Charles Terence Spencer (18 August 1931 – 2 February 2020) was an English first-class cricketer 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 ...

. Only

Ewart Astill William Ewart Astill (1 March 1888 – 10 February 1948) was, along with George Geary, the mainstay of the Leicestershire team from 1922 to about 1935. He played in nine Test matches but was never picked for a home Test or for an Ashes tour. ...

and

George Geary George Geary (9 July 1893 – 6 March 1981) was a first-class cricketer who played for Leicestershire County Cricket Club and the England cricket team. Abilities Above medium pace and right-handed, Geary was able to swing the new ball very e ...

have taken more wickets for Leicestershire. His career best figures of 9-63 were made in 1954 against Yorkshire. He is the nephew of Leicestershire fast bowler Haydon Smith.

Early career

Terry Spencer began playing for club side, Leicester Veronique, and was summoned to Grace Road, where Geary helped tune his action. He made his debut against Cambridge University at

Fenner's Fenner's is Cambridge University Cricket Club's ground. History Cambridge University Cricket Club had previously played at two grounds in Cambridge, the University Ground and Parker's Piece. In 1846, Francis Fenner leased a former cherry orchar ...

in 1952, taking one wicket. He took as many as 80 wickets in his debut season, albeit at fairly high cost, and was selected for the 1953 Test Trial, in which he bowled

Peter May Peter May may refer to: *Peter W. May, American businessman *Peter May (cricketer) (1929–1994), English Test cricketer *Peter May (writer) Peter May (born 20 December 1951) is a Scottish television screenwriter, novelist, and crime writer. H ...

Denis Compton Denis Charles Scott Compton (23 May 1918 – 23 April 1997) was an English multi-sportsman. As a cricketer he played in 78 Test matches and spent his whole cricket career with Middlesex. As a footballer, he played as a winger and spent most o ...

Reg Simpson Reginald Thomas Simpson (27 February 1920 – 22 November 2013) was an English cricketer, who played in 27 Test matches from 1948 to 1955. Life and career Born in Sherwood, Nottingham, England, Simpson attended Nottingham High School. At the ...

and

Trevor Bailey Trevor Edward Bailey (3 December 1923 – 10 February 2011) was an England Test cricketer, cricket writer and broadcaster. An all-rounder, Bailey was known for his skilful but unspectacular batting. As the BBC reflected in his obituary: "His ...

. Unusual in being able to play fairly regularly during his National Service served at nearby

Glen Parva Glen Parva is a civil parish in the Blaby district of Leicestershire, England with a population of over 17,000. The population of the civil parish (including Eyres Monsell) was measured at 17,189 in the 2011 census. To the north it runs into ...

, Spencer became a stalwart in a usually weak side. Claiming over 100 wickets once (119 in 1961), he passed 80 in a season a further six times. His finest hour was in 1954, in the tied Championship match against Yorkshire at

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

, Spencer captured his career best 9/63 in the second innings with what

Wisden ''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 ...

called "grand swing bowling". With the scores level off the last ball he tried to steal a single, but the bowler

Johnny Wardle Johnny Wardle (8 January 1923 – 23 July 1985) was an English spin bowling cricketer whose Test Match career lasted between 1948 and 1957. His Test bowling average of 20.39 is the lowest in Test cricket by any recognised spin bowler since ...

picked up and threw down the stumps at the non-striker's end. A useful hitter, he passed fifty seven times including an innings of 90 against Essex at

Grace Road Grace Road, known for sponsorship reasons as the Uptonsteel County Ground, Grace Road, is a cricket ground in Leicester, England. It is the home ground and administrative base of Leicestershire County Cricket Club. History Leicestershire ...

. He scored over 400 runs in a season eight times.

Comeback

Spencer retired in 1969 but was brought back by

Ray Illingworth Raymond Illingworth CBE (8 June 1932 – 25 December 2021) was an English cricketer, cricket commentator and administrator. , he was one of only nine players to have taken 2,000 wickets and made 20,000 runs in first-class cricket.Arnold, Peter ...

and after playing regularly for two seasons, he played intermittently in First Class and List A matches until a final championship appearance at the end of 1974 against Essex at

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

. Spencer was part of Leicestershire's 1972 Benson & Hedges cup-winning team. He played his final match for the county in a Benson and Hedges group match against Hampshire at

when several players were struck down with flu. He was 45 at the time. He managed Leicestershire‘a 2nd XI and under-25 teams, playing a role in the development of

David Gower David Ivon Gower (born 1 April 1957) is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer who was captain of the England cricket team during the 1980s. Described as one of the most stylish left-handed batsmen of his era, Gower played 117 Te ...

Nigel Briers Nigel Edwin Briers (born 15 January 1955 in Southfields, Leicester, England) played first-class and List A cricket for Leicestershire between 1971 and 1995. Cricket career A right-handed opening batsman, Briers was Leicestershire's youngest-e ...

and James Whitaker, before deciding to become an umpire.
He was on the First Class umpires list from 1979 until the end of 1983, and continued to Umpire Second Eleven matches until 1990.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Terry 1931 births 2020 deaths English cricketers Leicestershire cricketers Combined Services cricketers People from Blaby District Cricketers from Leicestershire English cricket umpires Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers D. H. Robins' XI cricketers