A History of Cricket at King Edward's School, BIrmingham

53 Before ending this chapter, it is appropriate to say a word about the three players who went on to fame in higher cricket circles – B Lobb, OS Wheatley and AC Smith. Brian Lobb played for Warwickshire Second XI after leaving School, and was at the other end in 1952 when Wheatley played his first game at this level. Lobb played one match for Warwickshire in 1953 and then joined Somerset, making his debut and gaining his cap in 1955. He played until 1958, and in these four years took 354 wickets. His best season was in 1957 when he took 110 wickets, and he was a member of the Somerset team that came third in the County Championship in 1958. After 1958 he gave up county cricket to further his education at St Luke’s College, Exeter, but returned to play a few matches for Somerset between 1963 and 1969, taking a further 16 wickets to bring his total up to 370, at an average of 23.67. His best bowling performance was against Middlesex at Lord’s in 1958, when he took seven wickets for 43 runs. His batting record is 624 runs at an average of 5.20, with a highest score of 42 against Yorkshire at Bath in 1958. Ossie Wheatley made his first-class debut for the Free Foresters in 1956, during his first year at Cambridge. He then gained his Blue for Cambridge in 1957 and 1958. In the 1957 University Match at Lord’s, Wheatley took 5 for 15 on the first day, and played a material part in gaining victory for his side by an innings and 186 runs; in the 1958 match, he and AC Smith were on opposite sides. The season of 1958 was a very good one for Wheatley – he took 80 wickets for Cambridge, to break an eighty-year old record held by AG Steel, who took 75 wickets in 1878. Against Kent, Wheatley had an analysis of 8 for 22. After he came down from university he played for Warwickshire, as he had done in 1957, and was selected for the Gentlemen v Players match at Lord’s. He finished three short of his hundred wickets for the season. In 1959 and 1960 he played regularly for Warwickshire, gaining his county cap in 1959, and took over a hundred wickets in each season. He played for the Gentlemen again in 1959. In 1961 he succeeded Wilfred Wooller as captain of Glamorgan, and in the next six years proved himself a very popular captain. He led Glamorgan to second place in the Championship in 1963 and third place in 1965. In 1961 he once again played for the Gentlemen, making 34 not out, his highest score in first-class cricket, and he played in the last Gentlemen v Players match in 1962. He took 102 wickets in 1961, 136 in 1962 (his best aggregate) and 103 in his last season in 1966, the fifth time he had taken a hundred wickets in a season. At the end of 1966 he retired from regular first-class cricket owing to the calls of business, but made occasional appearances during the next few years, the last being on the Glamorgan tour to West Indies in 1969-70. His final career record in first-class cricket was 1,099 wickets (average 20.84) and 1,251 runs (average 5.76). He served as a Test selector in 1973 and 1974 and for some years was Chairman of Glamorgan County Cricket Club. Alan Smith went into the army after he left School, to do his national service, and went up to Oxford in October 1957. He gained his Blue as a freshman in 1958. In 1959 he was elected captain, and with 35 dismissals easily beat the Oxford wicket-keeping record. He scored two centuries (145 and 124) in the match against Hampshire at Bournemouth in 1959, and throughout the summer was in very good form with the bat. He completed the season by leading Oxford to victory in the University Match at Lord’s. He was re-elected as Oxford’s captain in 1960, only the second player since 1900 to be Oxford captain for two