Eddie Crush
Edmund Crush MC (25 April 1917 – 9 June 2007), known as Eddie Crush, was an English cricketer who played for Kent County Cricket Club between 1946 and 1949.
![]() Lt. E. Crush Royal Engineers receiving the Military Cross from Field Marshal Montgomery | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Edmund Crush | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Dover, Kent, England | 25 April 1917||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 9 June 2007 90) Deal, Kent, England | (aged||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bowling | Right-arm medium Right-arm off spin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1946–1949 | Kent County Cricket Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricInfo, 26 December 2020 |
Crush was born in Dover in 1917, the youngest of seven brothers, and was educated at Dover Grammar School for Boys in the 1930s.[1][2] He served during World War II with the Royal Engineers. On D-Day, he was a subaltern and decorated with the Military Cross for his actions during the fight for Caen by Field Marshal Montgomery. His citation read: "As a result of his courage and determined leadership, anti-tank guns, troops and an anti-tank regiment of the Royal Artillery were able to get up to the objective for consolidation at a very early stage in the battle." Crush finished the war with the rank of major.[1][3]
Crush played first-class cricket for Kent as a right-arm swing and off-break bowler. The highlight of his career was dismissing Don Bradman in 1948 when Kent played the touring Australians.[3][4][5] Asked why he hadn't appealed Crush said "He was my hero, thousands of people including me wanted to see him bat" adding "the last time I had seen him was in 1930 when as a 13-year-old I cycled from Dover to Canterbury to watch him ... the words just wouldn't come out". Crush retired after the 1949 season.
Following his playing career, Crush established a sport outfitters shop in Dover. He remained an enthusiastic club cricketer during the 1950s playing for Dover Cricket Club and St Lawrence & Highland Court. He was on the Kent General Committee and was a cricket coach.[3] He served on the Test and County Cricket Board Disciplinary Committee and was a member of MCC.
He married Dorothea Tolputt on Christmas Day 1955 at Lydden Church in Dover. The couple had two sons. Crush died at Dover in 2007 aged 90.[1]
References
- Eddie Crush, CricInfo. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
- Jeater D (2020) County Cricket: Sundry Extras (second edition), p.41. (Available online at the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 2020-12-27.)
- Crush, Edmund, Obituaries in 2007, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 2008. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
- Eddie Crush dies aged 90, CricInfo, 3 July 2007. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
- The Sydney Morning Herald