Dick Spooner facts for kids
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| Full name |
Richard Thompson Spooner
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| Born | 30 December 1919 Thornaby-on-Tees, North Riding, Yorkshire, England |
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| Died | 20 December 1997 (aged 77) Torquay, Devon, England |
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| Batting | Left-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Wicketkeeper-batsman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricinfo, 22 July 2021
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Richard "Dick" Thompson Spooner (born December 30, 1919 – died December 20, 1997) was a talented English cricketer. He played for Warwickshire and the England national team. Dick was a quick-thinking left-handed batsman and a very reliable wicket-keeper. He could bat at the start of the game or further down the batting order.
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Dick Spooner's Cricket Journey
Dick Spooner was born in Thornaby-on-Tees, a town in Yorkshire. He started playing first-class cricket when he was 28 years old, which was a bit later than some players. Before that, he played for Durham in 1946 and 1947.
In 1948, he joined the main team at Warwickshire. It took some time for his batting skills to fully develop. However, by 1950, he scored more than 1,000 runs in a season. This impressive performance led to him being chosen for the Commonwealth XI team. This team toured India in 1950–51. Dick did well as both a batsman and a wicket-keeper on this tour.
Becoming a Top Wicket-Keeper-Batsman
The next year, 1951, was a huge one for Dick Spooner. He became one of the top wicket-keeper-batsmen in cricket. He often opened the batting for Warwickshire. He scored over 1,700 runs that season, including four centuries (scoring 100 runs or more in one game).
That year, Warwickshire won the County Championship for only the second time ever. Because of his great performance, Dick was selected for the MCC tour of India, Pakistan, and Ceylon in 1951–52. Several regular England players, including Godfrey Evans, were not on this tour.
Playing for England in Test Matches
On the MCC tour, Dick Spooner played in all five Test matches against India. He usually opened the batting and scored 319 runs, averaging 35 runs per game. His strong batting skills likely helped him get chosen for these Tests.
In one Test match in Calcutta, he was the top scorer for England in both innings. He made 71 runs in the first innings and his highest Test score of 92 runs in the second. He also scored an amazing 168 runs without being out in a match against Pakistan in Lahore.
Later Career and Retirement
Even with his great international performances, Dick Spooner wasn't chosen for the home series against India in 1952. He only played in two more Test matches after that.
- In 1953–54, he played in the fourth Test match in the West Indies. He filled in for the injured Godfrey Evans.
- In 1955, he played his final Test match at The Oval against South Africa. Again, he played because Evans was injured. England won this series 3–2. In this final match, Dick didn't let any runs pass him as a wicket-keeper, but he didn't score any runs himself.
After 1951, Dick's batting scores started to go down. He still scored over 1,000 runs in the next four seasons, but his average score was lower. By the late 1950s, he was batting lower in the order and his average was in the low 20s. After a difficult season in 1959, he decided to retire from cricket.
After his cricket career, Dick Spooner became a groundsman (someone who takes care of sports fields) in Devon. He passed away in Torquay in December 1997, at the age of 77.
