Steven John Malone (born 19 October 1953) is an English former first-class

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 and cricket

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French , , and , : (as evidenced in cricke ...

. A journeyman

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 ...

er, he played at first-class level 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 ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, and

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

. He played predominantly for Hampshire as a right-arm fast-medium bowler, taking 103 wickets from 46 first-class matches and 99 wickets from 65 matches List A one-day matches. After the end of his first-class career, he played

Minor Counties Cricket The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes unde ...

and later became a first-class umpire.

Playing career

Essex and Hampshire

Malone was born at

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...

in October 1953. He played

club cricket Club cricket is a mainly amateur, but still formal form of the sport of cricket, usually involving teams playing in competitions at weekends or in the evening. There is a great deal of variation in game format although the Laws of Cricket are obse ...

for Witham Cricket Club in

, where he was spotted as a fast-bowler by

Trevor Bailey Trevor Edward Bailey (3 December 1923 – 10 February 2011) was an England Test cricketer, cricket writer and broadcaster. An all-rounder, Bailey was known for his skilful but unspectacular batting. As the BBC reflected in his obituary: "His ...

. Bailey persuaded him to play under the guidance of his son with Hadleigh and Thundersley in the Essex Cricket League, with Malone subsequently being signed by

. He played just two

first-class matches First class (or 1st class, Firstclass) generally implies a high level of service, importance or quality. Specific uses of the term include: Books and comics * ''First Class'', a comic strip in ''The Dandy'' (1983-1998) * ''X-Men: First Class' ...

for Essex against

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

Fenner's Fenner's is Cambridge University Cricket Club's ground. History Cambridge University Cricket Club had previously played at two grounds in Cambridge, the University Ground and Parker's Piece. In 1846, Francis Fenner leased a former cherry orc ...

in 1975 and 1978. He left Essex in 1979, following their first County Championship title. Malone joined Hampshire in 1980, making seven appearances in the

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 ...

. However, during his debut season he was utilised more in List A one-day cricket, making sixteen appearances across that season's one-day competitions, taking 23 wickets. Eight first-class appearances followed in 1981, alongside seventeen one-day appearances in which he took 27 wickets; against

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

in the

NatWest Trophy The Friends Provident Trophy was a one-day cricket competition in the United Kingdom. It was one of the four tournaments in which the eighteen first-class counties competed each season. They were joined by teams from Scotland and Ireland. Lan ...

he took his maiden one-day

five wicket haul In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batter. Taking ...

with figures of 5 for 34. In the 1982 season, Malone found his opportunities in the Hampshire eleven limited, making just six appearances each in first-class and one-day cricket. Against

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

in 1982, he took his career best first-class figures of 7 for 55, ending with match figures of 12 for 110. Malone established himself in the Hampshire in the County Championship in 1983, and made a total of 22 first-class appearances across the season, in which he took 48 wickets at an

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

of 37.43. He also featured in 23 one-day matches in 1983, taking 37 wickets at an average of 20.37. Alongside Keith Stevenson, Malone was offered a one-year contract extension at the end of the 1983 season. The 1984 season was to be his last playing for Hampshire, with Malone making three first-class and one-day appearances, with the presence of

Malcolm Marshall Malcolm Denzil Marshall (18 April 1958 – 4 November 1999) was a Barbadian cricketer. Primarily a fast bowler, Marshall is widely regarded as one of the greatest and one of the most accomplished fast bowlers of the modern era in Test cricket ...

keeping him out of the starting eleven. He was released at the end of that season, alongside

Mel Hussain Mehriyar "Mel" Hussain (born 17 October 1963) is an English former cricketer who played one first-class cricket match for Worcestershire County Cricket Club in 1985. He also played one List A match for Essex Cricket Board 16 years later in 200 ...

and Kevin Emery. In 46 first-class appearances for Hampshire, he took 103 wickets at an average of 33.79. In one-day cricket, he took 99 wickets at an average of 22.07 from 65 matches.

Glamorgan and minor counties cricket

Following his release, Malone joined

for the 1985 season. He made nine appearances for Glamorgan in first-class matches in 1985, taking 5 for 38 against Hampshire at

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, which were to be his best figures in the

. His nine first-class appearances for Glamorgan yielded 13 wickets at an average of 50.30. He also made two one-day appearances in the

1985 John Player Special League The 1985 John Player Special League was the seventeenth competing of what was generally known as the Sunday League. The competition was won for the third time by Essex County Cricket Club. Rain affected most rounds of the Sunday League that sea ...

. Having found his opportunities at Glamorgan limited, he left following the end of the 1985 season. From there, he proceeded to the

North of England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmorland and Yorkshire. Officially, it is a gr ...

to play

minor counties cricket The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes unde ...

for

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

, playing in three

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 ...

and

MCCA Knockout Trophy The National Counties Cricket Association Knockout Cup was started in 1983 as a knockout one-day competition for the National Counties in English cricket. At first it was known as the ''English Industrial Estates Cup'', before being called the ...

matches apiece, alongside playing against

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

in the

. In 1986, he was chosen to play for the combined

Minor Counties cricket team The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes unde ...

in the

Benson & Hedges Cup The Benson & Hedges Cup was a one-day cricket competition for first-class counties in England and Wales that was held from 1972 to 2002, one of cricket's longest sponsorship deals. It was the third major one-day competition established in Engla ...

, making three appearances in the group stages of the tournament. He returned south in 1987, playing for

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

twice each in the Minor Counties Championship and MCCA Knockout Trophy, and once in the

. Malone began playing minor counties cricket for

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 1990, with him making 23 Minor Counties Championship appearances between 1990 and 1992, two MCCA Knockout Trophy appearances, and a single one-day appearance in the

1990 NatWest Trophy The 1990 NatWest Trophy was the 10th NatWest Trophy. It was an English limited overs county cricket tournament which was held between 27 June and 1 September 1990. The tournament was won by Lancashire who defeated Northamptonshire by 7 wickets i ...

Post-playing career

Following the conclusion of his playing career in

, Malone played

for the Old Tauntonians, Lymington, and Waterlooville in the

Southern Premier Cricket League The Southern Premier Cricket League is the top level of competition for recreational club cricket in central southern England. The League was founded in 1969 under the name Southern Cricket League, and in 2000 it adopted the name Southern Premie ...

. He became a youth coach at Hampshire, before taking up umpiring and standing in Southern Premier Cricket League matches. From there, he progressed to stand in minor counties and

Second XI Championship The Second XI Championship is a season-long cricket competition in England that is competed for by the reserve teams of those county cricket clubs that have first-class status. The competition started in 1959 and has been contested annually eve ...

matches. He was later appointed to the

England and Wales Cricket Board The England and Wales Cricket Board, aka ECB, is the Sports governing body, national governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was formed on 1 January 1997 as a single governing body to combine the roles formerly fulfilled by the Test ...

's reserve umpires list, to which he was retained in 2008. He first stood in a first-class match in 2008, between

Oxford MCCU Oxford University Cricket Club (OUCC), which represents the University of Oxford, had held first-class status since 1827 when it made its debut in the inaugural University Match between OUCC and Cambridge University Cricket Club (CUCC). Followi ...

and

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. In the same year, he was diagnosed with

bowel cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

. Following intensive treatment with

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

, he entered into remission. A year after his initial diagnosis, he returned to umpire in first-class cricket. Malone umpired in six first-class matches between 2009 and 2011, alongside five one-day matches in the

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

and

2011 Clydesdale Bank 40 The 2011 Clydesdale Bank 40 tournament was the second season of the ECB 40 limited overs cricket competition for the English and Welsh first-class counties. In addition to the 18 counties, Scotland and the Netherlands took part, as well as the Un ...

competitions. Malone also stood in a single

Women's Twenty20 International Women's Twenty20 international (WT20I) is the shortest form of women's international cricket. A women's Twenty20 international is a 20 overs-per-side cricket match between two of the International Cricket Council (ICC) members. The very firs ...

between England Women and

New Zealand Women New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

in 2010. Malone moved to

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 2011, where he began umpiring in the Yorkshire ECB County Premier League, Yorkshire Premier League under the mentorship of David Byas. He stopped umpiring at club level in 2023, standing at Lord's in the final of the Village_cricket#Village_Cup, Village Cup between Milford Hall and Leeds & Broomfield. In March 2024, he was appointed the Bradford Premier League's disciplinary officer.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Malone, Steve 1953 births Living people Cricketers from Chelmsford English cricketers Essex cricketers Hampshire cricketers Glamorgan cricketers Durham cricketers Minor Counties cricketers Dorset cricketers Wiltshire cricketers English cricket coaches English cricket umpires 20th-century English sportsmen