John Stanley Heath (30 August 1891 – 1 September 1972) 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 striki ...

er who played first-class cricket for

Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common genetic ancestry, common language, or both. Pan and Pfeil (2004) ...

in India in 1918/19 and 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 ...

in 1924 and 1925. Heath was born at

Swadlincote Swadlincote is a former mining town in the district of South Derbyshire, England, lying within The National Forest area. It borders the counties of Leicestershire and Staffordshire, south-east of Burton upon Trent and north-west of Ashby-de ...

. He played minor counties cricket for

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

from 1911 to 1914. He made his first-class debut in 1918 playing for Europeans in the

Bombay Quadrangular The Bombay Quadrangular was an influential cricket tournament held in Bombay, British India between 1892–93 and 1945–46. At other times it was known variously as the Presidency Match, Bombay Triangular, and the Bombay Pentangular. Presidency ...

tournament in India when he achieved his best bowling performance of 5 for 33 against

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

and also 5 for 40 against

Parsees Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim co ...

. In 1920 he was back with Staffordshire, for whom he played until he joined Derbyshire in 1924. He also played two games for

H. D. G. Leveson Gower Sir Henry Dudley Gresham Leveson Gower ( ; 8 May 1873 – 1 February 1954) was an English cricketer from the Leveson-Gower family. He played first-class cricket for Oxford University and Surrey and captained England in Test cricket. His school n ...

's XI in 1921. He made his Derbyshire debut in the 1924 season in July against

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 ...

, and played three more matches for the club that season when he achieved 5 for 54 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 played one match for Derbyshire in the 1925 season and then resumed his games for Staffordshire until 1935. Heath was a right-hand batsman and played nineteen innings in eleven first-class matches with an average of 12.58 and a top score of 34. He was a leg-break bowler and took 30 first-class wickets with an average of 27.73 and a best performance of 5 for 33. John Heath at Cricket Archive
/ref> Heath died at Trentham, Staffordshire, at the age of 81. His brother Frederick Heath also played for Derbyshire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heath, John 1891 births 1972 deaths Derbyshire cricketers English cricketers Europeans cricketers Staffordshire cricketers H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI cricketers Non-international England cricketers