Derbyshire Legends 11 - Donald Carr (1926- )

Donald Carr was a cricketer who's ability exceeded his average by some distance. Good judges would say he was one of the best captains that the county ever had, leading the side with good grace, charm and no little skill between 1955 and 1962.
For several years, to be fair, he had Les Jackson and Cliff Gladwin to spearhead the attack and as my Dad once put it, anyone could skipper a side with those two bowling.

Although the obvious tactic was to bowl one until lunch and the other for the first hour so he was ready to come on after the interval, Carr did much more than that. He had a good attack at his disposal, with Derek Morgan's seamers, Edwin Smith's underrated off spin and, latterly, Harold Rhodes genuine pace. He was a good enough bowler of slow left arm to take over 300 first class wickets himself and was one of the finest close fielders the county have ever had. Above all he was an attacking batsman of grace and with Arnold Hamer carried the batting for a number of years. Nearly 20,000 runs at just under 29 are not figures to impress too many statisticians but, as with all players of the era, it should be remembered that uncovered wickets were no friend of the batsman playing for an average. It was generally reckoned that had Derbyshire had one top class batsman - a May, Cowdrey or Graveney - they would probably have one at least one Championship in the 1950's.

Carr was a good enough player to gain selection for the 1951-2 tour of India, where he ended up captaining England to their first defeat on Indian soil in the Madras test. His Test career was effectively ended by a "scandal" involving the soaking of an Indian umpire by players unhappy at the poor decisions they were getting, but Carr played for Derbyshire until 1962, when he became a highly respected administrator. Indeed he both captained the county and was secretary from 1959-62. He then became assistant secretary of the MCC (1962-74), and secretary of the Cricket Council and TCCB (1973-86). He was also a useful footballer, winning his Blue at Oxford and making two Amateur Cup final appearances with Pegasus. Meanwhile his son John played for Middlesex for a number of years and his brother Douglas was also long time Derbyshire secretary, following Donald into the post. I remember Douglas as sounding very pompous on the ancient tannoy system at Derby and Chesterfield as he read out the teams and public notices. On one occasion his naivety got the better of him, as Mike Hendrick arranged for a notice to be passed to him.

"Could Hugh Jarse and Ivor Biggun report to the secretary's office immediately" rang out to considerable mirth on and off the field...

My Dad has watched Derbyshire since 1946 and still maintains that Donald Carr was one of the three most attractive home grown batsmen he has seen. Fans brought up on a diet of attritional batting enjoyed the partnerships between Carr and Hamer and their fielding, especially in the leg trap to Cliff Gladwin was spectacular. Carr held FIVE HUNDRED catches in his career at a rate of more than one a game, although with the bowlers of the era there were always chances coming along.

Most recently Derbyshire and the University of Derby have joined forces to launch a new scholarship scheme in his name for outstanding young cricketers,which enables them to attain the best cricketing and academic education possible.

Fast-bowler Ed Jones, 18, is the first player to benefit from the new partnership between the club and university which enables the best young players to take up free undergraduate degree courses. Should future county players emerge through this scheme, Carr's legacy to the county will be complete.