imported>AssociateAffiliate: /* Post-war cricket and later life */

2025-05-10T22:42:20Z

Post-war cricket and later life

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{{short description|English cricketer (1912–1913)}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox cricketer
| name = Neil McCorkell
| image =
| country = England
| fullname = Neil Thomas McCorkell
| nickname =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1912|3|23|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Portsmouth]], [[Hampshire]], England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2013|2|28|1912|3|23|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Uvongo]], [[KwaZulu-Natal]],<br>South Africa
| heightft =
| heightinch =
| batting = Right-handed
| bowling = Unknown
| role = [[Wicket-keeper]]
| club1 = [[Hampshire County Cricket Club|Hampshire]]
| year1 = 1932–1951
| columns = 1
| column1 = [[First-class cricket|First-class]]
| matches1 = 396
| runs1 = 16,106
| bat avg1 = 25.60
| 100s/50s1 = 17/77
| top score1 = 203
| deliveries1 = 177
| wickets1 = 1
| bowl avg1 = 117.00
| fivefor1 = –
| tenfor1 = –
| best bowling1 = 1/73
| catches/stumpings1 = 532/185
| date = 10 October
| year = 2009
| source = http://www.cricinfo.com/england/content/player/16963.html Cricinfo
}}

'''Neil Thomas McCorkell''' (23 March 1912 — 28 February 2013) was an English first-class [[cricket]]er. A successor as [[Hampshire County Cricket Club|Hampshire]] [[wicket-keeper]] to [[George Brown (cricketer, born 1887)|George Brown]], McCorkell made his debut in [[first-class cricket]] in 1932. He would play for Hampshire eitherside of the [[Second World War]], with distinction as both a wicket-keeper and [[Batting_order_(cricket)#Opening_batters|opening batsman]]. In 396 first-class matches, he scored over 16,000 runs and made 717 dismissals behind the [[stumps]]. He was Hampshire's most successful wicket-keeper until his records were surpassed by [[Bobby Parks (cricketer)|Bobby Parks]]. McCorkell never played [[Test cricket]] for [[England national cricket team|England]], largely due to the concurrent careers of the [[Kent County Cricket Club|Kent]] wicket-keeping duo [[Les Ames]] and [[Godfrey Evans]].

His first-class career came to an end in 1951, with McCorkell emigrating to South Africa to take up an appointment as a coach in [[Parktown Boys' High School]] in [[Johannesburg]]. In March 2012, he became the second Hampshire cricketer after [[Edward English]] to reach 100 years of age. McCorkell resided in South Africa until his death in February 2013.

==Early life==
McCorkell was born in March 1912, at White Hart Lane (today White Hart Road) in [[Old Portsmouth]].<ref name="OPUS">{{cite book|url=https://issuu.com/theportsmouthgrammarschool/docs/opus_issue_7/21|title=Opus|first=Dave|last=Allen|date=6 March 2015|publisher=[[The Portsmouth Grammar School]]|chapter=Cage Cricket - "From Street to Elite"|page=36|issue=7|language=en}}</ref> He was educated at the Portsmouth Town School, where he began to play cricket,<ref name="OPUS"/> but left the school at the age of 14 to work at the [[United Services Recreation Ground|Officers' Sports Ground]].<ref name="IND">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/neil-mccorkell-hampshire-cricketer-from-the-1930s-to-the-1950s-8521512.html|title=Neil McCorkell: Hampshire cricketer from the 1930s to the 1950s|first=Stephen|last=Chalke|author-link=Stephen Chalke|work=[[The Independent]]|location=[[London]]|date=6 March 2013|access-date=3 March 2024}}</ref> With little coaching, he played for various church sides across Portsmouth and was selected to represent a Portsmouth District XI against a visiting Hampshire Club and Ground side, where his [[wicket-keeper|wicket-keeping]] caught the eye.<ref name="IND"/> [[Hampshire County Cricket Club|Hampshire]] deliberated whether to bring him onto their staff, as at the time they were £3,000 in debt; ultimately they chose to in 1931,<ref name="TIMES">{{cite news|url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/VBCCFE657873661/TTDA?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-TTDA&xid=541532f0|title=Neil McCorkell|work=[[The Times]]|location=London|date=15 March 2013|issue=70833|page=61|url-access=subscription|via=[[Gale (publisher)|Gale]]}}</ref> earmarking him as a replacement for [[George Brown (cricketer, born 1887)|George Brown]].<ref name="IND"/>

==Cricket career==
===Pre-war cricket===
McCorkell made his debut in [[first-class cricket]] for Hampshire against [[Somerset County Cricket Club|Somerset]] at [[County Ground, Taunton|Taunton]] in the [[1932 County Championship]], establishing himself as Hampshire's first-choice wicket-keeper with 28 appearances that season and gaining his [[Cap_(sport)#Cricket|county cap]].<ref name="FCM">{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/6/6757/First-Class_Matches.html|title=First-Class Matches played by Neil McCorkell|publisher=CricketArchive|access-date=29 January 2012|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="IND"/> He did well enough in his first season to be selected for the Players in the end of season [[Gentlemen v Players]] fixture at [[Cheriton_Road#Cricket_history|Folkestone]].<ref name="FCM"/> He made 33 first-class appearances during [[1933 English cricket season|the following season]],<ref name="FCM"/> where he was reliable enough behind the [[stumps]] for Hampshire's ''1933 Cricket Guide'' to remark "McCorkell has already shown that he has the right temperament for [[county cricket]] and he has a bright future".<ref name="WIS">{{cite web|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/787581.html|title=Wisden – Neil Thomas McCorkell|date=22 October 2014 |publisher=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=3 March 2024}}</ref> By 1935, his batting had developed to the extent that he was regularly [[Batting_order_(cricket)#Opening_batters|opening the batting]],<ref name="WIS"/> with McCorkell passing 1,000 runs in a season for the first time in 1935 with 1,319 runs at an [[batting average (cricket)|average]] of 24.42;<ref name="FCBATS">{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/6/6757/f_Batting_by_Season.html|title=First-Class Batting and Fielding in Each Season by Neil McCorkell|publisher=CricketArchive|access-date=3 March 2024|url-access=subscription}}</ref> he made two [[century (cricket)|centuries]] in a week [[County Ground, Southampton|home]] and [[Aigburth Cricket Ground|away]] against [[Lancashire County Cricket Club|Lancashire]], with scores of 150 and 154 [[not out]] respectively.<ref name="IND"/> He again passed 1,000 runs for the season in 1936,<ref name="FCBATS"/> and was a contender for selection for the [[English cricket team in Australia in 1936–37|1936–37 Ashes tour to Australia]] following a back injury to regular wicket-keeper [[Les Ames]]. His consideration led to his selection for the Players in the Gentlemen v Players fixture at [[Lord's]], where it was noted that he "kept wicket tidily".<ref name="WIS"/> Ultimately, Ames recovered following an operation on his back and went on the tour.<ref name="IND"/> A successful season followed in 1937,<ref name="TIMES"/> with McCorkell scoring 1,586 runs at an average of 27.82, scoring one century.<ref name="FCBATS"/>

He [[Lord Tennyson's XI cricket team in India in 1937–38|toured British India]] with [[Lionel Tennyson, 3rd Baron Tennyson|Lord Tennyson's]] (his former [[captain (cricket)|captain]] at Hampshire) personal team in the winter which followed the 1937 season, making ten first-class appearances on the tour.<ref name="FCM"/> Batting in what ''[[The Times]]'' described as "strange conditions", and with a team which had a "pronounced sick-list", he scored 241 runs on the tour.<ref name="FCB">{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/6/6757/f_Batting_by_Team.html|title=First-Class Batting and Fielding For Each Team by Neil McCorkell|publisher=CricketArchive|access-date=3 March 2024|url-access=subscription}}</ref> He only came to prominence towards the end of the tour, having missed out on selection for the five unofficial-[[Test cricket|Tests]] against [[India national cricket team|India]].<ref name="TIMES"/> During some downtime on the tour, he accompanied Tennyson on a [[Tiger hunting|tiger shoot]], whom he berated for accidentally shooting a [[goat]].<ref name="TIMES"/> McCorkell made 33 first-class appearances in 1938,<ref name="FCM"/> once again passing a thousand runs for the season with 1,586 runs at an average of 27.82, with a single century.<ref name="FCBATS"/> The following season, he passed 1,000 runs for the fifth season in a row, with 1,030 runs at an average 22.39.<ref name="FCBATS"/>

===Post-war cricket===
During the [[Second World War]], McCorkell had hoped to serve as a [[Submarine|submariner]] with the [[Royal Navy]], but was refused when it transpired that he could not swim.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.utilitabowl.com/cricket/news/from-the-archive-ve-day-and-beyond/|title=From The Archive: VE Day & Beyond|first=Dave|last=Allen|website=www.utilitabowl.com|date=8 May 2020|access-date=3 March 2024}}</ref> He instead worked as a [[firefighter]] at the [[Vickers]] factory in [[Newbury, Berkshire]].<ref name="IND"/> He also played in exhibition matches back in [[Southampton]], appearing for the [[Supermarine]] works cricket team.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003142/19400720/282/0008|title=County keeper in|work=[[Hampshire Advertiser]]|location=[[Southampton]]|page=8|date=20 July 1940|access-date=3 March 2024|url-access=subscription|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]}}</ref> Like so many other cricketers, he lost six of his prime playing years due to the war.<ref name="IND"/> He returned to play for Hampshire in 1946, having a modest season as a batsman with 641 runs at an average of 15.26, but had a prolific return to form in 1947, when he scored 1,665 runs at an average of 40.60, with two centuries and fifteen half centuries.<ref name="FCBATS"/> He suffered a broken finger in 1948, which limited him to just fourteen matches,<ref name="FCM"/> before making his highest run-scoring aggregate in 1949, with 1,871 runs across the season at an average of 38.18.<ref name="FCBATS"/> In the proceeding two seasons he passed 1,000 runs,<ref name="FCBATS"/> and in the [[1951 County Championship]] he made his career-high score, with a double-century (203) against [[Gloucestershire County Cricket Club|Gloucestershire]] at [[Wagon Works Ground|Gloucester]].<ref name="IND"/> Toward the end of his playing career, he sometimes played solely as a batsman, with his understudy [[Leo Harrison]] keeping wicket.<ref name="HCCC">{{cite web|url=https://www.utilitabowl.com/cricket/news/born-on-this-day-23rd-march/|title=Born On This Day: 23rd March|first=Dave|last=Allen|website=www.utilitabowl.com|date=23 March 2021|access-date=3 March 2024}}</ref>

McCorkell left Hampshire at the end of the 1951 season, to take up a coaching appointment in South Africa.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000290/19510829/133/0012|title=Bright spot in Hants knock|work=[[The News (Portsmouth)|Portsmouth Evening News]]|page=12|date=29 August 1951|access-date=3 March 2024|url-access=subscription|via=British Newspaper Archive}}</ref> For his final match against [[Sussex County Cricket Club|Sussex]], he was appointed captain, but the occasion was ruined by rain which curtailed the match to just 68 [[over (cricket)|overs]] in Hampshire's first innings.<ref name="DEA">{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/story/623650.html|title=Neil McCorkell dies aged 100|date=5 March 2013|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=5 March 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/19/19982.html|title=Hampshire v Sussex, County Championship 1951|publisher=CricketArchive|access-date=3 March 2024|url-access=subscription}}</ref> In 383 first-class matches for Hampshire, McCorkell scored 15,833 runs at an average of 25.87, with seventeen centuries and 76 half centuries.<ref name="FCB"/> He batted with an unorthodox grip, with his hands far apart on the bat handle. He had a calm temperament when batting, coupled with great powers of concentration and a wide range of shots.<ref name="IND"/> Keeping-wicket, he took 512 catches and made 177 [[stumping]]s,<ref name="FCB"/> which remained a Hampshire record until surpassed by [[Bobby Parks (cricketer)|Bobby Parks]].<ref name="DEA"/> [[John Arlott]], commenting on his wicket-keeping skills in 1957, said that "he kept equally well to fast bowling and slow and, season in, season out, missed very few chances".<ref name="HCCC"/> ''[[The Times]]'' speculated that had it not been for the [[Kent County Cricket Club|Kent]] wicket-keeping duo of Ames and [[Godfrey Evans]], McCorkell might have had a successful career in Test cricket.<ref name="TIMES"/>

==Later life==
Moving to South Africa with his wife and two sons, he was appointed cricket coach at [[Parktown Boys' High School]] in [[Johannesburg]], where he worked for thirty years.<ref name="IND"/><ref name="TIMES"/> The McCorkell Oval at the school is named after him.<ref name="DEA"/> On 23 March 2012, he celebrated his 100th birthday at his [[Uvongo]] home,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/story/558440.html|title=Neil McCorkell reaches century|date=23 March 2012|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=1 April 2012}}</ref> becoming the second Hampshire cricketer after [[Edward English]] to reach the landmark,{{#tag:ref|[[Edward English]] reached 100 years of age on 1 January 1964 and represented [[Hampshire County Cricket Club]] from 1898 to 1901. [[George Deane (cricketer)|George Deane]] also lived to the age of 100, reaching the landmark on 11 January 1928. Deane played first-class cricket for Hampshire, but not for Hampshire County Cricket Club. His only appearance came in 1848 for [[Hampshire county cricket teams]], a team representative of the county of [[Hampshire]], but which pre-dated the formation of Hampshire County Cricket Club.<ref name="DEA"/>|group=n}} McCorkell died at Uvongo on 28 February 2013, at age 100.<ref name="DEA"/> He was predeceased by his wife and had one surviving son.<ref name="TIMES"/> Prior to his death, he was the second-oldest English first-class cricketer, behind [[Cyril Perkins]] (1911–2013).<ref name="IND"/>

==See also==
*[[Lists of oldest cricketers]]

==Notes==
<references group=n/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{cricinfo|id=16963}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCorkell, Neil}}
[[Category:1912 births]]
[[Category:2013 deaths]]
[[Category:Cricketers from Portsmouth]]
[[Category:English cricketers]]
[[Category:Wicket-keepers]]
[[Category:Hampshire cricketers]]
[[Category:Players cricketers]]
[[Category:L. H. Tennyson's XI cricket team]]
[[Category:British firefighters]]
[[Category:English emigrants to South Africa]]
[[Category:English cricket coaches]]
[[Category:English men centenarians]]
[[Category:20th-century English sportsmen]]

Neil McCorkell - Revision history

imported>AssociateAffiliate: /* Post-war cricket and later life */