Roger Malcolm Prideaux (born 31 July 1939) is an English former

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 three

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), ...

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 ...

from 1968 to 1969.

Life and career

Prideaux was educated at

Tonbridge School (God Giveth the Increase) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = , president = , head_label ...

and

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (referred to informally as "Sidney") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1596 under the terms of the will of Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex (1531–1589), wif ...

. A talented, stroke playing opening batsman, he won blues at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

from 1958 to 1960, and began his

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 one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...

career at

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. Moving to Northants, he scored a thousand runs in his first season, formed a powerful opening combination with the pugnacious Colin Milburn and captained the county from 1967 to 1970. He marked his Test debut in 1968, against Australia at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingl ...

with a 64, but missed the final Test of the series, at

the Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...

, with

pleurisy Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity ( pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant dull ache. Other s ...

. His absence allowed the selection of

Basil D'Oliveira Basil Lewis D'Oliveira CBE OIS (4 October 1931 – 19 November 2011) was an England international cricketer of South African Cape Coloured background, whose potential selection by England for the scheduled 1968–69 tour of apartheid-era South ...

, and the subsequent controversy led to the abandonment of the 1968/9 tour to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

, for which Prideaux had been selected. He played in two Tests on tour against

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, but was dropped thereafter. In 1967, Prideaux was elected as the first chairman of the fledgling

Professional Cricketers' Association The Professional Cricketers' Association is the representative body of past and present first-class cricketers in England and Wales, founded in 1967 by former England fast bowler Fred Rumsey (when it was known as the Cricketers' Association). In ...

. Prideaux ended his long career at Sussex, batting in the

middle order In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batters play through their team's innings, there always being two batters taking part at any one time. All eleven players in a team are required to bat if the innings is completed (i.e., if ...

. He also played for

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeat ...

in the early 1970s, and later emigrated to South Africa. His former wife Ruth (1930-2016) (née Westbrook) was also involved in international cricket, managing and coaching the

England women's cricket team The England women's cricket team represents England and Wales in international women's cricket. Since 1998, they have been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by the Women's Cricket Associati ...

. Under her maiden name, she had earlier played eleven Tests between 1957 and 1963. They are one of the few married couples who have both played Test cricket.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prideaux, Roger 1939 births Living people England Test cricketers English cricketers Cambridge University cricketers Kent cricketers Northamptonshire cricketers Northamptonshire cricket captains Sussex cricketers Free State cricketers Commonwealth XI cricketers International Cavaliers cricketers Gentlemen cricketers North v South cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers People educated at Tonbridge School Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge D. H. Robins' XI cricketers T. N. Pearce's XI cricketers Young England cricketers