Donald James Pringle (1 May 1932 – 4 October 1975) was a British landscaper and a Kenyan international

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 represented

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

at the

1975 Cricket World Cup The 1975 Cricket World Cup (officially called the Prudential Cup '75) was the inaugural men's Cricket World Cup, and the first major tournament in the history of One Day International (ODI) cricket. Organised by the International Cricket Confer ...

. He was born in England and moved to Kenya in the late 1950s. His son

Derek Pringle Derek Raymond Pringle (born 18 September 1958) is a Kenyan-born English former Test and One Day International cricketer for England, and is now a cricket journalist. He was a part of the English squads which finished as runners-up at the 198 ...

played international cricket for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Personal life

Pringle was born on 1 May 1932 in

Prestwich Prestwich ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, north of Manchester, north of Salford and south of Bury. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, Prestwich was the seat of the ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, England. He had two children with his wife Dora, whom he married in England. He moved to Kenya in the late 1950s to work as a landscaper, eventually ending up at the Nairobi Parks Department. He laid the first turf for the

Nairobi Club Ground The Nairobi Club Ground is a multi-use sports venue in Upper Hill, Nairobi, Kenya. It is the second oldest cricket ground in Kenya, having been predated by the Sir Ali Muslim Club Nairobi (named after the wealthy Arab benefactor, Sir Ali Bin Sali ...

Cricket career

In England, Pringle played club cricket for

. After moving to Kenya he played for Nairobi Civil Service, the Nairobi Club, Parklands Sports Club and Limuru. He was an opening bowler. Pringle's first recorded match for

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

came against

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

in December 1958. He represented Kenya and several invitational teams against 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) on its 1963-64 tour of East Africa, notably dismissing England players Willie Watson,

Colin Milburn Colin Milburn (23 October 1941 – 28 February 1990) was an English cricketer, who played in nine Test matches for England, before an accident led to the loss of much of his sight and prompted his retirement. Cricker writer Colin Bateman commen ...

and

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 ...

. In 1967, he scored 52 not out and took 4/99 against

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, returning from its unsuccessful tour of England. At the

in England, Pringle opened the bowling in East Africa's matches against India and England, missing the first game against

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 ...

due to injury. He failed to take a wicket in either match, both of which were accorded

One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...

(ODI) status.

Death

Pringle was killed in a road accident on 4 October 1975, aged 43. He was returning to Nairobi after playing a club cricket match for Limuru against Impala, where he took figures of 6/16. He was the first ODI cricketer to die. Fellow cricketer Harry Shah was due to travel with Pringle on that day, but decided to have one more drink and come in the next car, meaning Shah avoided the same fatal accident.

References

External links

* 1932 births 1975 deaths East African cricketers East Africa One Day International cricketers Kenyan cricketers English cricketers Sportspeople from Prestwich Cricketers from Greater Manchester Cricketers at the 1975 Cricket World Cup British emigrants to British Kenya Road incident deaths in Kenya {{Kenya-cricket-bio-stub