 95. Monteith took 100 club wickets in a season twice for

in 1971 and 1973 with his slow left-arm orthodox spin. His maiden century for Lisburn came in 1971. Monteith was a 38-year-old veteran when he was called upon by

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

as cover for

John Emburey John Ernest Emburey (born 20 August 1952) is a former English first-class cricketer who played for Middlesex, Northamptonshire, Western Province, Berkshire and England. According to cricket writer Colin Bateman, Emburey's participation in two So ...

and

Phil Edmonds Philippe-Henri Edmonds (born 8 March 1951) is a former cricketer who represented England at international level and Middlesex at county level. After retiring he became a successful, albeit controversial, corporate executive. Edmonds played mos ...

for the

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

and

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

seasons. He proved more than capable at county level, taking 24 wickets in eight

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 ...

appearances with a best of 5 for 60 against

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

. Monteith was also an enthusiastic rugby player and played for Bangor Rugby Club. His sporting career ended when he became the victim of a serious hit and run accident in early 1985. Monteith finished his

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 ...

career with 94 wickets at 20.64 and 530 runs at 15.58.

After cricket

Monteith later went on to coach cricket at both

Bangor Rugby Football and Cricket Club Bangor or City of Bangor may refer to: Places Australia * Bangor, New South Wales * Bangor, Tasmania Canada * Bangor, Nova Scotia * Bangor, Saskatchewan * Bangor, Prince Edward Island United Kingdom Northern Ireland * Bangor, County Down ** ...

and

Donaghadee Cricket Club Donaghadee ( , ) is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the northeast coast of the Ards Peninsula, about east of Belfast and about six miles (10 km) south east of Bangor. It is in the civil parish of Donaghadee and ...

, even attempting a short lived playing comeback while at Donaghadee. Subsequently, he became a national selector from 1989 to 2001 except in 1999 when he was President of the

Irish Cricket Union Cricket Ireland, officially the Irish Cricket Union, is the national Sport governing body, governing body for cricket on the island of Ireland (both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland), and oversees the national Ireland cricket team, m ...

. From 2000-2002 he wrote ''At The Crease: The Dermott Monteith Column'' for

CricketEurope The European Cricket Council (ECC) is an international body which oversaw cricket in European countries other than the Test-playing cricketing nation of England, the only European Full Member of the ICC for the duration of the ECC's existence. ...

. He published his autobiography, ''A Stone in the Glasshouse'', in 2003. On 6 December 2009 Monteith died in

Bangor, County Down Bangor ( ; ) is a city and seaside resort in County Down, Northern Ireland, on the southern side of Belfast Lough. It is within the Belfast metropolitan area and is 13 miles (22 km) east of Belfast city centre, to which it is linked ...

, aged 66.

References

External links

Lisburn Cricket Club LegendsCricketEurope
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monteith, Dermott 1943 births 2009 deaths Cricketers from Lisburn Cricketers from Northern Ireland Irish cricketers Irish cricket captains Middlesex cricketers Alumni of Queen's University Belfast People educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution Lisburn Cricket Club players