| Player: | TW Cartwright |
Tom Cartwright M.B.E. was one of the finest medium pace bowlers in county cricket in the late 1950`s and 1960`s. In ten seasons with Warwickshire, he took over a thousand wickets, despite rarely using, or wanting, the new ball. His repertoire of inswingers and subtle changes of place also won him 5 Test caps in 1964/65.
Cartwright played for his native Warwickshire from 1952 until 1969 when he joined Millfield School as their coach and played for Somerset until 1976. In 1977 he joined Glamorgan and was a member of their Gillette Cup final team against Middlesex, when the 42 year-old veteran delivered a characteristically tight spell, finishing with the figures of 12-3-32-1.
He retired from county cricket at the end of the 1977 season, and became Glamorgan`s caoch and manager. He held these positions until 1980 when he was appointed as Director of Coaching to the Welsh Cricket Association. For the next 27 years, his tireless hours of effort and wise guidance produced a steady stream of talented Welsh cricketers, several of whom went on to win honours for both Glamorgan and England.
Cartwright`s career best figures were 8-39 for Warwickshire against Somerset at Weston-super-Mare in 1962, and his best match figures were 15-89 against Glamorgan at Swansea in 1967. Cartwright was also an effective batsman, scoring in all seven first-class centuries. His highest score was 210 for Warwickshire against Middlesex at Nuneaton in 1962, and that season he also completed the coveted `Double` of 1000 runs and 100 wickets.
(December 2007)
(Article: Copyright © 2007 Dr.A.K.Hignell)
