Phil Mead facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Phil Mead

Personal information
Full name	Charles Philip Mead
Born	(1887-03-09)9 March 1887 Battersea, London
Died	26 March 1958(1958-03-26) (aged 71) Boscombe, Bournemouth
Batting	Left-handed
Bowling	Slow left-arm orthodox
Role	Batsman
International information
National side	England
Test debut (cap 174)	15 December 1911 v Australia
Last Test	30 November 1928 v Australia
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1905–1936	Hampshire
1910–1929	Marylebone Cricket Club
1938–1939	Suffolk
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class Matches 17 814 Runs scored 1,185 55,061 Batting average 49.37 47.67 100s/50s 4/3 153/258 Top score 182* 280* Balls bowled – 18,457 Wickets – 277 Bowling average – 34.70 5 wickets in innings – 5 10 wickets in match – 0 Best bowling – 7/18 Catches/stumpings 4/– 675/–
Source: Cricinfo, 3 January 2010
Association football career Position(s) Goalkeeper Senior career* Years Team Apps (Gls) 1907 Southampton 1 (0) *Club domestic league appearances and goals

Charles Phillip Mead (born March 9, 1887 – died March 26, 1958) was a famous English first-class cricket player. He was a left-handed batsman. Phil Mead played for Hampshire and the England team from 1905 to 1936. He was born in Battersea, London. As a child, he played for South London Schools.

Mead holds many impressive batting records. He scored the most runs in the County Championship. He also has the fourth-highest total runs in all first-class matches. For Hampshire, he scored 48,892 runs. This is the most runs any batsman has scored for a single team. He scored over one thousand runs in every season of first-class cricket, except his very first. He was also a great fielder, catching 675 balls.

Cricket Career Highlights

Starting Out in Cricket

A famous cricketer named C. B. Fry saw Mead playing as a schoolboy. This was at the Oval cricket ground. Fry encouraged Mead to become a professional player. Mead then joined the Surrey team's ground staff in 1902.

Mead first tried out for Surrey. But Surrey had many strong batsmen. So, they could not offer him a contract. He then qualified to play for Hampshire. During his qualification time, Mead coached naval trainees. He almost played his first big match at age 17. However, W G Grace stopped him because of his young age.

Becoming a Regular Player

In 1905, Mead played one match against the touring Australian team. He was not yet fully qualified. After that, he quickly became a regular player for Hampshire. He had a good start, even scoring 109 runs against Yorkshire.

From 1907, Mead improved very quickly. He started as an opening batsman. By 1909, his average score was 39. In 1911, he moved to his usual batting position, number four. This change was very successful. He became the top run-scorer in 1911 and 1913.

Playing for England

Mead went on tours with the England team. He toured Australia in 1911–12 and South Africa in 1913–14. He did not do as well as expected in Australia. But in South Africa, he scored a century in a Test match. He played very well throughout that tour. In 1912, he was not out (160* and 33*) in Hampshire's important win against the Australians. This match was played at Southampton.

After World War I

World War I stopped county cricket for a while. Mead was not allowed to join the army for health reasons. After the war, Mead's achievements grew. He was very good at watching the ball and moving his feet. This made him a master against difficult bowlers.

In 1921, Mead missed the first three Tests against Australia. But in the last Test at The Oval, he scored 182 runs not out. This showed that England made a mistake by not picking him earlier. That same year, he scored his highest score of 280 runs not out against Nottinghamshire.

Later Career

Between 1922 and 1928, Mead was one of the best batsmen in county cricket. However, England had many strong batsmen at the time. Players like Herbert Sutcliffe, Wally Hammond, Jack Hobbs, and Frank Woolley were also playing. This meant Mead did not get many chances to play for England in Test matches.

After scoring over 3000 runs in 1928, Mead toured Australia again. This was his second time. But he was dropped after one Test match. This was to make space for another bowler.

In 1929, Mead was affected by an injury. His performance dropped, and he failed to reach 2000 runs for the first time since the war. Even so, Mead was still known for his great skill. He scored a thousand runs every year. In 1936, at 49 years old, Hampshire did not offer him a new contract. In his last game, he scored a skillful 52 runs. He then played for Suffolk in 1938 and 1939. He was also a cricket coach at Framlingham College.

Life After Cricket

Soon after World War II, Mead started having problems with his eyes. By 1941–42, he became completely blind. But he never complained about it. His money worries were helped by a fund. This fund was started by Herbert Sutcliffe for Mead and Len Braund. Mead always kept a great interest in cricket. He often went to Hampshire matches at Dean Park until he passed away on March 26, 1958.

Football Career

In 1907, Mead also played football for Southampton for one season. He played as an inside-forward for the club's reserve team. He did not plan to be a full-time footballer. On December 21, 1907, he was at Fratton Park for a reserve game. He was then called to The Dell. Southampton had an emergency because both their regular goalkeepers were injured. So, Mead played as the goalkeeper in a Southern League match against West Ham United. He played well and did not let any goals in, ending in a 0–0 draw.

Family Life

Phil Mead married Beatrice Englefield in 1908. They had two sons, Ronald and Frank. Beatrice's brother, Frank Englefield, was also a professional footballer. He played for both Southampton and Fulham.