Frank Collis 'Jim' Brailsford played only three matches for Derbyshire, all of them in 1958, after being on the staff since 1951. Yet his involvement in the county continued over the years that followed and he was always a supporter.
He returned to the club in 1975, becoming a member of the General Committee, before becoming Vice Chairman in 1976. He was also a life-long member of Chesterfield Cricket Club, spending
close to 70 years with the Club as a player, supporter and benefactor.
He was a good player, scoring thousands of runs at club level, but his highest score in his three county appearances was 41. He could forever reflect on one of those appearances being in the game against Hampshire at Burton-on-Trent in 1958, when his aspirations as an opening batsman in county cricket were hardly helped by a rain-affected wicket that saw 39 wickets go down in a day.
It was a game that entered into the legend of the club and Jim was one of only eleven to recall it from the business end. I had hoped to speak to him as part of the series of interviews for the blog, but when I called him, only a few short months ago, he declined with an apology, not feeling well enough to do so.
At the age of 81, he has passed away. It is fitting that his wake will be held in a marquee at his beloved Queens Park cricket ground, just before the start of the cricket festival there.
He would have liked that.
Rest in Peace, Jim.
I spoke to him several years ago at a match on old players day. Amongst other stories he told me with some amusement about his only first class wicket - Ted Dexter! He also mentioned the tough comments he got from Cliff Gladwin when he dropped a catch. "I could have caught that catch in the cheeks of my ....!
ReplyDeleteThanks Stephen! However minimal, he played in a Derbyshire side that was a strong, competitive outfit. To get into it, he must have had something...
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