David James Laitt (3 May 1931 – 27 June 1998) was an English
cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
er. Laitt was a right-handed
batsman
In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball, ball with a cricket bat, bat to score runs (cricket), runs and prevent the dismissal (cricket), loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since Septembe ...
who bowled right-arm
medium pace
Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is a type of bowling in cricket, in which the ball is delivered at high speed. The fastest bowlers bowl the ball at over . Practitioners of fast bowling are known as fast bowlers or quicks. Also ...
. It was while doing
National Service
National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...
with the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
that he was told to concentrate on his
bowling
Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...
, having started off as a batsman.
He was born in
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, England. He was educated at
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...
.
Laitt made his debut for
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...
in the 1952
Minor Counties Championship
The NCCA 3 Day Championship or National County Championship is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national counties (previously ca ...
against
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
. Laitt played
Minor counties
The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes unde ...
cricket for Oxfordshire from 1952 to 1972, which included 116 Minor Counties Championship matches. He made his
List A
List A cricket is a classification of the Limited overs cricket, limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competit ...
debut against
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...
in the
1967 Gillette Cup
The 1967 Gillette Cup was the fifth Gillette Cup, an English limited overs county cricket tournament. It was held between 23 April and 2 September 1967. The tournament was won by Kent County Cricket Club who defeated Somerset County Cricket Club ...
. He played 2 further List A matches for Oxfordshire, against
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...
in
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
, and
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England
**County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States
Durham may also refer to:
Places
...
in
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
.
In his 3 List A matches for Oxfordshire, he took 6 wickets at a
bowling average
In cricket, a player's bowling average is the number of runs they have conceded per wicket taken. The lower the bowling average is, the better the bowler is performing. It is one of a number of statistics used to compare bowlers, commonly use ...
of 14.33, with best figures of 3/29.
By the end of his career with Oxfordshire, Laitt was the counties leading wicket taker in Minor counties cricket, finishing with 670 wickets at an average of just 16.70.
This record stood until it was surpassed by
Keith Arnold in 2009.
Playing Minor counties cricket for Oxfordshire allowed him to represent the
Minor Counties cricket team
The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes unde ...
. He made 2
first-class appearances for the team against: the
Indians
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Associated with India
* of or related to India
** Indian people
** Indian diaspora
** Languages of India
** Indian English, a dialect of the English language
** Indian cuisine
Associated with indigenous peoples o ...
in 1959 and the
South Africans
South Africans are the citizens of South Africa (officially the Republic of South Africa ''RSA.
These individuals include those residing within the borders of South Africa, as well as the South African diaspora.
History
The first modern inh ...
in 1960. In his 2 first-class matches, he took 6 wickets at an average of 31.00, with best figures of 4/58.
Laitt also appeared in List A cricket for
Minor Counties South
The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes unde ...
, making 6 appearances spread over the
1972 Benson & Hedges Cup and the
1973 Benson & Hedges Cup
The 1973 Benson & Hedges Cup was the second edition of cricket's Benson & Hedges Cup. The competition was won by Kent County Cricket Club.
Fixtures and results
Group stage
Midlands Group
Northern Group
Southern Group
Western G ...
.
He took 8 wickets in his 6 appearances for the team, coming at an average of 22.12 and with best figures of 3/28.
Outside of cricket, Laitt worked as a computer administrator. He worked for 12 years at the
Atomic Energy Research Establishment
The Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE), also known as Harwell Laboratory, was the main Headquarters, centre for nuclear power, atomic energy research and development in the United Kingdom from 1946 to the 1990s. It was created, owned ...
in
Harwell, before working at
Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...
.
Laitt died in
Croydon
Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...
, Surrey, on 27 June 1998. He was survived by his wife Heather, son
Roger Laitt and daughter Deborah.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laitt, David
1931 births
1998 deaths
Cricketers from Oxford
Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford
English cricketers
Oxfordshire cricketers
Minor Counties cricketers
20th-century English sportsmen