We all know the stories of great debuts in cricket. Bob Massie and Narendra Hirwani’s 16 wickets or Lawrence Rowe 214 & 100* on Test debuts, for example. It is hard to beat Harold Gimblett’s first-class debut. In 1935, as a 20-year-old, he was told during a trial with Somerset that he had no future in first-class cricket. On the last day of his trial, Somerset were a player short for their game against Essex starting the next day at Frome. After a torrid trip to the ground the next morning involving missed buses and a hitched lift in a lorry, he came to the crease with Somerset 107-6 and hit a 63-minute century. When he finished his career with Somerset in 1954 he was (and still is) their leading run-scorer in first-class cricket.
Seeing the Forrester for the runs and wickets
Seeing the Forrester for the runs and wickets
Seeing the Forrester for the runs and wickets
We all know the stories of great debuts in cricket. Bob Massie and Narendra Hirwani’s 16 wickets or Lawrence Rowe 214 & 100* on Test debuts, for example. It is hard to beat Harold Gimblett’s first-class debut. In 1935, as a 20-year-old, he was told during a trial with Somerset that he had no future in first-class cricket. On the last day of his trial, Somerset were a player short for their game against Essex starting the next day at Frome. After a torrid trip to the ground the next morning involving missed buses and a hitched lift in a lorry, he came to the crease with Somerset 107-6 and hit a 63-minute century. When he finished his career with Somerset in 1954 he was (and still is) their leading run-scorer in first-class cricket.