Simon Charles Ecclestone (born 16 July 1971) played first-class and

List A List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competitions in which the numbe ...

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 ...

for

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

between 1994 and 1998. He also appeared in 1992 in List A cricket for

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

. He was born at Great Dunmow, Essex. Educated at Bryanston School and at

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

, Ecclestone was a hard-hitting left-handed middle-order batsman and a right-arm medium pace bowler. From 1990 to 1993 he played Minor Counties cricket for Cambridgeshire, for whom his brother Giles also played and in 1992 he appeared in one List A match, a NatWest Trophy match against

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

. In 1994, he was at

and in addition to appearing in first-class matches for the university side, he also played in one List A match for the

Combined Universities cricket team The British Universities cricket team was a cricket team whose players were drawn from university students studying in Great Britain. The team played under the title of Combined Universities until 1995. The team played List A cricket from 1975 t ...

. He won a

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by appearing in the annual

University Match The University Match in a cricketing context is generally understood to refer to the annual fixture between Oxford University Cricket Club and Cambridge University Cricket Club. From 2001, as part of the reorganisation of first-class cricket, ...

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 ...

. After the university cricket season was over, he appeared in a handful of List A and first-class matches for Somerset. In 1995, he appeared irregularly in Somerset's first team in both

County Championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...

and one-day matches, but in 1996, he became a regular in List A games and made two centuries in them. In a Benson and Hedges Cup match against

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

he made an unbeaten 112 and put on 188 for the second wicket with

Mark Lathwell Mark Nicholas Lathwell (born 26 December 1971) is a former English cricketer who played in two Test matches in 1993. Lathwell played the entirety of his first-class cricket career for Somerset County Cricket Club. Early career and England U19 m ...

. Little over a week later he made 130 in a 40-over Sunday League game against

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. ...

, this time putting on 183 for the second wicket with Peter Bowler and hitting 11 fours and 5 sixes. In 1997, Ecclestone played first-class matches more regularly for Somerset and also deputised as captain when Bowler was injured. He himself suffered a knee injury in the match against

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

when he was captaining the side, but he returned after retiring hurt in the first innings and made 123, his only County Championship century, and followed that with 94 in the second innings. Earlier in the same season he had made 133, his highest first-class score, in the match against Oxford University. He also scored 102 not out against the

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side that toured England playing first-class matches in 1997. In the season as a whole, he made 951 first-class runs at an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

of 45.28 and was awarded his Somerset county cap. The journalist David Foot, writing in

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 ...

, suggested that Ecclestone had "a future in captaincy". But that did not happen. In 1998, Ecclestone's knee injury got worse and restricted him to just five first-class games and five List A matches. He was forced to retire from cricket at the end of the season. Since retirement, Ecclestone has appeared in occasional minor matches and in 2002 he toured Malaysia and Singapore as a member of a

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

(MCC) side.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ecclestone, Simon 1971 births Living people English cricketers Oxford University cricketers Somerset cricketers Cambridgeshire cricketers Alumni of Durham University People from Great Dunmow People educated at Bryanston School Alumni of Keble College, Oxford British Universities cricketers Cricketers from Essex