David George Doughty (9 November 1937 – 2024) was an English cricketer. He 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 of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

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 ...

in 17 matches in the 1963 and 1964 seasons. He also appeared in one one-day match in the Gillette Cup.

Biography

Doughty was born in November 1937 at

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district in West London, split between the London Borough of Hounslow, London Boroughs of Hounslow and London Borough of Ealing, Ealing. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist Wi ...

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 ...

. A slow left-arm orthodox spin bowler and lower-order left-handed batsman, he played second eleven cricket 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 ...

and

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 ...

between 1959 and 1961, often batting quite high in the order. But it was as a left-arm spinner that he was recommended to Somerset by

Arthur Wellard Arthur William Wellard (8 April 1902 – 31 December 1980) was a cricketer who played for Somerset and England. A late starter in county cricket, having been told by his native county, Kent, that he would be better off taking up a career as a p ...

. He played in 16 first-class matches for the county in the successful 1963 season, when Somerset finished third in the

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 ...

, equalling their highest-ever placing to that point. In those 16 matches, Doughty took 35 wickets at the low average of 18.14 runs per wicket. His most successful match came against

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 ...

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the North Somerset unitary district, in the county of Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. Its population ...

when he took six wickets for 58 runs in the first innings and five for 44 in the second for match figures of 11 for 102. These were the only occasions on which he took five wickets in an innings, and he had lost his place in the team by the end of the season. In 1964, he made only a single first-class appearance, and though it brought his highest first-class score, 22, it did not bring any wickets, and he did not play first-class cricket again. Doughty's single List A appearance produced a curiosity. Playing in Somerset's first-ever one-day match in the inaugural Gillette Cup 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 1963, he took one wicket and then went in to bat at No 10 with Somerset at 121 for eight, chasing a total of 207. Doughty scored 20 and put on 75 for the ninth wicket with

Brian Langford Brian Anthony Langford (17 December 1935 – 12 February 2013) was an English first-class cricketer who played as an off-spin bowler for Somerset. He captained the county from 1969 until 1971 and his career tally of 1,390 wickets ranks him thir ...

, who made 56. In 2009, the stand was still Somerset's ninth-wicket List A cricket record and the oldest surviving List A record.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doughty, David 1937 births 2024 deaths English cricketers Somerset cricketers People from Chiswick Cricketers from the London Borough of Hounslow 20th-century English sportsmen