Douglas Ernest Vernon Padgett (born 20 July 1934) is a former English

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er, who played more than 500 first-class matches and represented

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twice, both in 1960. Cricket writer Colin Bateman recorded Padgett was, "nimble, happy anywhere in the order, he was a great technician and one of the best batsmen of his era on a bad wicket".

Life and career

Born 20 July 1934, Padgett had an elder brother, Granville, who was also a professional cricketer. He played for

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in 1951. In 1951, he became the youngest player then to play first-class cricket for

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

, aged just 16 years and 320 days. Paul Jarvis broke Padgett's record in 1981. Following his

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, Padgett was one of the first of a new generation of Yorkshire batsmen to cement his place in the Yorkshire first team. He scored more than 1,000 runs in 1956, and in the

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 ...

-winning side of 1959 he was the leading batsman with more than 2,000 runs. He usually batted at No 3, though he occasionally opened the innings. In 1960, a tour by the

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, widely perceived as weak, led the England Test selectors to experiment with new batsmen, and Padgett played in the fourth and fifth matches. He was not a great success, and was one of a number of England players criticised in

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Test match for slow batting in the second innings. He went to

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the following winter on an extensive

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) tour, but he was never picked again for England. Padgett failed to convert his innings into big scores, albeit registering 50 one hundred and twenty nine times in his first-class career, He reached the century mark on thirty two occasions. This counted against him when the England selectors considered his promotion to further international duty. However, he remained a valued member of the Yorkshire side that won six further Championships across the 1960s. He scored more than 1,000 runs during his twelve seasons. He retired from playing in 1971, much to the frustration of the new captain,

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 ...

, who relied on his counsel. Padgett then captained Yorkshire's second eleven, becoming assistant, then head coach.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Padgett, Doug 1934 births Living people English cricketers England Test cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Yorkshire cricketers International Cavaliers cricketers Combined Services cricketers People from Idle, West Yorkshire Cricketers from Bradford Players cricketers T. N. Pearce's XI cricketers English cricketers of 1946 to 1968