Percy "Paddy" Corrall (16 July 1906 – 23 February 1994) was an English

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

er who played for

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 ...

between 1930 and 1951. He was born and died in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

, Leicestershire. Corrall was a lower-order right-handed batsman and wicketkeeper and, at , one of the smallest first-class cricketers. Having played for the second eleven since 1927, he made his first-class debut for Leicestershire in a single game in the 1930 season, against

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 ...

, in which he failed to make a dismissal. He returned to second eleven cricket for 1931 but at the end of that season

Tom Sidwell Thomas Edgar Sidwell (30 January 1888 – 8 December 1958) was an English cricketer. A right-hand batsman and a wicketkeeper, Sidwell made 392 appearances for Leicestershire County Cricket Club between 1913 and 1933. His 551 catches and 127 ...

, who had been the regular first-team wicketkeeper since before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, retired. Corrall took over as the wicketkeeper in the 1932 season and played in every Leicestershire first-class match that season, making 39 catches and 11 stumpings and batting at No 10 or No 11. Corrall was again Leicestershire's first-choice wicketkeeper in 1933, but in the match against

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

in early July he met with what ''

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

'' termed "an unfortunate accident". ''Wisden'' wrote: "

Washbrook Washbrook is a village and former civil parish south west of Ipswich, now in the parish of Copdock and Washbrook, in the Babergh district, in the county of Suffolk, England. In 2011 the built-up area had a population of 517. In 1961 the parish ...

swung his bat at a high ball from Astill and struck the wicketkeeper on the left ear. He was removed to hospital in a semi-unconscious condition, and remained so ill that he did not play again during the summer." In its broader report on Leicestershire's 1933 season, ''Wisden'' wrote: "A serious accident in the match with Lancashire at Leicester overtook Corrall, the young wicketkeeper, and for weeks he was in hospital on the danger list. As it happened, the loss of Corrall, far from weakening the eleven, brought forth some increased strength in batting, for Sidwell, after spending a year in retirement, returned to first-class cricket with marked success." Later reports identified Corrall's injury as a fractured skull. Fit again, Corrall returned to the Leicestershire side in 1934 and was then the regular wicketkeeper again until he was once more injured in 1937. Never much more than a tail-ender as a batsman, he made his only career score of more than 50 when acting as nightwatchman in the match 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 ...

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th cen ...

in 1934, with an innings of 64. In exactly the same fixture in 1936, he set a first-class record for a Leicestershire wicketkeeper that still stands, , in making 10 dismissals, with seven caught and three stumped. In 1937, Corrall was injured twice and Leicestershire turned to George Dawkes, not yet 17 in his first matches, as replacement wicketkeeper, and in 1938 and 1939 Dawkes took over as the first choice, and Corrall did not play at all. During his military service in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Corrall was stationed in India, where he played in two first-class matches in late 1944, one of them for the

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 the Bombay Pentangular Tournament. When first-class county cricket resumed in 1946, Dawkes was still serving with the Royal Air Force, so Corrall was recalled as Leicestershire wicketkeeper and had his most successful season so far, with 65 dismissals. Dawkes had still not been demobilised by the start of the 1947, so Corrall retained his place and when Dawkes was finally available late in the season, he joined

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 ...

rather than returning to Leicestershire. Corrall played through to the end of the 1950 season as Leicestershire's regular wicketkeeper, and in 1948 he was (jointly with Eric Meads, the

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 ...

player) the leading wicketkeeper in England with 74 dismissals, 34 of them stumpings. His high proportion of stumpings in the latter part of his career reflected the Leicestershire bowling attack's dependence on the spin of Jack Walsh and

Vic Jackson Victor Edward Jackson (25 October 1916 – 30 January 1965) was an Australian first class cricketer who played for New South Wales cricket team, New South Wales and Leicestershire County Cricket Club. From Australia to Cahn's XI Jackson made ...

. Corrall was awarded a benefit match in 1949 and retired at the end of the 1950 season, though he returned for a single match in 1951. Corrall went on to the first-class umpires list for the 1952 season and stayed there for six seasons, returning for occasional matches in the following two seasons. Later, although a lifelong teetotaller, he ran a pub.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corrall, Percy 1906 births 1994 deaths English cricketers Leicestershire cricketers Europeans cricketers English cricket umpires North v South cricketers British military personnel of World War II