Michael Arthur "Kelly" Seymour (5 June 1936 – 17 February 2019) was a South African

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 in seven Test matches between 1963 and 1970.

Career

A lower-order right-handed batsman and a right-arm off-break bowler, Seymour made his first-class debut for

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: * Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provin ...

against South African Universities in 1960–61. In his next match, while studying medicine at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

, he played for South African Universities against the New Zealand touring side in Pretoria in 1961–62, taking 7 for 80 and 5 for 72, which remained his career-best innings and match figures. Seeking a replacement off-spinner for the retired

Hugh Tayfield Hugh Joseph Tayfield (30 January 1929 – 24 February 1994) was a South African international cricketer. He played 37 Test matches for South Africa between 1949 and 1960 and was one of the best off spinners the game has seen. He was the faste ...

, the national selectors chose him later in the same tour for a South African Colts XI against the New Zealanders and, after a reasonably successful season in 1962–63 (15 wickets at 33.66), for the tour to Australia and New Zealand in 1963–64. He took 15 wickets at 33.06 in the matches leading up to the First Test in Brisbane, but took no wickets in the Test. In the next match against Tasmania he took 5 for 65 and 2 for 60, and kept his place for the Second Test. He took only one wicket and was left out of the Third Test but returned for the Fourth Test, replacing

David Pithey David Bartlett Pithey (4 October 1936 – 21 January 2018) was a Rhodesian cricketer who played in eight Tests for South Africa from 1963 to 1967. As well as playing for Rhodesia and Western Province, he played first-class cricket for Oxford U ...

, who had taken no wickets in the three Tests. He took only one wicket but South Africa won and he kept his place and took his best Test figures of 3 for 80 (off 38 eight-ball overs) in the second innings of the Fifth Test. He missed the New Zealand leg of the tour, returning home for the final examinations of his medical studies."Personal Points", ''

The Cricketer ''The Cricketer'' is a monthly English cricket magazine providing writing and photography from international, county and club cricket. The magazine was founded in 1921 by Sir Pelham Warner, an ex-England captain turned cricket writer. Warner ...

'', April 1964, p. 27. He was unsuccessful in the first two Tests in the home series against

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 ...

the following season, taking only two wickets at high cost. Seymour played no first-class cricket between December 1964 and November 1968, when he returned to play for Western Province in the "B" Section of the

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...

, taking 21 wickets at 15.95 in the season and forming a potent spin partnership with Grahame Chevalier and taking Western Province to victory in the "B" Section. He maintained his form when Western Province returned to the "A" Section in 1969–70 and, along with Chevalier, was selected for the First Test of the series against Australia. He took 1 for 28 and 1 for 40 and South Africa won easily, but he was dropped from the Test team in favour of

John Traicos Athanasios John Traicos (born 17 May 1947) is a former cricketer who represented South Africa and Zimbabwe at international level. He was primarily an off spin bowler, and is one of a small number of cricketers to have played at the highest lev ...

, and played only one further first-class match before retiring at the end of the season. He made his only first-class 50 in the match against South Australia in 1963–64 when, coming in with the score at 194 for 8, he hit 62 in a partnership of 108 in 75 minutes with

Denis Lindsay Denis Thomson Lindsay (4 September 1939 – 30 November 2005) was a South African cricketer who played 19 Test matches for South Africa between 1963 and 1970. His outstanding series was against Australia in 1966–67, when he scored 606 runs in ...

.''Wisden'' 1965, p. 825.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seymour, Kelly 1936 births 2019 deaths South Africa Test cricketers South African cricketers Western Province cricketers University of Cape Town alumni South African Universities cricketers People from Kokstad 20th-century South African physicians