David Pratt (born 20 July 1938) is a former English

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 ...

er who played between 1959 and 1962 for three different teams. He also 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

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

. He was a specialist bowler, and his batting at number 11 didn't rival his bowling talent. He made his first-class debut for Worcestershire in May 1959 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 ...

at Chesterfield, but took no wickets. He did not play in the first-team again until early August, when Worcestershire played

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 ...

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

, but he then produced what was to remain a career-best performance. After going wicketless in the first innings, second time around he took 5-54, all his victims being current or future

Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...

ers:

Micky Stewart Michael James Stewart (born 16 September 1932) is an English former cricketer, coach and administrator. A right-handed batsman, Stewart's international career was hampered by illness that curtailed his first overseas tour – serving as vice-c ...

, Ken Barrington, Eric Bedser,

Jim Laker James Charles Laker (9 February 1922 – 23 April 1986) was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey County Cricket Club from 1946 to 1959 and represented England in 46 Test matches. He was born in Shipley, West Riding of Yorks ...

and

Alec Bedser Sir Alec Victor Bedser (4 July 1918 – 4 April 2010) was an English professional cricketer, primarily a medium-fast bowler. He is widely regarded as one of the best English cricketers of the 20th century. Bedser played first-class cricket fo ...

. He stayed in the team throughout August, but took only eight more wickets in six games. In 1960, whilst attending his National Service he played no professional cricket at all. He was succeeded at Worcester by Norman Gifford. After completing his service in 1961 he played for Combined Services against

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 ...

and

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

as well as a touring South Africa Fezelas side, taking six wickets in all. He returned to

county cricket Inter-county cricket matches have been played since the early 18th century, involving teams that are representative of the historic counties of England and Wales. Two county championship competitions have existed since the late 19th century at ...

in 1962 with Nottinghamshire, playing seven first-class games (in which he took just four wickets) but otherwise being confined to the Second XI. Reflecting the start of his career, in his final match (against

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 ...

) both his victims were Test players:

Arthur Milton Clement Arthur Milton (10 March 1928 – 25 April 2007)
...

and David Smith. David gave up professional cricket in the mid 60's but still played locally and as Captain lead his 1st team to win the Home Counties and Cherwell Leagues for a number of years in the 1980s. David was still topping the bowling averages when he retired from cricket in 1988. A natural sportsman, he took up golf and was soon playing off an 8 handicap.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt, David English cricketers Nottinghamshire cricketers Worcestershire cricketers Combined Services cricketers 1938 births Living people Cricketers from Watford Hertfordshire cricketers 20th-century English sportsmen