Charlie Parker (cricketer) facts for kids
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| Full name |
Charles Warrington Leonard Parker
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| Born | 14 October 1882 Prestbury, Gloucestershire |
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| Died | 11 July 1959 (aged 76) Cranleigh, Surrey |
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| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Slow left-arm orthodox | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Only Test | 23 July 1921 v Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1903–1935 | Gloucestershire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricInfo, 20 July 2021
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Charles Warrington Leonard Parker (born October 14, 1882 – died July 11, 1959) was a famous English cricketer. He was known for taking a huge number of wickets in first-class cricket. In fact, he is the third-highest wicket-taker in the entire history of this type of cricket! Only Wilfred Rhodes and Tich Freeman took more wickets than him.
Contents
Charlie Parker: Cricket Legend
Charlie Parker didn't start playing cricket seriously when he was a kid. He actually preferred to play golf! He only began focusing on cricket around the year 1900.
In 1903, a very famous cricketer named W. G. Grace suggested Charlie to the Gloucestershire team. However, Charlie only played two first-class matches before 1907.
Early Cricket Days
From 1907 onwards, Charlie played regularly for Gloucestershire. He was a left-handed bowler who bowled at a medium pace. Even though he had some great games, another bowler named George Dennett often got more attention.
Before World War I stopped county cricket, Charlie hadn't taken 100 wickets in a season. In his last two years before the war, he was quite expensive, meaning opponents scored a lot of runs off his bowling. It seemed like his cricket career might not be very special.
Becoming a Star Bowler
After World War I, Charlie Parker decided to change his bowling style. He started bowling much slower. Since George Dennett was serving in the Army, Charlie became Gloucestershire's main bowler in 1919.
He took more wickets that year than ever before. However, his bowling was still a bit expensive. But from 1920, Charlie became one of the best left-arm spin bowlers in England.
His bowling was a little faster than most spin bowlers, which made it harder to hit. He had long fingers, which allowed him to spin the ball a lot. This spin could make the ball hit the stumps from far away. He was almost impossible to play against on pitches that were wet or breaking apart.
Amazing Bowling Feats
Charlie Parker was incredibly successful in the 1920s. He took 125 wickets in 1920 and 164 wickets in 1921. In 1922, he took an amazing 206 wickets! He also took 204 wickets in 1924 and 222 wickets in 1925.
He was able to bowl for a very long time without getting tired. In 1926 and 1927, he bowled over 10,000 balls in each season. In 1927, he bowled more than 85% of Gloucestershire's overs from one end! He is one of only three bowlers ever to bowl over 10,000 balls in a season multiple times.
Some of his best performances include:
- Taking 9 wickets for only 36 runs against Yorkshire in 1922.
- Taking all 10 wickets for 79 runs against Somerset in 1921.
- Taking a hat-trick in both innings of a match against Middlesex in 1924. This happened after his own team was bowled out for just 31 runs!
- Taking 17 wickets for 56 runs against Essex in 1925.
- Taking 16 wickets for 109 runs against Middlesex in 1930.
In 1930, he also took 7 wickets for 54 runs against the Australian team in a famous tied match. From 1929 to 1931, he and Tom Goddard formed a very strong bowling team for Gloucestershire. They were helped by the amazing fielding of Wally Hammond.
Charlie almost achieved a unique feat in 1922. He hit the stumps five times in a row during his benefit match against Yorkshire. But one of the balls was called a "no-ball," so it didn't count as five wickets in five balls.
Later Career and Retirement
In 1931, even though he was 48 years old, Charlie Parker had another fantastic season. He took 100 wickets by June 12, matching a record set by Jack Hearne. He finished the season with 219 wickets, his second-highest total ever.
However, age finally started to affect him in 1932. He could still spin the ball well, but he wasn't as accurate. Because Gloucestershire didn't have many other strong bowlers besides him and Goddard, Charlie kept playing until 1935. But he never quite got back to his best form.
Playing for England (and why he didn't play more)
Charlie Parker only played one Test match for England. This was at Old Trafford in 1921. He took 2 wickets for 32 runs.
He didn't play more Test matches, especially in Australia, because the cricket pitches there in the 1920s and 1930s didn't suit his bowling style. His spin wasn't as effective on those dry, hard pitches. He was considered for other Test matches in 1926 and 1930 but was left out at the last minute.
He did go on some private tours, including to the West Indies and South Africa. In South Africa in 1924/1925, his bowling worked well on the matting wickets. However, he didn't bowl much in the main matches.
As a batsman, Charlie Parker usually didn't score many runs. But he almost achieved a "match double" (scoring 100 runs and taking 10 wickets in the same match) against Leicestershire in 1921 and Somerset in 1922.
Life After Cricket
After he stopped playing cricket in 1935, Charlie Parker became an umpire until World War II began. After the war, he coached his old team, Gloucestershire, for a short time. Then, he coached cricket at Cranleigh almost until he passed away on July 11, 1959.
A World Record Holder!
Charlie Parker was the first cricketer ever to take three hat-tricks in a single first-class season. He achieved this amazing feat in 1924. His record was later matched by J.S. Rao in 1963–64 and Dean Headley in 1996.
