Norman Partridge (cricketer)

Norman Ernest Partridge, born at Great Barr, Birmingham, on 10 August 1900 and died at Aberystwyth on 10 March 1982, was an English cricketer who played for Cambridge University and Warwickshire. But his wider claim to notability is that he was selected by Wisden in 1919, while a schoolboy at Malvern College,^[1] as one its five Cricketers of the Year,^[2] there being few outstanding first-class cricketers shortly after the First World War.

Partridge's record at Malvern as a right-hand batsman and, particularly, as a fast-medium in-swing bowler also led him, in 1919, to be chosen to play for the Gentlemen in the annual Gentlemen v Players match between the amateurs and the professionals at Lord's, then one of the highlights of the cricket season, but his school refused to allow him to take part.

Partridge was one of several schoolboys chosen in 1918 and 1919 as Wisden Cricketers of the Year. After Malvern, he was briefly with Worcestershire and in 1919 he played Marylebone Cricket Club^[3] being the dominant bowler with six wickets. He was at Cambridge for only one year, 1920, but won a Blue in the Varsity match. In 1921, he was briefly with Wolverhampton and played in the match in 1921 against his old school, achieving a respectable 44 runs and 5 wickets.^[4] From 1921 to 1937, a total of sixteen years, he played for Warwickshire, fairly regularly at first, latterly more seldom. He usually batted low in the batting order, but managed a career average of 18.6 and he frequently opened the bowling. In all first-class cricket, he scored more than 2,700 runs and took 393 wickets.^[5]

Partridge's obituary in Wisden 1983^[1] recounts that there was some doubt about the legality of his bowling action, though he was never called for throwing. It says: "A batsman whom he had comprehensively bowled said indignantly to Tiger Smith behind the wicket, 'He threw that'. 'Yes,' said Tiger, 'and bloody well too'."

References

1. ^ Cricket Archive : Norman Partridge
2. ^ Cricket Archive : Norman Partridge
3. ^ Worcestershire v Marylebone Cricket Club, Worcester on 27/28 August 1919
4. ^ Malvern College v Wolverhampton Malvern College Ground, 28 May 1921
5. ^ Cricinfo : Norman Partridge

• ^ Wisden, 1983 edition, page 1252

Persondata
Name	Partridge, Norman
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Date of birth	1900
Place of birth
Date of death	1982
Place of death