George Downton

George Charles Downton (1 November 1928 – 19 April 2014) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Kent County Cricket Club. He played as a wicket-keeper.

Downton was born in Bexley in Kent in 1928. Along with Douglas Raikes, he acted as England wicket-keeper Godfrey Evans' deputy in Kent's 1948 side, playing first-team cricket when Evans was on Test duty.[1] His first-class debut came in June 1948 against Yorkshire at Bradford.[2] He played a total of eight matches for Kent's First XI during the 1948 season, his only season of regular first-class cricket.[1][3]

He continued to appear for Kent's Second XI in the Minor Counties Championship until 1954 and played club cricket for Sevenoaks Vine, then the dominant club cricket side in Kent.[1] He captained Vine between 1956 and 1962 and was part of a partnership of 265 runs at the Nevill Ground in Tunbridge Wells in 1965.[4] He was capped by the Club Cricket Conference in 1955 and played regularly for the side, including against touring international sides, until 1965.[1][2][5] He played two first-class matches for Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in 1957 and 1959 to bring his total of first-class appearances to 10.[1]

Downton was the father of Paul Downton, also a wicket-keeper, who played for Kent and Middlesex and in 30 Test matches for England in the 1980s.[1][5] He died in April 2014 at Sevenoaks in Kent aged 85.[3]

References
  1. George Downton 1928 – 2014 – Obituary, Kent County Cricket Club, 2014-05-20. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
  2. George Downton, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2014-05-27.
  3. Downton, George Charles, Obituaries in 2014, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 2015. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
  4. George Downton (1928 – 2014), Sevenoaks Vine Cricket Club. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
  5. George Downton Archived 22 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Obituaries, Professional Cricketers' Association. Retrieved 2017-05-30.

George Downton at ESPNcricinfo


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.