Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 1946

Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 1946 represents the first cricket season after a six-year break from first class cricket during World War II. The English club Derbyshire had been playing for seventy five years. It was their forty-second season in the County Championship and they won five matches and lost thirteen to finish fifteenth (two from bottom) in the County Championship.

Derbyshire County Cricket Club seasons

1946 season
Captain	Gilbert Hodgkinson
County Championship	15
Most runs	Denis Smith
Most wickets	Cliff Gladwin
← 1939 1947 →

1946 season

On the resumption of county cricket after the second world war in 1946 the main problem affecting Derbyshire was that of finding a regular captain. The convention was that the captain be an amateur and usually no one was available for more than one year.[1] Gilbert Hodgkinson filled the role in 1946 and they made a poor re-entry to the County Championship .

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (1947 edition), in its review of the 1946 season, remarked that "the weather in 1946 might have been dreadful, but it didn't stop the crowds flocking to games".[2]

Derbyshire began their season with a tour of Ireland. They played 26 games in the County Championship, and one match against the touring Indians. They won five matches altogether, and these wins came in a bright patch in the middle of the season. Denis Smith was top scorer and Cliff Gladwin took most wickets with 102. Pat Vaulkhard and Denis Smith's 4th wicket partnership of 328 against Nottinghamshire remains a record for the county.

The club retained a nucleus of pre-war players, and Pat Vaulkhard, a future captain, had previously played for Nottinghamshire. Alan Revill, Eric Marsh, John Eggar and Roy Genders all began their first-class career during the season, although some had already played for the club in miscellaneous matches during the war. England footballer Raich Carter turned out for Derbyshire at cricket. However newcomers Walter Fullwood and Jack Pearson did not play beyond the end of the season, and John Tomlinson only played one match for the club in 1946.

Matches

List of matches
No.	Date	V	Result	Margin	Notes
1	15 May 1946[3]	Leicestershire County Ground, Derby	Lost	7 wickets	T S Worthington 147; Berry 121; Watson 108; Walsh 5-45
2	18 May 1946[4]	Essex Valentine's Park, Ilford	Lost	8 wickets	Pearce 124; CS Elliott 120; T Smith 5-34
3	25 May 1946[5]	Kent Queen's Park, Chesterfield	Drawn		W H Copson 5-26
4	29 May 1946[6]	Hampshire Queen's Park, Chesterfield	Lost	7 wickets	Dean 7-51
5	01 Jun 1946[7]	Middlesex Lord's Cricket Ground, St John's Wood	Drawn
6	08 Jun 1946[8]	Warwickshire County Ground, Derby	Drawn		C Gladwin 7-41
7	12 Jun 1946[9]	Worcestershire Amblecote, Stourbridge	Lost	Innings and 2 runs	P Jackson 5-29 and 5-57
8	15 Jun 1946[10]	Northamptonshire County Ground, Northampton	Drawn		C Gladwin 5-45
9	19 Jun 1946[11]	Surrey Kennington Oval	Drawn		Watts 6-31
10	22 Jun 1946[12]	Lancashire Park Road Ground, Buxton	Lost	Innings and 110 runs	C Gladwin 6-62; Garlick 6-27
11	29 Jun 1946[13]	Yorkshire Queen's Park, Chesterfield	Lost	4 wickets	W Bowes 5-56; T R Armstrong 5-32
12	03 Jul 1946[14]	Surrey County Ground, Derby	Won	2 wickets	D Smith 140; L Fishlock 151; Bedser 5-65
13	06 Jul 1946[15]	Leicestershire Bath Grounds, Ashby-de-la-Zouch	Lost	162 runs	V Jackson 5-43
14	10 Jul 1946[16]	Indian cricket team in England in 1946 Queen's Park, Chesterfield	Lost	118 runs	Nawab of Pataudi 113; AEG Rhodes 5-135
15	13 Jul 1946[17]	Lancashire Old Trafford, Manchester	Lost	9 wickets	Pollard 5-78; C Gladwin 7-108
16	20 Jul 1946[18]	Sussex Abbeydale Park, Sheffield	Won	2 wickets	C Gladwin 5-50; W H Copson 6-49
17	24 Jul 1946[19]	Hampshire At County Ground, Southampton	Won	6 wickets	Hill 100; A E Alderman 101; C Gladwin 6-39
18	27 Jul 1946[20]	Nottinghamshire Rutland Recreation Ground, Ilkeston	Drawn		Harris 122; Voce 114 and 5-92;
19	31 Jul 1946[21]	Glamorgan Queen's Park, Chesterfield	Won	Innings and 21 runs	W H Copson 5-29; AEG Rhodes 5-35
20	03 Aug 1946[22]	Warwickshire Edgbaston, Birmingham	Won	5 wickets	Dollery 113; A F Townsend 105; Hollies 6-94; AEG Rhodes 5-86
21	07 Aug 1946[23]	Glamorgan Cardiff Arms Park	Lost	Innings and 115 runs	Robinson 117; AEG Rhodes 7-109; Judge 7-23
22	10 Aug 1946[24]	Worcestershire Queen's Park, Chesterfield	Abandoned
23	14 Aug 1946[25]	Northamptonshire County Ground, Derby	Lost	7 wickets	W H Copson 5-68
24	17 Aug 1946[26]	Nottinghamshire Trent Bridge, Nottingham	Drawn		P Vaulkhard 264; D Smith 146; C Gladwin 5-58
25	21 Aug 1946[27]	Kent Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover	Lost	8 wickets	Wright 6-39
26	24 Aug 1946[28]	Gloucestershire County Ground, Derby	Lost	81 runs	S Cook 6-54
27	28 Aug 1946[29]	Somerset Agricultural Showgrounds, Frome	Drawn		Hazell 6-51; W H Copson 5-37

Statistics

County Championship batting averages

Name	Matches	Inns	Runs	High score	Average	100s
D Smith	24	42	1391	146	35.66	2
A F Townsend	24	42	1137	105	27.73	1
CS Elliott	24	44	846	120	20.63	1
P Vaulkhard	13	20	634	264	31.70	1
T S Worthington	16	27	539	147*	20.73	1
AC Revill	22	38	534	61	16.18	0
AEG Rhodes	25	39	508	63	13.72	0
A E Alderman	14	24	503	101	22.86	1
C Gladwin	25	42	488	61*	15.25	0
GF Hodgkinson	14	23	351	41	15.26	0
FE Marsh	15	25	229	24	13.47	0
W H Copson	24	33	98	18*	4.26	0
JD Eggar	3	5	171	86	34.20	0
H Pope	8	12	67	24*	6.70	0
WR Genders	3	6	62	24	12.40	0
W Fullwood	6	10	41	13	4.55	0
T R Armstrong	5	9	37	10*	9.25	0
LI Pearson	2	4	24	18	6.00	0
HS Carter	3	4	8	7	2.00	0
DB Carr	4	5	6	5	1.20	0
JDW Tomlinson	1	1	2	2	2.00	0[30]

County Championship bowling averages

Name	Balls	Runs	Wickets	BB	Average
C Gladwin	4695	1812	102	7-41	17.76
W H Copson	4614	1836	91	6-49	20.17
AEG Rhodes	4068	2010	69	7-109	29.13
T R Armstrong	1122	493	28	5-32	17.60
FE Marsh	1085	591	16	3-31	36.93
DB Carr	424	181	9	3-43	20.11
H Pope	837	420	9	2-86	46.66
CS Elliott	492	278	6	2-25	46.33
AC Revill	321	131	3	3-13	43.66
T S Worthington	660	279	3	2-24	93.00
HS Carter	90	46	2	2-39	23.00
JD Eggar	186	86	0
WR Genders	18	22	0[31]

Wicket Keepers

• D Smith Catches 32, Stumping 4
• W Fullwood Catches 5, Stumping 1
• P Vaulkhard Catches 15, Stumping 1

See also

• Derbyshire County Cricket Club seasons
• 1946 English cricket season

References

1. W.T. Taylor History of Derbyshire cricket Wisden 1953
2. Wisden 1947. Retrieved on 29 September 2009.
3. Cricket Archive Derbyshire v Leicestershire 15 May 1946
4. Cricket Archive Essex v Derbyshire18 May 1946
5. Cricket Archive Derbyshire v Kent 25 May 1946
6. Cricket Archive Derbyshire v Hampshire 29 May 1946
7. Cricket Archive Middlesex v Derbyshire 01 Jun 1946
8. Cricket Archive Derbyshire v Warwickshire 08 Jun 1946
9. Cricket Archive Worcestershire v Derbyshire 12 Jun 1946
10. Cricket ArchiveNorthamptonshire v Derbyshire 15 Jun 1946
11. Cricket Archive Surrey v Derbyshire 19 Jun 1946
12. Cricket Archive Derbyshire v Lancashire 22 Jun 1946
13. Cricket Archive Derbyshire v Yorkshire 29 Jun 1946
14. Cricket Archive Derbyshire v Surrey 03 Jul 1946
15. Cricket ArchiveLeicestershire v Derbyshire 06 Jul 1946
16. Cricket Archive Derbyshire v Indians 10 Jul 1946
17. Cricket Archive Lancashire v Derbyshire 13 Jul 1946
18. Cricket Archive Derbyshire v Sussex 20 Jul 1946
19. Cricket Archive Hampshire v Derbyshire 24 Jul 1946
20. Cricket Archive Derbyshire v Nottinghamshire 27 Jul 1946
21. Cricket Archive Derbyshire v Glamorgan 31 Jul 1946
22. Cricket Archive Warwickshire v Derbyshire 03 Aug 1946
23. Cricket Archive Glamorgan v Derbyshire 07 Aug 1946
24. Cricket Archive Derbyshire v Worcestershire 10 Aug 1946
25. Cricket Archive Derbyshire v Northamptonshire 14 Aug 1946
26. Cricket Archive Nottinghamshire v Derbyshire 17 Aug 1946
27. Cricket Archive Kent v Derbyshire 21 Aug 1946
28. Cricket Archive Derbyshire v Gloucestershire 24 Aug 1946
29. Cricket Archive Somerset v Derbyshire 28 Aug 1946
30. Batting and Fielding for Derbyshire County Championship 1946
31. Bowling for Derbyshire County Championship 1946