David Sheppard

For other people named David Sheppard, see David Sheppard (disambiguation).

The Rt Revd and Rt Hon  The Lord Sheppard of Liverpool
Bishop of Liverpool
Church	Church of England
Diocese	Diocese of Liverpool
Enthroned	1975
Reign ended	1997 (retired)
Predecessor	Stuart Blanch
Successor	Rt Revd James Jones
Other posts	Labour life peer 1998–2005 Bishop of Woolwich 1969–1975
Orders
Ordination	1955 (deacon); 1956 (priest)
Consecration	c. 1969
Personal details
Born	6 March 1929(1929-03-06) Reigate, Surrey
Died	5 April 2005(2005-04-05) (aged 76) West Kirby, Merseyside
Nationality	British
Denomination	Anglican
Spouse	Grace Isaac[1]
Children	Jenny Sinclair[2]
Occupation	Cricketer

David Sheppard

Personal information
Batting style	Right-handed batsman (RHB)
Bowling style	Slow left arm orthodox
International information
National side	English
Career statistics
Competition	Tests	First-class
Matches	22	230
Runs scored	1172	15838
Batting average	37.80	43.51
100s/50s	3/6	45/75
Top score	119	239*
Balls bowled	–	120
Wickets	–	2
Bowling average	–	44.00
5 wickets in innings	–	–
10 wickets in match	–	–
Best bowling	–	1/5
Catches/stumpings	12/–	194/–
Source: [1], {{{date}}} {{{year}}}

David Stuart Sheppard, Baron Sheppard of Liverpool (6 March 1929–5 March 2005) was the high-profile Bishop of Liverpool in the Church of England who played cricket for Sussex and England in his youth. Sheppard remains the only ordained minister to have played Test cricket,^[3] though others such as Tom Killick were ordained after playing Tests.

Early cricket career 1950-56

Sheppard was born in Reigate,^[4] Surrey, the son of a solicitor, and educated at Sherborne School, Dorset, where his cricketing talent first emerged. After National Service as a second lieutenant in the Royal Sussex Regiment,^[5] he then went up to Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and played for Cambridge University (blue 1950, 1951 and 1952; captain 1952), Sussex (captain 1953) and England. He toured as an undergraduate with Freddie Brown in 1950-51 without success. In 1952 he topped the English batting averages, scoring 2,262 runs at an average of 64.62, including a record 1,281 runs and 7 centuries for Cambridge University. His career total for Cambridge University, 3,545, was also a record. He hit 1,000 runs in a season six times, reaching 2,000 three times (highest 2,270, average 45.40, in 1953). He hit three double centuries, one for Sussex and two for Cambridge University (highest 239 not out for Cambridge University v Worcestershire at Worcester in 1952).

As a result he was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1953. In 1954 he captained England in two Tests Pakistan in the absence of Len Hutton. He won one Test and drew the other, but the series ended in a 1-1 draw. Sheppard was a favourite with the Old Guard at Lords, who had wanted him to captain the tour of Australia in 1954-55 instead of the Yorkshire professional, but this came to naught. Sheppard was already progressing his clerical career and declined to tour unless required as a captain. In 1956 he was recalled to play Australia and made 113 in the Fourth Test at Old Trafford, where Jim Laker famously took 19 wickets and England won by an innings.

Later cricket career 1962-63

On top of all this we were besieged by clergymen eager to met the Reverend David Sheppard...In no time at all the news in the press concerning the England team centred on...where David Sheppard was sermonizing.^[6]

Fred Trueman

In 1962 Sheppard was willing to take a sabbatical from his church mission in the East End in order to tour Australia in 1962-63. His many friends at Lords wanted him to captain the Fourth and Fifth Tests against Pakistan in 1962, but Sheppard had not played serious cricket for years. He made 112 for the Gentlemen and was chosen for the tour, but Ted Dexter was confirmed as captain for the remainder of the home series and the forthcoming tour of Australia. Sheppard agreed to tour and "the presence in the pulpit of David Sheppard...filled the Anglican cathedral of every state capital from Perth to Brisbane"^[7] Sheppard made 0 and 113 in the victorious Second Test at Melbourne, but dropped two catches and was dropped himself when he was on a pair in the second innings. He ran out his captain Ted Dexter, took a risky single for the winning run and was run out by Bill Lawry so that Ken Barrington had to come out to see Colin Cowdrey make the winning single. Although he held some good catches on the tour "the ones I dropped were at such vital moments",^[8] Richie Benaud and Bill Lawry in the Second Test and Neil Harvey in the Fourth Test off Trueman, who told him "The only time your hands are together are on Sunday".^[9] This is a story that increased with the telling, another version being "Pretend it's Sunday Reverend, and keep your hands together",^[10] or that it was Sheppard who said "Sorry Fred, I should have kept my hands together".^[11] One couple in Australia asked Mrs Sheppard if the Reverend could christen their baby, but she advised them not to as he was bound to drop it.^[8]

Ecclesiastical career

Sheppard was converted to evangelical Christianity whilst at Cambridge and trained for the ministry at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, where he attended the lectures of Owen Chadwick and Maurice Wiles, and was much impressed by a visiting lecturer, Donald Soper. He was involved with the ministry of E. J. H. Nash.^[12] He was ordained in 1955 and continued to play Test cricket until 1963, being the first ordained minister to do so. He became Bishop of Woolwich (a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Southwark) in 1969,^[13] and Bishop of Liverpool in 1975.^[14] He was an active broadcaster and campaigner, especially on the subject of poverty and social reform in the inner cities.

He worked closely with the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Liverpool, Derek Worlock, on these issues, and was often an outspoken critic of Margaret Thatcher's government. In 1985 he was appointed as a member of the Archbishop of Canterbury's Commission on Urban Priority Areas, culminating in the publishing of the controversial report "Faith in the City". He retired in 1997, and in the 1998 New Year Honours was elevated to a life peerage,^[15] taking the title Baron Sheppard of Liverpool, of West Kirby in the County of Merseyside.^[16] He sat in the House of Lords on the Labour benches.

Awards

• In 2001 Sheppard was named President of Sussex County Cricket Club.

Writing

Lord Sheppard published two autobiographies, Parson's Pitch, in 1966 and Steps Along Hope Street, in 2002 (named after the street in Liverpool which links the Anglican and Roman Catholic cathedrals).

Personal life

He had a long and happy marriage to his wife Grace (née Isaac), whom he met at Cambridge. Their only child, Jenny (now Sinclair), was received into the Roman Catholic Church, but the family did not become estranged. Lady Sheppard died of cancer on 10 November 2010, aged 75. ^[17]

Death

In December 2003, Lord Sheppard announced that he had been suffering from colorectal cancer for the previous two years, and he died on 5 March 2005, the day before what would have been his 76th birthday. His ashes were laid to rest in Liverpool Cathedral.

Legacy

On Pentecost Sunday, 11 May 2008, during the Christian Walk of Witness a Memorial Statue, the Sheppard-Worlock Statue, in the form of two Bronze Doors was unveiled to honour both Archbishop Derek Worlock and Lord Sheppard. The memorial was designed by acclaimed sculptor Stephen Broadbent and funded by public donations. The Memorial is situated half way down Hope Street.^[18]

References

1. ^ Liverpool Echo – Archbishop Desmond Tutu pays tribute to Grace Sheppard at Liverpool Cathedral thanksgiving service (p. 2)
2. ^ Liverpool Echo – Archbishop Desmond Tutu pays tribute to Grace Sheppard at Liverpool Cathedral thanksgiving service (p. 1)
3. ^ Bateman, Colin (1993). If The Cap Fits. Tony Williams Publications. p. 146. ISBN 1-869833-21-X. 
4. ^ "David Stuart Sheppard, cricketer and priest: born Reigate, Surrey 6 March 1929; played cricket for Sussex 1947-62 (Captain 1953), England 1950-63 (Captain 1954); ordained deacon 1955, priest 1956; Assistant Curate, St Mary's, Islington 1955-57; Warden, Mayflower Centre, Canning Town 1957-69; Chairman, Evangelical Urban Training Project 1968-75; Bishop Suffragan of Woolwich 1969-75; Chairman, Peckham Settlement 1969-75; Chairman, Martin Luther King Foundation 1970-75; Chairman, Urban Ministry Project 1970-75; Bishop of Liverpool 1975-97; Vice-Chairman, Archbishop of Canterbury's Commission on Urban Priority Areas 1983-85; Chairman, Central Religious Advisory Committee for BBC and IBA 1989-93; Chairman, General Synod Board for Social Responsibility 1991-96; Chairman, Churches' Enquiry into Unemployment and the Future of Work 1995-97; created 1998 Baron Sheppard of Liverpool; President, Sussex County Cricket Club 2001-02; married 1957 Grace Isaac (one daughter); died West Kirby, Merseyside 5 March 2005." Obituary Notice, The Independent March 7, 2005
5. ^ London Gazette: no. 38392. p. 4770. 27 August 1948. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
6. ^ pg. 274 and pp. 227-278, Fred Trueman, As It Was, The Memoirs of Fred Trueman, Pan Books, 2004
7. ^ pg. 124, E.W. Swanton, Swanton in Australia, with MCC 1946-1975, Fontana, 1977
8. ^ ^{a b} pg. 169, Criss Freddi, The Guinness Book of Cricket Blunders, Guinness Publishing, 1996
9. ^ pg. 282, Fred Trueman, As It Was, The Memoirs of Fred Trueman, Pan Books, 2004
10. ^ pp. 168-169, Criss Freddi, The Guinness Book of Cricket Blunders, Guinness Publishing, 1996
11. ^ pg. 116, Fred Titmus with Stafford Hildred, My Life in Cricket, John Blake Publishing Ltd, 2005
12. ^ Randle Manwaring From Controversy to Co-Existence: Evangelicals in the Church of England 1914-1980 (Cambridge: CUP, 2002), pg. 58
13. ^ London Gazette: no. 44953. p. 10317. 9 October 1969. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
14. ^ London Gazette: no. 46566. p. 5873. 6 May 1975. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
15. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 54993. p. 1. 30 December 1997. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
16. ^ London Gazette: no. 55048. p. 1975. 19 February 1998. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
17. ^ "Archbishop Kelly pays tribute to Lady Grace Sheppard" by Claire Bergin www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=17102, 12 November 2010
18. ^ Down, Richard (May 12, 2008). "Anglican and Catholic leaders unveil statue tribute". Liverpool Daily Post. http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2008/05/12/anglican-and-catholic-leaders-unveil-statue-tribute-64375-20894568. Retrieved 2008-05-12. 

External links

• Cricinfo page for David Sheppard
• Biography from The Wisden Cricketer
• BBC News obituary
• Obituary from The Guardian newspaper

Religious titles
Preceded by John Robinson	Bishop of Woolwich 1969–1975	Succeeded by Michael Marshall
Preceded by Stuart Blanch	Bishop of Liverpool 1975–1997	Succeeded by James Jones
Sporting positions
Preceded by James Langridge	Sussex county cricket captain 1953	Succeeded by Hubert Doggart
Preceded by Len Hutton	England cricket captain 1954	Succeeded by Len Hutton

Persondata
Name	Sheppard, David Stuart
Alternative names	Sheppard of Liverpool, David Sheppard, Baron
Short description	Anglican Bishop of Liverpool; English Test and County cricketer
Date of birth	6 March 1929
Place of birth	Reigate, Surrey
Date of death	5 March 2005
Place of death	West Kirby, Merseyside