| Player: | APMJ Naughten |
DateLine: 20th September 2008
Adrian Naughten was a very good all round cricketer, who had a long and successful career in Army and Services Cricket. A tall upstanding batsman, his strong driving often brought him useful quick runs in the lower middle order. He was also a high quality left arm opening bowler who had three 9 wicket hauls to his credit. Educated at, the now sadly defunct, Beaumont College, he was in the XI in 1959, when he took 5/56 in the annual match v Oratory at Lord's to set up a six wicket victory. Subseqquently at Dublin University, he played a leading role in the one wicket Cup Final victory over Merrion CC in 1963, making 44 out of a 7th wicket stand of 90 with CD Anderson, after the Irish paceman RE Bernstein had destroyed the early batting. A week previously, on tour, against Taunton Dean CC, he had taken 9/34, having deprived himself of all ten, by catching the opening bat off the first ball of the innings. He also played cricket for Munster, once disposing of Alan Jones, Gilbert Parkhouse and Tony Lewis, in an end of season match against Glamorgan, and represented North Leinster in the Guinness Cup in 1968. Possibly his best innings in Irish Cricket, however, was in the Leinster Cup Final of 1967, when he played for Phoenix CC V Railway Union, who, in a play to a finish match, ran up a score of 310. Naughten, who had not played for Phoenix all season, came in at 50/5 and hammered a typical 84 to raise the score to 180/5. In the end the "ask" was too much, but it had been a superb innings, against high class off spin from the late Joey O'Meara.
Naughten's career in Army and services Cricket spanned four decades. His highest score was 91 in an unofficial Army match, his best in an official fixture being 68 for Combined Services v Oxford University in 1972. He regarded one of his best innings a 55 v Kent the following year. His best bowling for the Army was 6/34 v Berkshire in 1971 In English cricket, he also played a great for MCC, Free Foresters and I Zingari, indeed playing for MCC v Ireland in Dublin in 1974.
While on military duty overseas he represented Singapore, captaining them in 1977. He had a long and distinguished Military career which included being Chairman of Army Cricket in 1993. This was in addition to having captained the Army side in 1981. His final posting was as Director of British Army Training Trams in Southern Africa 1996-98. He was based in Zimbabwe, where he subsequently ran an NGO, until the regime cancelled his residency in 2004. He now lives in Kenya.
