Martin Vernon (4 July 1951 – 2024) 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. He played for

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 ...

between 1974 and 1976 and for

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 ...

in 1977. Vernon played irregularly for Middlesex Second XI from 1970, and made his first-team debut in 1974 as an opening bowler. In July 1974, in his third

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 ...

match, he took 6 for 58 and 5 for 54 against

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 ...

, twice dismissing

Viv Richards Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards (born 7 March 1952) is a retired Antiguan cricketer who represented the West Indies cricket team between 1974 and 1991. Usually batting at number three in a dominant West Indies side, Richards is widely ...

leg-before, and dismissing

Brian Close Dennis Brian Close, (24 February 1931 – 13 September 2015) was an English first-class cricketer. He was picked to play against New Zealand in July 1949, when he was 18 years old. Close went on to play 22 Test matches for England, ...

for a

pair Pair or PAIR or Pairing may refer to: Government and politics * Pair (parliamentary convention), matching of members unable to attend, so as not to change the voting margin * ''Pair'', a member of the Prussian House of Lords * ''Pair'', the Fren ...

, the first in Close's long career. Vernon took four wickets in seven balls in the second innings. With his pace he was regarded as a possible long-term replacement for John Price in the Middlesex team, but he was unable to maintain his form, and his appearances in first-class cricket were irregular. His best

List A cricket List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competitions in which the num ...

figures came in his first match, when he took 3 for 13 off eight overs against

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

in June 1974. He toured

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

with MCC in 1976-77. An ankle injury forced him to retire from professional cricket after the 1977 season. Vernon had a career in newspaper and magazine advertising, including two positions as a managing director. Vernon died in 2024 at the age of 73.

References

External links

* * 1951 births 2024 deaths English cricketers Gloucestershire cricketers Middlesex cricketers Cricketers from the City of Westminster People from Marylebone T. N. Pearce's XI cricketers 20th-century English sportsmen {{England-cricket-bio-1950s-stub