Gilbert Frederick Betts (21 December 1916 – 5 January 1982) was an 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. Betts 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

fast-medium Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is a type of bowling in cricket, in which the ball is delivered at high speed. The fastest bowlers bowl the ball at over . Practitioners of fast bowling are known as fast bowlers or quicks. Also i ...

. He was born at

Fulbrook, Oxfordshire Fulbrook is a village and civil parish immediately northeast of Burford in West Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 437. History The Domesday Book of 1086 recorded the village as ''Fulebroc'', possibly meaning "fo ...

. Betts made his debut in

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 ...

for

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

in the 1950

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

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

. From 1950 to 1956, Betts made 31 appearances for the county in the Minor Counties Championship, the last of which came 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 1951, he made his only appearance in

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 a combined Minor Counties team against

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 ...

at the St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury. Batting first, Kent made 365/8 declared, with Betts taking five wickets in the innings, finishing with figures of 5/95. In response, the Minor Counties made 169 all out in their first-innings, with Betts, who batted at number eleven, being dismissed for a

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

by Simon Kimmins. Forced to

follow-on In cricket, a team who batted second and scored significantly fewer runs than the team who batted first may be forced to follow-on: to take their second innings immediately after their first. The follow-on can be enforced by the team who batted f ...

in their second-innings, the Minor Counties fared little better, making 186, with Betts the last man out when he was dismissed for a single run by Ray Dovey. Kent won the match by an innings and 10 runs. He died at Abingdon, Oxfordshire, on 5 January 1982.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Betts, Gilbert 1916 births 1982 deaths People from West Oxfordshire District English cricketers Oxfordshire cricketers Minor Counties cricketers Cricketers from Oxfordshire 20th-century English sportsmen