John Frank Harvey (27 September 1939 – 20 August 2003) was an English

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

er who played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...

for

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

(MCC) from 1961 to 1967 and for

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

from 1963 to 1972. Harvey was born at

Barnwell, Cambridgeshire Barnwell is a suburb of Cambridge in England. The population of the Barnwell ward of Cambridge City Council at the 2011 Census was 1,967. It lies northeast of the city, with Cambridge Airport located immediately to the east. It forms part of the ...

. He started his first-class career playing one game for Marylebone Cricket Club against Scotland in 1961. In 1962 he umpired two matches for MCC. He was picked up by Derbyshire in 1963 season and, after three matches, made his debut in that year's County Championship against

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. He scored a century against Kent in his second Championship match. Though his average fluctuated over following seasons, he continued to perform well throughout the mid-1960s. In the 1966 season he was the only Derbyshire player to score a century in the Championship, and in the 1967 season he scored his best season average. One fine innings was at Chesterfield in the 1968 season when he scored 92 as Derbyshire lost by only eight runs to the touring Australians. With one season out of the game during his eleven-year spell, Harvey saw the team through some tough times, heading the opening order on his peak form, but happy to perform in the middle order when his form was suffering. Harvey was released from Derbyshire in a shake-up in the 1972 season. He put in one-day appearances for Minor Counties North and Cambridgeshire in 1975 and for Minor Counties East in 1976. Harvey was a right-handed batsman and played 344 innings in 206 first-class games with an average of 24.16 and a top score of 168. He also played 81 innings in 84 one-day matches. He was a right-arm offbreak bowler and took one first-class wicket at the cost of 71 runs and one in one day cricket. Harvey became coach and groundsman at

Bradfield College Bradfield College, formally St Andrew's College, Bradfield, is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils aged 11–18, located in the small village of Bradfield in the English county of Berkshire. It is note ...

, and started playing for Berkshire in 1978. He was captain of Berkshire in 1980 and represented them until the age of 46, in the Minor Counties Championship. Harvey's approach at Bradfield was appreciated by the boys over his 25 years there.

Mark Nicholas Mark Charles Jefford Nicholas (born 29 September 1957) is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer and broadcaster. He played for Hampshire from 1978 to 1995, captaining them from 1985 to his retirement. Nicholas was born in West ...

, who captained Bradfield in 1976 noted "He allowed young cricketers to have their say. There was nothing schoolmasterly about it."Wisden Obituaries 2003
/ref> Harvey died in Reading, Berks, aged 63, after suffering from a brain tumour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harvey, John 1939 births 2003 deaths English cricketers Derbyshire cricketers Cambridgeshire cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Minor Counties cricketers Berkshire cricketers Berkshire cricket captains