Charles Edward Shreck (born 6 January 1978) is an English former professional

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 who has also played first-class cricket in New Zealand. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast-medium bowler. In the 2008 English cricket season, Shreck bowled more overs than any other bowler in England and was among the leading wicket takers. For two years running he was voted Notts player of the season. In 2011 he signed with

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. He retired from first class cricket in 2017.

Early life

Shreck was educated at

Polwhele House School Polwhele House School is a private day school at Polwhele House, near Truro, Cornwall (United Kingdom). It follows the thirteen-plus Common Entrance Examination syllabus. In September 2024, the school proceeded with plans to provide senior scho ...

and

Truro School Truro School is a coeducational private boarding and day school located in the city of Truro, Cornwall, England. It is the largest coeducational independent school in Cornwall with over 1050 pupils from pre-prep to sixth form. It is a member s ...

Career

He played for

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

2003 to 2011, having previously played for

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. Despite being unable to bowl Nottinghamshire out of relegation from the First Division in the 2003 season, and again being unable to garner a place during 2005 through injury when the team were once again at the top of the tree, Shreck nevertheless found a place during his year's exile from the English game in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, where he played three games for

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

. Shreck rediscovered his niche as a tailend batsman but potent bowler in a Nottinghamshire side that failed to retain their position in the first division of the County Championship in 2006. During the 2006 season he was an effective wicket taker, including taking 8 wickets for 31 runs in the second innings against

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

. Shreck has continued to perform well in the 2007 season, including taking 7 wickets for 35 runs in a Nottinghamshire vs

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

Division Two County Championship match. During a June 2007

Twenty20 Twenty20 (abbreviated T20) is a shortened format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the county cricket, inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two t ...

match Shreck was injured after bowling just one ball; it was driven fiercely back by Derbyshire's Michael Dighton, striking him on the shin. Shreck made his comeback in a Pro40 Division 1 game in which Nottinghamshire easily defeated struggling

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

by 116 runs. In 2007/08 he was back in New Zealand playing club cricket for Hutt District but mainly representing Wellington as an overseas player in first-class competitions. Shreck had another sound season for Notts in 2008 bowling more overs than any other bowler in England and being among the leading wicket takers in the country. For the second year running he was voted Notts' player of the season. The 2009 season saw a return of injury problems however, resulting in operations to both his shoulder and knee during the winter. On Saturday, 12 June 2010, Shreck made his debut for

North Staffordshire and South Cheshire League The North Staffordshire and South Cheshire Premier Cricket League is the top level of competition for recreational club cricket in the North Staffordshire and South Cheshire area of England, and the league Headquarters is based in Stoke on Trent ...

Division One side Sandyford, picking up figures of 5–43 in a 128-run win over Betley. He was released by Nottinghamshire toward the end of the 2011 season to allow him to sign a two-year deal with

. At the end of the 2013 season, and despite being Kent's leading wicket taker in the County Championship, Shreck was told that he would not be offered a new contract. He subsequently joined

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

for the 2014 season, where in 2015 he suffered the ignominy of six ducks in consecutive innings, equalling a world record last suffered in England by

Victor Cannings Victor Henry Douglas Cannings (3 April 1919 – 27 October 2016) was an English cricketer, cricket coach and colonial police officer. Born in Hampshire in April 1919, Cannings joined the Palestine Police Force in 1938 and spent World War II in ...

in 1957 and 1958. Following an injury, Shreck retired from first class cricket in July 2017.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shreck, Charlie 1978 births Living people Cornwall cricketers English cricketers Kent cricketers Leicestershire cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Nottinghamshire cricketers Wellington cricketers People educated at Truro School Cricketers from Truro