Don Shepherd - One of the greatest county bowler of all time

05-04-2021
MONDAY

Hello my friends of the Cricket Community.

Hope all of the members are in good health.

Today I will write about Don Shepherd,one of the best county bowler who have never played any International Cricket.

Donald John Shepherd was a Welsh cricketer who played for Glamorgan. A great county bowler, he took first-class wickets - 2,226 - a player who has never played international cricket.

CAREER STATUS

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From the beginning of his county career he was a fast medium bowler in 1950 and became regular on the Glamorgan team in 1952, when he took 120 wickets.On bad wickets, he can be devastating; On a good wicket, his accuracy and speed of delivery meant he was generally economical. Shepherd maintained his fitness in the mid-forties, and Glamorgan was an integral part of the team that won the 1999 county championship. Wisden was named Cricketer of the Year in 1970 and celebrated this accolade 19 more wickets than an English first-class player in the first 19 seasons, 106.Over the next three seasons, however, he was less successful and was seen to lose some control. At the suggestion of his teammates, he moved the off-cutters to bowling in late 1955 - off-break with a pronounced undercut at almost medium speed. The move was an immediate success. In 1956, Shepherd took 177 wickets more than any other player in the English first-class season, and in 12 seasons altogether he took more than 100 wickets.

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Concerned about his declining strength with the ball in the winter of 1955/56, Don Shepherd repaired an indoor cricket school in Neth and began mastering a new style. The place was very complicated for his entire run-up, but he worked tirelessly with a new determination and in various ways to confuse the batsmen. When he became the pre-season net, he transformed himself into one of the best county bowlers of all time.The results were immediate: in the third game of the 1986 season against the mighty Serie A at Cardiff Arms Park, he bowled Peter McKay for zero. At the end of the season, he was a first-class wicket-taker, with 1 at7 runs. Neth's long winter was not wasted.Instead of the rules that he started his Glamorgun career in 1950, he now kept the off-spin and cutter close to medium speed. His runup up was almost the same - about nine bounding strides - but his main weapons were relentless precision and camouflage variation in speed and length. “He valued his action and he took care of it,” teammate Tony Lewis said."He had a high arm, but occasionally he would lower it a bit and kick the batsmen." Shepherd, who is primarily blessed with fit and improved stamina, usually bowls more than 1000 overs in a single season. Glamorgan batsman Alan Watkins recalled that he did not need instructions from captain Wilf Uller: "Wilf just had to say, 'Right Don, this is the end', and then he forgot about it." You left him. "

BATTING STATUS

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Shepherd has probably batted higher than the other team in his batting ted he has scored less than 10 runs per innings and has reached only 50 five times. However, he can play big shots and in 1911 against Australia in Swansea he scored 51 runs in 15 minutes and reached the score with only 11 strokes, six sixes, three boundaries, one two and one single.He scored the top 3 runs against Derbyshire in Cardiff in 19161 and scored 50 runs in 16 minutes. T hit a six. He took nine wickets when the Australians lost to Glamorgan in Swansea in 1992 and captained Glamorgan against 19 Sw Australians, again in Swansea.

RETIREMENT

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Shepherd took 22,218 first-class wickets after retiring at the age of 45 in 1972, the 22nd highest ever and the most not won a Test cap: selectors seemed permanently skeptical of wickets taken in damp or sandy Welsh. Peaches But Richie Benaud was among those who believed he would succeed on the big stage. "If he was Australian, he would have played for his country many, many times," he said.
Shepherd played regularly towards the end of the 1971 season and later retired from first-class cricket in 1972 after a few games. He often appeared at the summit of BBC Radio Wales coverage of glamorgun matches.

He died on 18 August 2017, shortly after his 90th birthday.

That's all for today.Hope all of you will like my article.

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