Peter Barker Howard MayCBE (31 December 1929 – 27 December 1994) was an English cricketer who played for Surrey County Cricket Club, Cambridge University and England. Already a cricketing prodigy during his school days, May played his entire cricket career as an amateur, and was regarded by many players and fans as England's finest batsman in the post-war era.[1]
Described in his Wisden obituary as "tall and handsome with a batting style that was close to classical, and... the hero of a generation of school boys",[2] May was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1981, and posthumously inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009.[3]Wisden Cricketer's Almanack described May as a "schoolboy prodigy" who went on to become "one of England’s finest batsmen".[4]
Peter May cracks another on-drive off Bill Johnston in 1954–55. He was England's top scorer in both the triumphs of 1954–55 and 1956 and the debacle of 1958–59 and was seen by many as England's greatest post-war batsman
May enjoyed a largely successful captaincy of both his county and country. Surrey had been County Champions for seven years running, with May the captain for the last two seasons, and until 1958 England was never defeated under his leadership. He had beaten South Africa 3–2 in 1955, considered by many to have been the most exciting Test series since the war, Australia 2–1 in 1956, the West Indies 3–0 in 1957 and New Zealand 4–0 in 1958. He was widely regarded as the best post-war batsman England produced, tall, strong and disciplined with a near-perfect technique, a straight bat and a complete range of strokes.[6][7][8] His standards improved with the responsibilities of captaincy and his Test average as captain was 54.03.[9] His highest score was at Edgbaston in 1957, when England trailed West Indies by 288 runs in the first innings; he made 285 not out,[10] the highest score by an England captain until Graham Gooch's 333 in 1990,[11] adding 411 with Colin Cowdrey (154) – still an England record for any wicket – and destroyed the mesmerising hold the spinner Sonny Ramadhin had over English batsmen. In the low scoring Ashes series of 1956 he had made 453 runs (90.60) and was out only once for less than 50, when he made 43. Although himself a highly educated amateur and a gentleman he realised that the old class divisions in English cricket were breaking down and under Len Hutton's leadership the amateur and professional had merged. He enjoyed the complete loyalty of the team and the selectors and was ready to help his players and smooth down feathers.[12] As a captain he was a strict team disciplinarian who expected high standards, he was ruthless when the occasion demanded, but could be inflexible and unimaginative and lacked the charisma of a natural leader.[7][8][13] In 1958–59 he played too defensively and surrendered the initiative too readily to Richie Benaud and he concentrated on saving runs instead of trying to get batsmen out. Faced with Ian Meckiff's questionable bowling, in the disastrous First Test, he declined to make an official complaint as he believed it would appear unsporting. Meckiff was, in fact, several years later, called for an illegal bowling action, ending his career. After the Australian tour May beat New Zealand 1–0, India 5–0 and led England to its first series victory in the West Indies 1–0. He lost 2–1 to the 1961 Australians and retired due to ill-health having been captain in a then record 41 Tests (20 wins, 10 defeats and 11 draws), Benaud being the only man to defeat him in a Test series. He retired entirely from first-class cricket in 1963, taking up a post in the City[5] with the insurance brokerage Willis Faber Dumas; now Willis Group.
Cricket administrator
May succeeded Alec Bedser as Chairman of the England cricket selectors in 1982 and held the post for seven years, including presiding over the notorious 1988 Summer of four captains.[5] He served as President of the Marylebone Cricket Club and posthumously as President of Surrey County Cricket Club from 1995 to 1996.
Personal life
In 1959, May married Virginia Gilligan, a daughter of the former England captain Harold Gilligan and they had four daughters. May died at Liphook, Hampshire, from a brain tumour on 27 December 1994, four days before what would have been his 65th birthday.
May has a stand named after him (the 'Peter May Enclosure') at the Oval, Surrey, England.
Peter May was also an outstanding Eton Fives player, winning the Kinnaird Cup (effectively the national championship) three years running (from 1951 to 1953), partnered by his brother, J.W.H. May. As a pair, the May brothers were never defeated.
May is mentioned in the Peter Hammill song "(No More) The Sub-Mariner", from the 1974 album, In Camera.
References
^Woodcock, John. "Peter May - the complete master". Cricinfo. Wisden Almanack. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
peter, cricketer, this, article, uses, bare, urls, which, uninformative, vulnerable, link, please, consider, converting, them, full, citations, ensure, article, remains, verifiable, maintains, consistent, citation, style, several, templates, tools, available, . This article uses bare URLs which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting such as Reflinks documentation reFill documentation and Citation bot documentation September 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Peter Barker Howard May CBE 31 December 1929 27 December 1994 was an English cricketer who played for Surrey County Cricket Club Cambridge University and England Already a cricketing prodigy during his school days May played his entire cricket career as an amateur and was regarded by many players and fans as England s finest batsman in the post war era 1 Peter MayCBEPersonal informationFull namePeter Barker Howard MayBorn 1929 12 31 31 December 1929Reading Berkshire EnglandDied27 December 1994 1994 12 27 aged 64 Liphook Hampshire EnglandBattingRight handedRoleBatsmanInternational informationNational sideEnglandTest debut cap 361 26 July 1951 v South AfricaLast Test17 August 1961 v AustraliaDomestic team informationYearsTeam1950 1963Surrey1950 1952Cambridge UniversityCareer statisticsCompetition Tests FCMatches 66 388Runs scored 4 537 27 592Batting average 46 77 51 00100s 50s 13 22 85 122Top score 285 285 Balls bowled 102Wickets 0Bowling average 5 wickets in innings 10 wickets in match Best bowling Catches stumpings 42 282 Source Cricinfo 19 May 2019Described in his Wisden obituary as tall and handsome with a batting style that was close to classical and the hero of a generation of school boys 2 May was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1981 and posthumously inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009 3 Wisden Cricketer s Almanack described May as a schoolboy prodigy who went on to become one of England s finest batsmen 4 Contents 1 Early career 2 Captaincy 3 Cricket administrator 4 Personal life 5 Miscellaneous 6 References 7 Bibliography 8 External linksEarly career EditBorn in Reading Berkshire he was educated at Leighton Park junior school Charterhouse and Pembroke College Cambridge and at both he was regarded as a batting prodigy Across the 1950s he was the most consistent and prolific English batsman in both county representing Surrey and Test cricket He made his Test match debut against South Africa at Headingley in 1951 scoring 138 and was then a regular England player until forced out by illness in the early 1960s 5 May was one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1952 May was the natural successor to Leonard Hutton as England captain after the successful defence of the Ashes on the 1954 55 tour of Australia Captaincy Edit Peter May cracks another on drive off Bill Johnston in 1954 55 He was England s top scorer in both the triumphs of 1954 55 and 1956 and the debacle of 1958 59 and was seen by many as England s greatest post war batsman May enjoyed a largely successful captaincy of both his county and country Surrey had been County Champions for seven years running with May the captain for the last two seasons and until 1958 England was never defeated under his leadership He had beaten South Africa 3 2 in 1955 considered by many to have been the most exciting Test series since the war Australia 2 1 in 1956 the West Indies 3 0 in 1957 and New Zealand 4 0 in 1958 He was widely regarded as the best post war batsman England produced tall strong and disciplined with a near perfect technique a straight bat and a complete range of strokes 6 7 8 His standards improved with the responsibilities of captaincy and his Test average as captain was 54 03 9 His highest score was at Edgbaston in 1957 when England trailed West Indies by 288 runs in the first innings he made 285 not out 10 the highest score by an England captain until Graham Gooch s 333 in 1990 11 adding 411 with Colin Cowdrey 154 still an England record for any wicket and destroyed the mesmerising hold the spinner Sonny Ramadhin had over English batsmen In the low scoring Ashes series of 1956 he had made 453 runs 90 60 and was out only once for less than 50 when he made 43 Although himself a highly educated amateur and a gentleman he realised that the old class divisions in English cricket were breaking down and under Len Hutton s leadership the amateur and professional had merged He enjoyed the complete loyalty of the team and the selectors and was ready to help his players and smooth down feathers 12 As a captain he was a strict team disciplinarian who expected high standards he was ruthless when the occasion demanded but could be inflexible and unimaginative and lacked the charisma of a natural leader 7 8 13 In 1958 59 he played too defensively and surrendered the initiative too readily to Richie Benaud and he concentrated on saving runs instead of trying to get batsmen out Faced with Ian Meckiff s questionable bowling in the disastrous First Test he declined to make an official complaint as he believed it would appear unsporting Meckiff was in fact several years later called for an illegal bowling action ending his career After the Australian tour May beat New Zealand 1 0 India 5 0 and led England to its first series victory in the West Indies 1 0 He lost 2 1 to the 1961 Australians and retired due to ill health having been captain in a then record 41 Tests 20 wins 10 defeats and 11 draws Benaud being the only man to defeat him in a Test series He retired entirely from first class cricket in 1963 taking up a post in the City 5 with the insurance brokerage Willis Faber Dumas now Willis Group Cricket administrator EditMay succeeded Alec Bedser as Chairman of the England cricket selectors in 1982 and held the post for seven years including presiding over the notorious 1988 Summer of four captains 5 He served as President of the Marylebone Cricket Club and posthumously as President of Surrey County Cricket Club from 1995 to 1996 Personal life EditIn 1959 May married Virginia Gilligan a daughter of the former England captain Harold Gilligan and they had four daughters May died at Liphook Hampshire from a brain tumour on 27 December 1994 four days before what would have been his 65th birthday Miscellaneous EditPeter May served his National Service in the Writer branch of the Royal Navy 14 May has a stand named after him the Peter May Enclosure at the Oval Surrey England Peter May was also an outstanding Eton Fives player winning the Kinnaird Cup effectively the national championship three years running from 1951 to 1953 partnered by his brother J W H May As a pair the May brothers were never defeated May is mentioned in the Peter Hammill song No More The Sub Mariner from the 1974 album In Camera References Edit Woodcock John Peter May the complete master Cricinfo Wisden Almanack Retrieved 30 December 2017 Obituary Peter May ESPN Cricinfo Chappell May Graveney inducted into Hall of Fame The Story Of Peter May s Glorious Ascent Almanack Wisden 31 December 2020 Retrieved 23 August 2021 a b c Bateman Colin 1993 If The Cap Fits Tony Williams Publications pp 118 119 ISBN 1 869833 21 X p72 Bailey etc a b p175 77 Arlott a b p53 54 Graveney and Giller Most Runs in a Career as Captain permanent dead link from CricketArchive The Home of CricketArchive The Home of CricketArchive p219 220 Trueman p128 Brown http www criclife com lists chronicles peter may 22 facts about the former england captain 60047Bibliography EditLodge Derek P B H May C B E His Record Innings by Innings Famous Cricketers Vol 25 The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Peter May Peter May at ESPNcricinfoSporting positionsPreceded byLen Hutton English national cricket captain1955 1960 Succeeded byColin CowdreyPreceded byColin Cowdrey English national cricket captain1961 Succeeded byTed Dexter Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Peter May cricketer amp oldid 1131973660, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
