Charles Edward Peers Carter (born 7 August 1947), played regular first-class

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 ...

for

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

for little more than a season in the late 1960s. He was born at

Richmond-upon-Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in south-west London, England, forms part of Outer London and is the only London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

in 1947. A wicket-keeper and a tail-end right-handed batsman, Charlie Carter was educated at

Radley College Radley College, formally St Peter's College, Radley or the College of St. Peter at Radley, is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (independent boarding school) for boys near the village of Radley, in Oxfordshire, in the United Kingd ...

and was a successful schoolboy cricketer, appearing in the

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

(MCC)'s schools cricket festival for top performers in 1965. In 1967, he was playing services cricket for the Army and the Combined Services cricket teams, while also appearing in second eleven matches for Somerset. Carter moved into Somerset's first team for the final two matches of the 1968 season following the decision of regular wicket-keeper Dickie Brooks not to continue a first-class cricket career. Though Carter scored only one run in his four innings that season, he was handed a contract for 1969 and played in all 24

County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...

matches in the 1969 season, though Trevor Holmes was picked for the other first-class fixture against the

West Indians A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED''), the term ''West Indian'' in 1597 described the indigenous inhabitants of the West Ind ...

. In an unsuccessful season for Somerset – the county finished bottom of the Championship table for the first time since 1955 – Carter was singled out for praise in

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

. He was, it said, "extremely enthusiastic" and had "developed into a most capable performer". He appeared less frequently in

one-day cricket Limited overs cricket, also known as white ball cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed within one day. There are a number of formats, including List A cricket (8-hour games), Twenty20 cricket (3-h ...

: the 1969 season was the first season of the new

John Player League The NatWest Pro40 League was a one-day cricket league for first-class cricket counties in England and Wales. It was inaugurated in 1999, but was essentially the old Sunday League retitled to reflect large numbers of matches being played on day ...

, a 40-over competition played on Sundays, but Carter played in only a few matches, Somerset generally preferring the more reliable batting of

Roy Virgin Roy Thomas Virgin (born 26 August 1939) is a former English cricketer who played for Somerset and Northamptonshire County Cricket Clubs. A right-handed opening batsman, Virgin had a mostly solid but unspectacular career in first-class cricket, ...

, who could keep wicket adequately. At the end of the season, Carter went into business and did not play first-class cricket again.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Charlie 1947 births Living people English cricketers Somerset cricketers People educated at Radley College Cricketers from the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames 20th-century English sportsmen