Greville Stevens
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Greville Thomas Scott Stevens (7 January 1901 – 19 September 1970) was an
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
amateur cricketer who played for
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
, the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
and England. A
leg-spin Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action. The leg spinner's normal delivery causes the ball to spin from right to left (from the bowler's perspective) when the ball bounces on the ...
and
googly In the game of cricket, a googly refers to a type of delivery bowled by a right-arm leg spin bowler. It is different from the normal delivery for a leg-spin bowler in that it is turning the other way. The googly is ''not'' a variation of the ...
bowler and attacking batsman, he captained England in one
Test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...
, in South Africa in 1927. He was widely regarded as one of the leading amateur cricketers of his generation who, because of his commitments outside cricket, was unable to fulfil his potential and left the game early. Stevens was an outstanding schoolboy cricketer, whose exploits at
University College School ("Slowly but surely") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Mark Beard , r_head_label = , r_he ...
brought him to the attention of Middlesex, for whom he made his debut in 1919 while still at school. He won cricket blues at the
Oxford 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 ...
in each of the years 1920 to 1923, and was captain of the university side in 1922. He played for Middlesex between 1919 and 1932, and appeared altogether in 10 Test matches. The first of these was against South Africa in 1922–23, the last against the West Indies in 1929–30. He was a member of the side that regained
the Ashes The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, '' The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, its first ...
from Australia in 1926. Had he been able to devote himself more fully to cricket, Stevens's overall first-class record would, in the view of commentators, have been more impressive. After he left Oxford in 1923, his cricket appearances became increasingly intermittent, and in 1932, at the age of 31, he gave up the first-class game altogether, although he played in occasional minor matches until 1947. He served as an officer in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve during 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 opposi ...
.


Cricket career


School, Middlesex debut and Oxford

Stevens was born and grew up in Hampstead, North London, where he attended
University College School ("Slowly but surely") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Mark Beard , r_head_label = , r_he ...
. There, he began to show considerable talent as a cricketer, as a bowler of leg-breaks and
googlies In the game of cricket, a googly refers to a type of delivery bowled by a right-arm leg spin bowler. It is different from the normal delivery for a leg-spin bowler in that it is turning the other way. The googly is ''not'' a variation of the ...
, and this was recognised in 1918 when ''
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 ...
'', widely regarded as the "bible of cricket", named him as one of "Five School Bowlers of the Year". In the following season, 1919, he created a batting sensation by scoring 466 runs for Beta House v. Lambda House, in an internal school match. This feat attracted the attention of Middlesex County Cricket Club, who drafted him into their side to play
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...
at Lord's on 9–10 June 1919. On his county debut Stevens took 10 Hampshire wickets in the match, including 7 for 104 in their first innings. Stevens held his place in the Middlesex XI for the remainder of the season, and was chosen to play for the Gentleman in the prestigious
Gentlemen v. Players Gentlemen v Players was a long-running series of English first-class cricket matches. Two matches were played in 1806, but the fixture was not played again until 1819. It became an annual event, usually played at least twice each season, exc ...
fixture at Lord's – an almost unprecedented honour for a schoolboy cricketer. In the match he scored 24 and 11, and took 1 wicket for 62 runs. In the autumn of 1919 Stevens entered Brasenose College, Oxford. In his first match for the University, against
Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Av ...
, he took 5 for 35 in the county's first innings. He was a regular member of the side for each of his four years' residence, the batting highlights of which were two centuries scored in 1923: 115 against the MCC, and 182 (his best first-class score) against the West Indies touring side. He gained his cricket "blue" in 1920, his freshman year, and in each of the following three years, and was captain in 1922. His performances in the University matches against Cambridge were modest until his final year, 1923, when his bowling – he took 6 for 20 in the
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, 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. Cam ...
first innings – played a significant part in
Oxford 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 ...
's overwhelming victory that year. In all, Stevens played 40 matches for Oxford University, scoring 2,484 runs with two centuries, for a
batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
of 38.81. He took 146 wickets for a bowling average of 19.91, and held 54 catches.


Middlesex and England


County

While at Oxford, Stevens played for Middlesex when the university term was over, and helped the county to win the
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 ...
title in 1920 and 1921. In 1922 he recorded the best bowling figures of his career, 8 for 38, for Middlesex against Hampshire, at Portsmouth. After leaving Oxford, the need to earn a living affected his availability to play regular cricket for Middlesex; his appearances became less frequent, and in 1928 and 1929 he did not appear for the county at all. He managed almost a full season in 1931, when he made his highest score for the county – 170 not out against
Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Av ...
at
Edgbaston Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest of the city centre. In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family a ...
, and appeared regularly in the first part of the 1932 season, but at the end of June withdrew from the side and played no more county cricket. That was end of his first-class career, except for a couple of festival games in 1933. For Middlesex, Stevens played 127 matches between 1919 and 1932. He scored a total of 5,434 runs for the county, including 7 centuries, for a batting average of 30.18. He took 385 wickets, with a bowling average of 27.41, and held 107 catches.


England

While still at Oxford, Stevens was invited to go to South Africa with the 1922–23 MCC touring side under Frank Mann. The team played a series of five Test matches against the South African side; Stevens played in the first of these, at the Wanderers ground,
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...
, beginning on 23 December 1922. He made little impression on the game, and did not feature in the rest of the Test series. Stevens's next Test opportunity came in 1926, in the fourth Test against Australia. During the match England's captain, Arthur Carr, was taken ill and had to withdraw. A stand-in captain was required; at the time, practice and tradition suggested the choice of an amateur. Thus, as the only other amateur in the team, Stevens might have been asked to fulfil this role. However, he was the youngest and least experienced in a side that included several veteran professionals. The selectors broke with the amateur captain tradition and chose
Jack Hobbs Sir John Berry Hobbs (16 December 1882– 21 December 1963), always known as Jack Hobbs, was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches between 1908 and 1930. Known as "The Mast ...
, who accepted but only after first offering to defer to Stevens. The match was drawn, as had been the previous three; Stevens kept his place for the decider at
The Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...
, which England won and thus regained the Ashes. These two matches against Australia were Stevens's only Test appearances in England. He made two further MCC tours: to South Africa again in 1927–28, under R.T. Stanyforth, and to the West Indies in 1929–30, under Freddie Calthorpe. In South Africa, Stevens played in all five Tests, unproductively except for a score of 69 in the third Test at
Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
. For the fifth Test of the series Stanyforth was unfit, and Stevens assumed the England captaincy for this one match, which was lost. In the West Indies he played in two Tests, in the first of which he took ten wickets: 5 for 105 and 5 for 90 – his best bowling performance in Test cricket. Stevens played in 10 Tests altogether, scoring 263 runs, average 15.47, and taking 20 wickets, average 32.40. He also held 9 catches.


Other matches

Alongside his county and Test appearances, Stevens played regularly for the Gentlemen, for whom he scored two centuries in Gentlemen v. Players matches. He often turned out in the end-of-season
Scarborough Festival {{No footnotes, date=July 2011 The Scarborough Festival is an end of season series of cricket matches featuring Yorkshire County Cricket Club which has been held in Scarborough, on the east coast of Yorkshire, since 1876. The ground, at North Ma ...
matches, for various sides. In early 1932 he went with Lord Tennyson's XI to Jamaica, and played in three representative matches, all of which were won by Jamaica. In the first of these, Jamaica scored 702 for 5 declared (
George Headley George Alphonso Headley OD, MBE (30 May 1909 – 30 November 1983) was a West Indian cricketer who played 22 Test matches, mostly before World War II. Considered one of the best batsmen to play for the West Indies and one of the greatest cri ...
344 not out); Stevens's bowling figures were 2 for 194. In the second match, however, Stevens recorded one of his best bowling analyses, taking 8 for 87 in the Jamaicans' first innings. In the third game Stevens achieved figures of 3–199 in Jamaica's first innings, but came close to winning the match for Tennyson's XI with 4 for 63 in the second innings.


First-class record

In all first-class cricket, Stevens played in 243 matches. He scored 10,376 runs, average 29.56, with 12 centuries, highest score 182. He took 684 wickets, average 26.84, best analysis 8 for 38, and held 213 catches.


Later life

After his first-class cricket career was over, Stevens played in occasional minor matches, including several for The Forty Club in 1938–39. After 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 opposi ...
in which he served as a Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve officer, he toured The Netherlands with the
Free Foresters Free Foresters Cricket Club is an English amateur cricket club, established in 1856 for players from the Midland counties of England. It is a 'wandering' (or nomadic) club, having no home ground. The Free Foresters were founded by the Rev. Will ...
side, in August and September 1947 when he was 46 years old. He died at his home in Islington on 19 September 1970. Stevens was widely regarded as one of the finest amateur cricketers of his time. However, like other prominent amateurs of his era such as
Gubby Allen Sir George Oswald Browning "Gubby" Allen CBE (31 July 190229 November 1989) was a cricketer who captained England in eleven Test matches. In first-class matches, he played for Middlesex and Cambridge University. A fast bowler and hard-hittin ...
and
Douglas Jardine Douglas Robert Jardine ( 1900 – 1958) was an English cricketer who played 22 Test matches for England, captaining the side in 15 of those matches between 1931 and 1934. A right-handed batsman, he is best known for captaining the English ...
, he had to arrange his cricket around the demands of his working life. In his case this eventually proved too difficult, hence his early departure from the game. Commentators accept that, had he been able to spare more time for cricket, he would have improved his career record considerably.
Alan Gibson Norman Alan Stewart Gibson (28 May 1923 – 10 April 1997) was an English journalist, writer and radio broadcaster, best known for his work in connection with cricket, though he also sometimes covered football and rugby union. At various times ...
, in his history of the England Test captaincy, comments on his modest Test figures: " is is not sufficient evidence to say he would have been a poor Test player, had he been able to give himself more opportunities". Whether he would have proved a successful England captain, Gibson adds, is equally hard to say.


Notes and references


Notes


Citations


Sources


Books

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Online

* * * * * * * * *Middlesex County Cricket Club archive :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* *


Matchcards

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Greville 1901 births 1970 deaths England Test cricketers England Test cricket captains English cricketers Middlesex cricketers Oxford University cricketers Wisden Cricketers of the Year People educated at University College School Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Gentlemen cricketers North v South cricketers Harlequins cricketers Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II L. H. Tennyson's XI cricket team English cricketers of 1919 to 1945 H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI cricketers C. I. Thornton's XI cricketers Royal Navy officers of World War II