Cecil George Pepper (15 September 1916 – 22 March 1993) was an Australian first-classcricketer who became a professional in English league cricket and later a first-class umpire in England. An allrounder, he was the first to complete the double twice in the Central Lancashire League. He once scored 38 runs off an eight-ball over.[1]
Career highlights included an innings he played for New South Wales at Brisbane in 1940–41 when he made 81 with all but 7 of them coming in boundaries. His only century came when he hit 168 in 146 minutes, with 17 fours and 6 sixes, for the Australian Services XI against H.D.G. Leveson-Gower's XI at Scarborough in 1945.[2] His best bowling figures of 6 for 33 came in 1949–50 when touring India with a Commonwealth side. He took a hat-trick in the match.[3] He played only two first-class matches after that tour, spending the rest of his career as a professional in league cricket.
Pepper became embroiled in a row that is widely believed to have cost him Test selection. Teammates Keith Miller and Dick Whitington regarded him as one of the best all rounders in the world and a certainty for Australian Test selection. Pepper appealed for leg before wicket against Australian captain Don Bradman in a match against South Australia. The appeal was turned down and Pepper complained to the umpire, prompting Bradman, who was also a member of the Australian Board, to lodge a complaint about Pepper. Pepper was subsequently never selected for Australia.[4] Cricket historian Gideon Haigh said that "[team manager Keith] Johnson was clearly upset by the affair, and also by the failure of the [national] selection panel [Bradman among them] ... to send Pepper, second only to Miller as a cricketer in the Services XI, to New Zealand" in 1945–46.[5] Johnson tried to intercede on Pepper's behalf to no avail, although the other board members claimed that no directive had been given to the selectors to exclude Pepper.[5]
Garry Sobers, who played against him in league cricket, said of Pepper that "the reason why he never played county cricket was probably because of his overripe language. He was certainly good enough as a cricketer but no one wanted to take the chance ... It is said that Sir Don Bradman once remarked that had Cec's mouth and his attitude been different, he would have been one of the greatest all-rounders the world has ever seen."[6]
After retiring he became an umpire in county cricket from 1964 until 1980. He remained in England and died in 1993 in Lancashire. His Wisden obituary noted that "A Manchester Evening News correspondent said he could not imagine any match involving Pepper pursuing a peaceful course", but added that usually "there was more humour than anger".[7]
Personal lifeedit
During his early years as a professional cricketer in the Lancashire leagues, Pepper was the highest-paid cricketer in England.[8] He established a successful packaging business in Bury in Lancashire, and bought residences in Blackpool and the south of Spain.[9]
Pepper married Maurine Ford in Wagga Wagga in October 1943.[10] They had a son in England in November 1946.[11] Pepper had an affair in England in 1944 that led to the birth of a son in 1945.[12] Maurine divorced him in 1948 on the grounds of adultery and returned to Australia, where she remarried in 1952.[13] Pepper did not remarry, but he and a married woman had a son in October 1964.[14]
Pepper died of heart disease in Littleborough, Lancashire, in March 1993. He left his estate, worth £135,000, divided equally between his third son and a woman he had known for only a few months.[15]
pepper, cecil, george, pepper, september, 1916, march, 1993, australian, first, class, cricketer, became, professional, english, league, cricket, later, first, class, umpire, england, allrounder, first, complete, double, twice, central, lancashire, league, onc. Cecil George Pepper 15 September 1916 22 March 1993 was an Australian first class cricketer who became a professional in English league cricket and later a first class umpire in England An allrounder he was the first to complete the double twice in the Central Lancashire League He once scored 38 runs off an eight ball over 1 Cec PepperPepper left walks out to bat with Keith MillerPersonal informationFull nameCecil George PepperBorn 1916 09 15 15 September 1916Forbes New South Wales AustraliaDied22 March 1993 1993 03 22 aged 76 Littleborough Greater Manchester EnglandBattingRight handedBowlingRight arm leg break and googlyRoleAll rounder UmpireDomestic team informationYearsTeam1938 1941New South WalesFirst class debut25 November 1938 New South Wales v QueenslandLast First class4 September 1957 Commonwealth XI v England XICareer statisticsCompetition First classMatches 44Runs scored 1 927Batting average 29 64100s 50s 1 12Top score 168Balls bowled 9 698Wickets 171Bowling average 29 355 wickets in innings 710 wickets in match 0Best bowling 6 33Catches stumpings 41 Source CricketArchive 22 January 2009 Contents 1 Cricket career 2 Personal life 3 See also 4 References 5 Sources 6 External linksCricket career editCec Pepper played first class cricket for New South Wales from 1938 39 to 1940 41 He fought in World War II in the Middle East and New Guinea and at the end of the war he played for Australian Services cricket teams in England the Victory Tests series in 1945 and in India Ceylon and Australia in 1945 46 Career highlights included an innings he played for New South Wales at Brisbane in 1940 41 when he made 81 with all but 7 of them coming in boundaries His only century came when he hit 168 in 146 minutes with 17 fours and 6 sixes for the Australian Services XI against H D G Leveson Gower s XI at Scarborough in 1945 2 His best bowling figures of 6 for 33 came in 1949 50 when touring India with a Commonwealth side He took a hat trick in the match 3 He played only two first class matches after that tour spending the rest of his career as a professional in league cricket Pepper became embroiled in a row that is widely believed to have cost him Test selection Teammates Keith Miller and Dick Whitington regarded him as one of the best all rounders in the world and a certainty for Australian Test selection Pepper appealed for leg before wicket against Australian captain Don Bradman in a match against South Australia The appeal was turned down and Pepper complained to the umpire prompting Bradman who was also a member of the Australian Board to lodge a complaint about Pepper Pepper was subsequently never selected for Australia 4 Cricket historian Gideon Haigh said that team manager Keith Johnson was clearly upset by the affair and also by the failure of the national selection panel Bradman among them to send Pepper second only to Miller as a cricketer in the Services XI to New Zealand in 1945 46 5 Johnson tried to intercede on Pepper s behalf to no avail although the other board members claimed that no directive had been given to the selectors to exclude Pepper 5 Garry Sobers who played against him in league cricket said of Pepper that the reason why he never played county cricket was probably because of his overripe language He was certainly good enough as a cricketer but no one wanted to take the chance It is said that Sir Don Bradman once remarked that had Cec s mouth and his attitude been different he would have been one of the greatest all rounders the world has ever seen 6 After retiring he became an umpire in county cricket from 1964 until 1980 He remained in England and died in 1993 in Lancashire His Wisden obituary noted that A Manchester Evening News correspondent said he could not imagine any match involving Pepper pursuing a peaceful course but added that usually there was more humour than anger 7 Personal life editDuring his early years as a professional cricketer in the Lancashire leagues Pepper was the highest paid cricketer in England 8 He established a successful packaging business in Bury in Lancashire and bought residences in Blackpool and the south of Spain 9 Pepper married Maurine Ford in Wagga Wagga in October 1943 10 They had a son in England in November 1946 11 Pepper had an affair in England in 1944 that led to the birth of a son in 1945 12 Maurine divorced him in 1948 on the grounds of adultery and returned to Australia where she remarried in 1952 13 Pepper did not remarry but he and a married woman had a son in October 1964 14 Pepper died of heart disease in Littleborough Lancashire in March 1993 He left his estate worth 135 000 divided equally between his third son and a woman he had known for only a few months 15 See also editList of New South Wales representative cricketersReferences edit Cricinfo profile Cricinfo HDG Leveson Gower s XI v Australian Services XI 1945 Holkar v Commonwealth XI 1949 50 Pollard 1988 p 372 a b Haigh and Frith pp 98 99 Garry Sobers My Autobiography Headline London 2002 p 50 Wisden 1994 p 1350 Ken Piesse Pep The Story of Cec Pepper Cricket Books Mount Eliza 2018 pp 95 108 Piesse pp 147 48 Piesse p 53 Piesse p 49 Piesse pp 56 64 Piesse pp 106 7 Piesse p 148 Piesse p 171 Sources editHaigh Gideon Frith David 2007 Inside story unlocking Australian cricket s archives Southbank Victoria News Custom Publishing ISBN 1 921116 00 5 External links editCec Pepper at ESPNcricinfo Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cec Pepper amp oldid 1086506706, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
