Keith Vincent Andrew (15 December 1929 – 27 December 2010) was an English

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

er who played in two

Tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

, in 1954–55 and in 1963.

Life and career

Born in Greenacres,

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, w ...

, Lancashire, Andrew was a fine wicketkeeper who might have played more times for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, but for the fact that his batting was never more than adequate, and his career coincided with that of

Godfrey Evans Thomas Godfrey Evans (18 August 1920 – 3 May 1999) was an English cricketer who played for Kent and England. Described by ''Wisden'' as 'arguably the best wicket-keeper the game has ever seen', Evans collected 219 dismissals in 91 Test matc ...

. He was recruited out of the Lancashire League by

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

and became the county's regular wicketkeeper in 1954. He was a success straight away, and ''

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

'' 's 1955 edition noted that he was "above the ordinary, a very quick perception enabling him to seize almost every chance". Andrew was chosen as the second string wicketkeeper to Godfrey Evans on the 1954–55 MCC tour of Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

, and found himself in the Test team for the first match of the tour at

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

when Evans was affected by

sunstroke Heat stroke or heatstroke, also known as sun stroke, is a severe heat illness that results in a body temperature greater than , along with red skin, headache, dizziness, and confusion. Sweating is generally present in exertional heatstrok ...

. The Test was a disaster for England: captain

Len Hutton Sir Leonard Hutton (23 June 1916 – 6 September 1990) was an English cricketer. He played as an opening batsman for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1934 to 1955 and for England in 79 Test matches between 1937 and 1955. ''Wisden Cricketer ...

put the

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the con ...

in to bat and they proceeded to make 601 before declaring and winning the match by an innings and 154 runs. A lacklustre fielding performance contributed to the defeat, and Andrew was not innocent: he dropped

Arthur Morris Arthur Robert Morris (19 January 1922 – 22 August 2015) was an Australian cricketer who played 46 Test matches between 1946 and 1955. An opener, Morris is regarded as one of Australia's greatest left-handed batsmen. He is best known for hi ...

off

Alec Bedser Sir Alec Victor Bedser (4 July 1918 – 4 April 2010) was a professional English 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 ...

before he had scored, and Morris went on to make 153. Evans recovered in time for the second Test, and had one of his best series, so Andrew did not get another chance as England recovered to retain

the Ashes The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, '' The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, its first ...

. Evans then remained as first-choice wicketkeeper for England in both home and away series for the next four years and when he did finally retire, he was succeeded not by Andrew but by a succession of wicketkeepers with better batting credentials – Roy Swetman, Geoff Millman, John Murray and Jim Parks. Andrew's only other Test came in the first match of the 1963 series against

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Great ...

, when England again fielded out to a big total, this time of more than 500, a follow-on and a heavy defeat. By the time of his second Test appearance, Andrew was also county captain of Northamptonshire, a post he held for five seasons from 1962. In 1965, he led the county to second place in the

County Championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It b ...

, failing by four points to lead them to their first Championship title, and equalling the highest placing it had achieved. He retired after the 1966 season. In retirement, Andrew became an influential youth coach and administrator, acting as director of coaching of the National Cricket Association. Andrew died in December 2010, at the age of 81. His son Neale (born 1958) is a

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

whose works include

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

s and

portrait bust A bust is a sculpted or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure, depicting a person's head and neck, and a variable portion of the chest and shoulders. The piece is normally supported by a plinth. The bust is generally a p ...

s of many famous sports people.Neale Andrew CV
Retrieved 6 September 2013.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Andrew, Keith 1929 births 2010 deaths English cricketers England Test cricketers Northamptonshire cricketers Northamptonshire cricket captains Combined Services cricketers Commonwealth XI cricketers People from Oldham Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers North v South cricketers Players cricketers English cricket coaches English cricket administrators A. E. R. Gilligan's XI cricketers T. N. Pearce's XI cricketers Wicket-keepers