Douglas John Insole (18 April 1926
– 5 August 2017)
[Obituary]
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was f ...
was an English
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
er, who played for
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...
,
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 Grea ...
and in nine
Test matches for
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, five of them on the
1956–57 tour of South Africa, where he was vice-captain to
Peter May. After retiring from playing, he was prominent in cricket administration, and served as chairman of the England selectors and as President of 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 ...
(MCC).
Life and career
Insole was born in
Clapton,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, attended the
Monoux School, Walthamstow, and lived most of his adult life at
Chingford
Chingford is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The town is approximately north-east of Charing Cross, with Waltham Abbey to the north, Woodford Green and Buckhurst Hill to the east, Walthamstow t ...
. He was cricket captain of
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...
whilst a history student at
St Catharine's College and went on to
captain Essex for many years. He scored 20,113
first-class runs for Essex, the ninth highest aggregate for the club. He played as a
wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. ...
,
batsmen
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 ...
, and as a
bowler. He was one of the
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...
in 1956. He was President of 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 ...
(MCC) for the twelve months, beginning on 1 October 2006. For his many services to cricket, Insole was appointed a
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in 1979.
Insole was chairman of selectors for
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in the 1960s, and in 1968, he was criticized for presiding over the non-selection of
Basil D'Oliveira
Basil Lewis D'Oliveira CBE OIS (4 October 1931 – 19 November 2011) was an England international cricketer of South African Cape Coloured background, whose potential selection by England for the scheduled 1968–69 tour of apartheid-era South ...
for
a tour to South Africa. Only later did it become generally known that the selectors had been pressurised into omitting D'Oliveira because he was a '
coloured' South African and his inclusion in a team to visit the country, then under
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
, was thought to be undiplomatic.
Also during Insole's time
Geoffrey Boycott
Sir Geoffrey Boycott (born 21 October 1940) is a former Test cricketer, who played cricket for Yorkshire and England. In a prolific and sometimes controversial playing career from 1962 to 1986, Boycott established himself as one of England's m ...
was dropped, in 1967 after having scored 246 not out. Boycott admitted to still feeling aggrieved about this over 40 years later, while commenting on the third Test between
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
and England at
Napier on 24 March 2008 and again during the ''
Test Match Special
''Test Match Special'' (also known as ''TMS'') is a British sports radio programme, originally, as its name implies, dealing exclusively with Test cricket matches, but currently covering any professional cricket. It broadcasts on BBC Radio 4 LW ...
'' commentary of England against the
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...
at
Edgbaston
Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest of the city centre.
In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family a ...
on 7 June 2012, where he said that Insole "should have spelt his name with an A!" Again on 9 August 2014 during the 4th Test against India at Old Trafford, Insole's name was mentioned and Boycott reiterated his thoughts on how Insole's name should be spelt.
Insole was a first team footballer for the amateur
Corinthian-Casuals F.C., and played in the 1956
FA Amateur Cup final, before they lost to
Bishop Auckland in a replay.
He managed the
1978–79[ by David Liverman] and
1982–83 Ashes tours to Australia,
[ and for nine years to 2006 was chair of the European Cricket Council.] Insole died on 5 August 2017, aged 91. His death was announced by Essex County Cricket Club the following day.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Insole, Doug
1926 births
2017 deaths
Corinthian-Casuals F.C. players
English cricketers
England Test cricketers
Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge
Cambridge University cricketers
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
Presidents of the Marylebone Cricket Club
Essex cricketers
Essex cricket captains
People educated at Sir George Monoux College
England cricket team selectors
Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers
Gentlemen cricketers
North v South cricketers
Free Foresters cricketers
Gentlemen of England cricketers
Cricketers from Greater London
Association footballers not categorized by position
H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI cricketers
English footballers
20th-century British businesspeople