Godfrey Evans
Template:Infobox Historic Cricketer Thomas Godfrey Evans CBE (August 18, 1920 – May 3, 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 appearances between 1946 and 1959 and a further 1066 in first-class matches for Kent. En route he was the first wicket keeper to reach 200 Test dismissals and the first Englishman to reach both 1000 runs and 100 dismissals and 2000 runs and 200 dismissals in Test cricket. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1951.
Test career
Evans made his Test debut in 1946 against India when he was chosen for the Third Test at The Oval, replacing Paul Gibb. In a largely rain affected contest he didn't bat or take any dismissals. [1]
Evans was selected as a member of Wally Hammond’s side to tour Australia in 1946/47. After Gibb had played in the First Test, Evans got his chance in the Second at Melbourne, Australia won the match by an innings having scored 659/8 declared in the first innings, in 173 overs of English bowling Evans failed to concede a single bye, with Wisden commenting he 'kept wicket magnificently'.[2]
In the Fourth Test at Adelaide Evans shared in a vital ninth wicket partnership with Denis Compton, at 255/8 England were in danger of losing the Test but Evans played a fine defensive innings, scoring 10 not out in 133 minutes, this enabled Compton to complete his century and Hammond the chance to declare. Evans took 97 minutes to score his first run, a Test record which stood until 1999 when beaten by Geoff Allott.[3]
In the 1947 home series with South Africa, Evans played in all 5 Tests scoring 209 runs at 41.80 and taking 14 dismissals, in the First Test at Trent Bridge he scored his maiden Test fifty with an innings of 74 that contained 14 fours.[4]
After cricket
After his retirement from professional cricket Evans became a cricket expert for bookmakers Ladbrokes, famously offering odds of 500 to 1 on an England victory against Australia at Headingley in 1981, the match in which Ian Botham and Bob Willis fought back from following-on at 227 runs behind to achieve a memorably improbable victory.
References
- ^ England v India, 3rd Test, 1946, Cricinfo, Retrieved on 3 December 2008
- ^ Australia v England, 2nd Test, 1946/47, Cricinfo, Retrieved on 3 December 2008
- ^ Allott sets new marks, Cricinfo, Retrieved on 3 December 2008
- ^ England v South Africa, 1st Test, 1947, Cricinfo, Retrieved on 3 December 2008
External links
- Godfrey Evans at ESPNcricinfo
- David Frith, Ebullient keeper with eternal charm, The Independent, May 4, 1999
- Norman Harris, Obituary, The Independent, May 4, 1999
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