Norman Ernest Partridge (10 August 1900–10 March 1982) was an English

cricketer 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 ...

who played for Cambridge University and Warwickshire. Partridge was born at Great Barr, Birmingham. He was selected by Wisden in 1919, while a schoolboy at

Malvern College Malvern College is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent coeducational day and boarding school in Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is a public school (United Kingdom), public school in the British sen ...

, as one its five

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 ...

, there being no first-class cricket the previous year from which to pick outstanding performers because of the First World War. Partridge's record at Malvern as a right-hand batsman and, particularly, as a fast-medium in-swing bowler also led him, in 1919, to be chosen to play for the Gentlemen in the annual Gentlemen v Players match between the amateurs and the professionals at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

, then one of the highlights of the cricket season, but his school refused to allow him to take part. In 1936, towards the end of his career, he finally appeared in a Gentlemen v Players match, though it was an end-of-season festival affair at

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

rather than the Lord's fixture. After Malvern, he was at

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...

, for only one year, 1920, and won a Blue in the rain-ruined University Match. From 1921 to 1937, he played for Warwickshire, fairly regularly at first, latterly more seldom. He usually batted low in the batting order, but managed a career average of 18.62 and he frequently opened the bowling. In all first-class cricket, he scored more than 2,700 runs and took 393 wickets. Partridge died at

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...

. His obituary in '' Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'' recounts that there was some doubt about the legality of his bowling action, though he was never called for throwing. It says: "A batsman whom he had comprehensively bowled said indignantly to Tiger Smith behind the wicket, 'He threw that'. 'Yes,' said Tiger, 'and bloody well too'."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Partridge, Norman 1900 births 1982 deaths Cambridge University cricketers English cricketers People educated at Malvern College Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge Warwickshire cricketers Wisden Cricketers of the Year Gentlemen cricketers Free Foresters cricketers People from Great Barr