Patrick Vaulkhard (15 September 1911 – 1 April 1995) 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

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 ...

in 1934 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 ...

between 1946 and 1952, being captain in 1950. Vaulkhard was born in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

. He debuted for Nottinghamshire Second XI in the Minor Counties Championship at the age of nineteen in June 1931. He made his first-class debut for Nottinghamshire in the County Championship in 1934, and played a total of nine matches in the season without much success. He took his sole first-class wicket as a bowler against

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

in June of that year. Vaulkhard was a protégé of

Sir Julien Cahn Sir Julien Cahn, 1st Baronet (21 October 1882 – 26 September 1944) was a British businessman, philanthropist and cricket enthusiast. Early life and family Cahn was born in Cardiff in 1882 to parents of German Jewish descent. His father, Alber ...

playing in several of his teams in the 1930s. In 1939 he played one season for

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

. Vaulkhard returned to first-class cricket in the 1946 season, becoming one of the first post-war debutants for Derbyshire. During this season, he hit his first and only first-class century, a spectacular innings of 264 against his former club Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge, when he batted seven hours. This was the highest score of any Derbyshire player of the season, and at the time when the 1995 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack was published it was the third highest score in first-class history by a player who never hit another century during their career.Wisden Almanack, Obituaries in 1995
– Retrieved 28 December 2006. This innings was part of a fourth-wicket partnership with Denis Smith, which, at 328, remains a record for the team,Highest Partnership for Each Wicket for Derbyshire County Cricket Club
– Retrieved 28 December 2006. and second in the list of single innings tallies for Derbyshire, only to George Davidson's innings of 274 in 1896. Vaulkhard saw less involvement in first-class cricket in the 1947 season. But when Derbyshire defeated Somerset in a single day in 1947, dismissing them for 68 and 38, Vaulkard top scored with 84 in 90 minutes with 6 fours and 3 sixes. His averages tailed off to just five in the 1949 season. However Derbyshire had difficulties finding a committed captain in the post-war years, and Vaulkhard was called upon for the job in the 1950 season.W.T. Taylor ''History of Derbyshire cricket Wisden'' 1953
/ref> He played more first-class games during this season than in any other, averaging 21 and scoring five first-class half centuries, while Derbyshire finished fifth in the County Championship under his leadership. During his final two years in first-class cricket, he played only five times, retiring from a first-class career spanning eighteen years in the 1952 season. Vaulkhard was a middle-order batsman throughout his Derbyshire career, immediately prior to the emergence of

Guy Willatt Guy Longfield Willatt (7 May 1918 – 11 June 2003) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Cambridge University from 1938 to 1947, for Nottinghamshire from 1939 to 1948, for Scotland from 1948 to 1950 and for Derbyshire f ...

as a strong first-team player. He was a right-handed batsman and played 122 innings in 77 first-class matches with an average of 21.39 and a top score of 264.Pat Vaulkhard at Cricket Archive
/ref> A powerful batsman, he regularly hit sixes, and once sent the ball over the football stand at Bradford. He had almost no backlift and so he relied on the punched straight drive. Vaulkhard occasionally kept wicket. As a bowler he took one first-class wicket at a cost of 124 runs. Vaulkhard died in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

at the age of 83. Vaulkhard's brother, Geoffrey, represented Nottinghamshire's Second XI in 1949, while another brother, Denis, represented the same team in 1931.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaulkhard, Pat 1911 births 1995 deaths English cricketers Nottinghamshire cricketers Derbyshire cricket captains People educated at Kent College Cricketers from Nottingham Northumberland cricketers