Peter Perrin
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Percival Albert Perrin (26 May 1876 – 20 November 1945), known as either "Percy" or "Peter", 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, who played for
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
as a right-handed middle-order batsman for more than thirty years from 1896. Perrin was a
Tottenham Tottenham (, , , ) is a district in north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, ...
publican and a property developer who organised his considerable business activities around his cricket, turning out for Essex regularly from 1896 to 1926, and not retiring until 1928. His total of 496
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 ...
matches for Essex is a record for an amateur player in English cricket. A tall batsman who initially relied on driving for most of his runs, Perrin developed into a reliable player with virtually all the strokes. He and Charles McGahey, a similarly tall amateur, played together for Essex for many seasons and were known as the "Essex Twins". Perrin was the better batsman: he scored 1,000 in 18 seasons and in his long career made 29,709 runs at an average just short of 36 runs per innings. He scored 66 centuries, the third highest number – after
John Langridge John George Langridge MBE (10 February 1910 – 27 June 1999) was a cricketer who played for Sussex and later became a first-class umpire. His obituary in ''Wisden'' called him "one of the best English cricketers of the 20th century never to pl ...
and
Ken McEwan Kenneth Scott McEwan (born 16 July 1952 at Bedford, Eastern Cape, Bedford, South Africa), is a South African-Scottish retired cricketer and businessman who played principally for Eastern Province cricket team, Eastern Province and Essex County Cr ...
– of any player who never played
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 ...
. Perrin's biggest innings was a huge unbeaten 343, made out of an Essex total of 597 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 in 1904, which is the highest innings ever played by a batsman in a losing team. Another record statistic from that innings, the 68 fours hit, gives a clue why Perrin was never selected for Test cricket, or even for one of the representative matches such as
Gentlemen v Players Gentlemen v Players was a long-running series of cricket matches that began in July 1806 and was abolished in January 1963. It was a match between a team consisting of amateurs (the Gentlemen) and a team consisting of professionals (the Players ...
: he was slow in the field and not a good runner. On the strength of that innings, though, he was picked as a
Wisden Cricketer of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based "primarily for their influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...
in the almanack for 1905. Apparently a shy man, Perrin captained Essex only occasionally, serving happily under his friends McGahey and
Johnny Douglas John William Henry Tyler Douglas (3 September 1882 – 19 December 1930) was an English cricketer who was active in the early decades of the twentieth century. Douglas was an all-rounder who played for Essex County Cricket Club from 1901 to 1 ...
and deputising for them when needed. But in retirement, Perrin's knowledge and his availability led him to become an
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 ...
selector in 1926 and later from 1930 to 1939, chairing the committee in the last year. When E. M. Wellings asked
Douglas Jardine Douglas Robert Jardine ( 1900 – 1958) was a Scottish cricketer who played 22 Test matches for England, captaining the side in 15 of those matches between 1931 and 1934. A right-handed batsman, he is best known for captaining the English ...
about how he regarded the selectors, Jardine replied, "We used to let Percy Perrin in the dressing-room, but he used to sit at the end of the balcony and keep quiet; but we wouldn't let any of the others in."


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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perrin, Percy 1876 births 1945 deaths British publicans East of England cricketers English cricketers England cricket team selectors Essex cricketers Gentlemen cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers Gentlemen of the South cricketers London County cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers North v South cricketers People from Stoke Newington Cricketers from the London Borough of Hackney People from Hickling, Norfolk Wisden Cricketers of the Year English cricketers of 1890 to 1918 English cricketers of 1919 to 1945 20th-century English sportsmen Wembley Park cricketers