Christopher Keith Bullen (born 5 November 1962) is a former 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. Bullen 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

off break Off spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A bowler who uses this technique is called an off spinner. Off spinners bowl with their right-arm and a finger spin action. Their normal delivery is called an off break, which spins from left to ...

. He was born in

Clapham Clapham () is a district in south London, south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (including Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Ea ...

, London and educated at

Rutlish School Rutlish School is a state comprehensive school for boys, formerly a grammar school with the same name originally located on Rutlish Road, Merton Park, and relocated in 1957 on nearby Watery Lane, Merton Park, in southwest London. History The s ...

which he attended from 1976 to 1982. An

all-rounder An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a handful of batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are cons ...

, Bullen played for

Surrey County Cricket Club Surrey County Cricket Club (Surrey CCC) is a first-class club in county cricket, one of eighteen in the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Surrey, including areas that now form South Londo ...

Bedfordshire County Cricket Club Bedfordshire County Cricket Club is one of 20 Minor County clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Bedfordshire. The team is currently a member of the Minor Counties Championshi ...

and the

Surrey Cricket Board The Surrey Cricket Board is the governing body for all recreational cricket in the historic county of Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the nort ...

in a career which spanned from 1982 to 2002.

Surrey

Bullen made his first-class debut for

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 ...

against

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

in 1982. He didn't play another first-class match for Surrey until 1985, when he appeared against

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. Bullen played two Youth

Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Indoor cricket, Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (associa ...

in 1982 for England Under-19s against West Indies Under-19s, with both Tests coming in August 1982, after his June debut for Surrey. 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 for Surrey also came in 1985, against

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

in the

1985 John Player Special League The 1985 John Player Special League was the seventeenth competing of what was generally known as the Sunday League. The competition was won for the third time by Essex County Cricket Club. Rain affected most rounds of the Sunday League that sea ...

. During the course of his career with Surrey, Bullen was viewed by the county as predominantly a limited-overs player: he made 104 List A appearances, as opposed to just 30 first-class appearances. Playing for Surrey until the end of the 1991 season, Bullen scored 667 runs in limited-overs cricket, at a

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of 23.00. He made a single

half century This is a general glossary of the terminology used in the sport of cricket. Where words in a sentence are also defined elsewhere in this article, they appear in italics. Certain aspects of cricket terminology are explained in more detail in cr ...

, which was to be the highest score of his List A career, scoring an unbeaten 93 against

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

in the

1990 NatWest Trophy The 1990 NatWest Trophy was the 10th NatWest Trophy. It was an English limited overs county cricket tournament which was held between 27 June and 1 September 1990. The tournament was won by Lancashire who defeated Northamptonshire by 7 wickets i ...

. He took 92 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 34.22, with best figures of 5/31; his only

five wicket haul In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batter. Taking ...

in limited-overs cricket, which came against

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

in the 1989 Refuge Assurance League. Bullen had his best seasons with the ball in List A cricket in the

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

and 1989 season's, taking 20 more wickets in each. Despite not being a regular in first-class cricket for Surrey, Bullen nonetheless had some success when he did play. A competent

, he scored 663 runs in his 30 first-class matches for the county, coming at an average of 23.67. He made 4 half centuries, with a high score of 65 against the touring

Pakistanis Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

in 1987. He took 38 wickets in first-class cricket, at an average of 28.36, which was a better average than his List A wickets came at. He took just one five wicket haul in first-class matches, which came 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 ...

, with figures of 6/119. However, 1989 saw Bullen play just two

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 ...

fixtures. In the following season he didn't make any first-class appearances, while in List A cricket he made 22 appearances, but struggled to make an impact. His 14 wickets that season came at an expensive average of 52.64. He made limited appearances in the

1991 English cricket season The 1991 English cricket season was the 92nd in which the County Championship had been an official competition. West Indies and England drew 2–2 in the main Test series. Sri Lanka also toured England and played one Test which England won. The ...

, with Surrey releasing him at the end of that season.

Later career

Bullen joined

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

for the 1992 season, making his debut for the county in the

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

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

. Bullen 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 Bedfordshire from 1992 to 1997, making 51 Minor Counties Championship appearances and 14

MCCA Knockout Trophy The National Counties Cricket Association Knockout Cup was started in 1983 as a knockout one-day competition for the National Counties in English cricket. At first it was known as the ''English Industrial Estates Cup'', before being called the ...

appearances. He made his first appearance for Bedfordshire in List A cricket against

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

in the

1994 NatWest Trophy The 1994 NatWest Trophy was the 14th NatWest Trophy. It was an English limited overs county cricket tournament which was held between 21 June and 3 September 1994. The tournament was won by Worcestershire County Cricket Club who defeated Warwicks ...

. He made one further appearance for the county in limited-overs cricket, against

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

in the

1997 NatWest Trophy The 1997 NatWest Trophy was the 17th NatWest Trophy. It was an English limited overs county cricket tournament which was held between 24 June and 7 September 1997. The tournament was won by Essex County Cricket Club who defeated Warwickshire C ...

. He took 3 wickets for Bedfordshire in these 2 games, although all 3 wickets came against Warwickshire, with Bullen claiming figures of 3/58 from 10 overs. While playing for Bedfordshire, he made one final first-class appearance for 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 ...

against the touring

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 this match, he bowled 4 wicket-less overs in the South Africans first-innings, while in their second innings he took the wickets of

Daryll Cullinan Daryll John Cullinan (born 4 March 1967) is a former South African first-class cricketer who played Test cricket and One Day Internationals for South Africa as a specialist batsman. He was regarded as the most gifted batsman of his generation a ...

and

Gerhardus Liebenberg Gerhardus Frederick Johannes Liebenberg (born 7 April 1972) is a South African cricketer who played in five Test matches and four One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with interna ...

for the cost of 42 runs from 8.4 overs. With the bat, he didn't bat in the Minor Counties first-innings, while in their second-innings he was dismissed for 2 runs by Pat Symcox. Bullen left Bedfordshire at the end of the 1997 season. He played for the

in the 1998 MCCA Knockout Trophy, while in the 1999 season he made his first appearance in List A cricket for the Board in the

1999 NatWest Trophy The 1999 NatWest Trophy was the 19th NatWest Trophy. It was an English limited overs county cricket tournament which was held between 4 May and 29 August 1999. The tournament was won by Gloucestershire who defeated Somerset by 50 runs in the fin ...

against

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. Bullen appeared in a further 5 List A matches for the Board, the last coming against

in the 2nd round of the

2002 Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy The 2002 Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy was an English limited overs county cricket tournament which was held between 29 August 2001 and 31 August 2002. It was the second Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy, following its change of name from the ...

, which was played in 2001. He scored 103 runs for the Board in the 6 matches, coming at an average of 25.75, with a high score of 36. With the ball, he took 7 wickets at 31.57 a piece, with best figures of 2/16. Bullen was an able fielder during his career, taking a total of 65 catches in limited-overs cricket. Bullen currently works for Surrey County Cricket Club as a Cricket Development Manager. His cousin, David Roberts, played first-class and List A cricket.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bullen, Chris 1962 births Living people People from Clapham Cricketers from the London Borough of Lambeth People educated at Rutlish School English cricketers Surrey cricketers Bedfordshire cricketers Minor Counties cricketers Surrey Cricket Board cricketers English cricket coaches 20th-century English sportsmen