Roy Swetman (25 October 1933 – 21 July 2023) was an English cricketer, who played in eleven

Tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

as a

wicket-keeper The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. Th ...

from 1959 to 1960.

Life and career

Swetman was born in

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London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on 25 October 1933. Commencing his career with

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. ...

, for whom he was understudy to Arthur McIntyre, Swetman soon came to notice as a deft performer, even though his appearances were limited. He went to

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

with the MCC 'A' team in 1955–56, though at the time he was playing mostly for Surrey's second eleven. He replaced McIntyre as Surrey's keeper in 1956. A useful batsman, Swetman failed to consolidate his place in the England team when given first bite at replacing the long-serving Test wicket-keeper

Godfrey Evans Thomas Godfrey Evans (18 August 1920 – 3 May 1999) was an English cricketer who played for Kent and England. Described by ''Wisden'' as 'arguably the best wicket-keeper the game has ever seen', Evans collected 219 dismissals in 91 Test match ...

. He toured Australia and New Zealand with the Test team in 1958–59, playing his first Tests when Evans was injured. He played against India in 1959, then toured the West Indies as the primary wicket-keeper in 1959–60. He lost his place at the end of the 1959-60 tour to Jim Parks, and later also fell behind John Murray in the Test selectors' eyes. Surprisingly retiring from county cricket after the 1961 season, he returned in 1966 to play 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 ...

. Again leaving rather abruptly, this time in 1967, he emerged as a replacement for

Barrie Meyer Barrie John Meyer (21 August 1932 – 13 September 2015) was an English footballer and cricketer, and later a cricket umpire. Meyer played football for Bristol Rovers in 139 league matches, scoring 60 goals. He also played for Plymouth Argyle, ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

in 1972, but left when replaced by Andy Stovold in 1974. After leaving first-class cricket Swetman became a publican, an antiques expert and an artist specializing in portraits of cricketers. Roy Swetman died from pneumonia on 21 July 2023, at the age of 89.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Swetman, Roy 1933 births 2023 deaths England Test cricketers English cricketers Surrey cricketers Nottinghamshire cricketers Gloucestershire cricketers Combined Services cricketers Commonwealth XI cricketers International Cavaliers cricketers Cricketers from Westminster Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Players cricketers D. H. Robins' XI cricketers T. N. Pearce's XI cricketers Wicket-keepers