Michael Hamilton Stevenson (13 June 1927 – 19 September 1994) was a schoolmaster, journalist and

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 for

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

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 ...

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 ...

and

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) between 1949 and 1969. Stevenson was born at

Chinley Chinley is a rural village in the High Peak Borough of Derbyshire, England, with a population of 2,796 at the 2011 Census. Most of the civil parish (called Chinley, Buxworth and Brownside) is within the Peak District National Park. Historicall ...

and educated at

Rydal School Rydal Penrhos School is an independent day school in Colwyn Bay, North Wales. It is the only Methodist school in the independent sector in Wales. It is located on multiple sites around the town with a site in the neighbouring village of Rhos-on-S ...

Colwyn Bay Colwyn Bay ( cy, Bae Colwyn) is a town, community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic county of Denbighshire. Eight neighbouring communities are incorpo ...

, North Wales, where he was cricket captain in his last year. He played various matches for Derbyshire in 1945 and 1946 and 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 ...

in 1947 and Derbyshire 2nd XI in 1948. He went to

in 1948 and was given a blue in his first season 1949. He played regularly for the university for four years appearing in

the Varsity match The Varsity Match is an annual rugby union fixture played between the universities of Oxford University RFC, Oxford and Cambridge University R.U.F.C., Cambridge in England. The event began in 1872 with the first men's match, with interruptions ...

each year. In 1950 against

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

Stevenson made 109 in a third wicket stand with

Peter May Peter May may refer to: *Peter W. May, American businessman *Peter May (cricketer) (1929–1994), English Test cricketer *Peter May (writer) Peter May (born 20 December 1951) is a Scottish television screenwriter, novelist, and crime writer. H ...

of 233. In 1952 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. ...

he made 111 in two and a half hours with two 6s and twelve 4s, and against

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

he hit four 6s and six 4s to reach 53 within the hour. In 1950 and 1952 he played occasional games for Derbyshire – three in 1950 and one in 1952. He also played for Ireland in 1952 and 1956 on the basis of residential qualification after his parents retired there. He played for Leinster and Clontarf over three seasons. He also started playing for MCC in 1956, played for Derbyshire Juniors in 1958 and various matches for Ireland until 1964 and MCC until 1969. He was a right-hand batsman who played 106 innings in 66 first-class matches with an average of 24.91 and a top score of 122. He was a slow left-arm orthodox bowler who took 50 first-class wickets at an average of 37.64 with a best performance of 5 for 36. Stevenson taught at three

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

s. At

Pocklington School Pocklington School is an independent school in Pocklington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1514 by John Dolman. The school is situated in of land, on the outskirts of the small market town, from York and from Hull. ...

he ran the cricket and founded the Pocklington Pixies club which reached the final of the national club championship in their first year. He gave up teaching for a while and took up journalism and writing on North of England, cricket and rugby. He wrote two books, "A History of Yorkshire Cricket" and a biography of

Ray Illingworth Raymond Illingworth CBE (8 June 1932 – 25 December 2021) was an English cricketer, cricket commentator and administrator. , he was one of only nine players to have taken 2,000 wickets and made 20,000 runs in first-class cricket.Arnold, Peter ...

. After ten years he returned to Rydal to teach English and run the cricket.Cricket Europe – Mike Stevenson
/ref> Stevenson died at Colwyn Bay shortly after retiring at the age of 67.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevenson, Mike 1927 births 1994 deaths Derbyshire cricketers Cambridge University cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers English cricketers Ireland cricketers English rugby union commentators Staffordshire cricketers