Special Summers

In this first special interview, conducted late in the summer of 2025 by HCH's John Winter, Richard Gilliat talks at length about the year he made six first-class hundreds - one more than Barry Richards! Modest and the ultimate team-man, Richard recalls his start in the game, the breakthrough summer (which also saw the introduction of the John Player League) and his time as captain of that great Championship-winning side of 1973.

The summer of 1972 with John Holder 

John Holder in conversation  with John Winter in March 2026. Hampshire finished 9th in the County Championship and 6th in the John Player League.

How did you come to join Hampshire, John?

I arrived in England in 1964 from Barbados. I had come to work for London Transport, and I played for a team in London called Caribbean. Soon after, I was invited to play for the BBC. It was actually a very good side with a former West Indian Test leg-spinner who recommended me to Hampshire. I began to bowl quick and he said to me you are wasting your time playing club cricket. I think he knew Roy Marshall. Roy was there when I came down to Hampshire for a trial and the rest is history. What a player he was, by the way! He was a very fine attacking player who smashed anything but the very best bowling. A very quiet man who I loved watching bat. My first season was in 1966: I had to do a one-year qualification. It meant a season playing 2nd XI cricket for Hampshire. 

What was it like joining Hampshire at that time?

We had a very good young 2nd XI team We won more games than we lost. A very young David Turner played his first second team game as a 17-year-old. He was such a talented, attacking batsman at the start of his career and a brilliant fielder, of course. Another brilliant fielder at cover point was Barry Reed. The fielding throughout the team was of a very high standard. Mike Barnard had dropped down by that time and was our best batsman. Jimmy Gray, Alan Wassell, Alan Castell and Keith Wheatley all played during that season for us as well. I opened the bowling and it was Trevor Jesty’s first season. He progressed into the first team late that same season. He is my closest friend in the game to this day. Trevor Edward Jesty is also one of the best players I ever played with. He should have played Test Cricket for England. Back in 1966, you could see how good an all-rounder he was. Stylish and very well-balanced as a batsmen, superb fielder anywhere and a very useful bowler in all formats. Trevor made his first team debut in the same month as Richard Gilliat and David Turner in late 1966. Three wonderful servants for the club, all coming into an ageing side that had won the Championship just five years earlier. Above all, we just had a great time - with true friendships among us. There was such a great rapport between the likes of Trevor Jesty, Richard Lewis, Adam Castell, Keith Wheatley, David Turner and many others. I look back on my Hampshire years with such fondness. It was such a friendly and happy club to play for in both first and second teams. We were called Happy Hants for a reason. Whenever we meet up again and all talk about those days, it is just always about how much fun we had, both on and off the field.

How much do you remember about your debut, John?

I had to wait until 1968 to make by debut. I played in the 2nd XI in 1967 because Derek Shackleton, Butch White and Bob Cottam was the seam attack. Gordon Greenidge played one second team game as a very young man in 1967. It was John Arlott who had been so influential in bringing him to Hampshire. This young lad from Reading was playing for South of England Schools; he was smashing the bowling all around the ground with one pad on. You see Gordon had not got any kit, but so much raw talent. Opportunities, though, were limited for him over the next couple of years. He almost wasn’t retained because he didn’t seem to get that much of a chance. He was very quiet and shy as well. It was definitely thanks to Roy Marshall at that end of season contract meeting that Gordon was not released by Hampshire. A few years later when he started opening with Barry, we all began to see just how good he really was. In fact, he made 70 against Leicestershire early on in the first team down the order, and you could already see an attacking batsman of real flair. If I picked any Word XI from any era, they would be my opening partnership. That is how good Gordon became in a short space of time. I made my debut against Somerset at Portsmouth in 1968. It was the season Barry arrived of course. I was lucky enough to get Glen Chappell out lbw for my second wicket. At the time, most people reckoned that - behind Don Bradman – he was Australia's greatest batsman. Greg was such an elegant player. He was nothing like his brother, Ian, who was a scrappy player. but a very tough competitor. Greg had all the elegance and calmness as well. He was particularly strong through the on side, including the pick-up shot through square leg off his hips. Fortunately, I finished with 5-96, bowling first change in that first innings. My very first wicket was actually Mervyn Kitchen who I umpired with in later years in Test Cricket.

How tough was it starting your career bowling at so many international superstars on the county circuit in 1968?

I loved the challenge and wanted to bowl quick at all of them. My fellow West Indians Sobers, Kanhai, Kallicharran and Clive Lloyd were all brilliant players to play against, of course. The standard of cricket In England was very high at the time. The best batsman of all of them was in my team, thank goodness. I can recall Greg Chappell mentioning to me later,“ When we played Hampshire,” he said, “I always watched Barry Richards very closely when he was batting. ‘Mate,’ I said to myself, ‘I’m going to have to learn how to play on the off-side like that guy." The thing is that in Test cricket, you have to be strong on both sides of the wicket. Barry could certainly play all round the wicket. He just made the game look ridiculously easy. The other thing about Barry, he just got bored. Whereas Boycott would squeeze every last run out of his innings, Barry used to entertain everyone with his genius and then give it away sometimes. In that first season, he smashed a double hundred again at Portsmouth against Notts. I was just sitting there watching on that small pavilion balcony. Even though Sobers opened the bowling, he hit them all around the park. In fact, he was just walking down the pitch to the fast bowlers, when they took the second new ball, to dispatch them all to all parts. Nobody has ever made batting look so easy. Barry also helped Gordon so much to become the player he was. At that time, as I said, Gordon was struggling to get picked for the second team; he was picking up litter and operating the scoreboard. My word, how that changed within a couple of years. Both Hampshire legends now, but it was Barry who stood out immediately from his first season in 1968. He was also a great guy in the dressing room as well. As openers, they were so dominant from ball one, making county bowlers, like me, look so ordinary. Not that Boycott wasn't a fine player either. Bowlers all around the world valued taking his wicket so much.

What made the 1972 summer so special for you?

There are a number of reasons which make it so special because I was really struggling with my back by this time.  That injury finished my career. Sadly, the summer of 1972 was my last season with Hampshire, as my worsening back injury meant I couldn’t bowl so fast after that. It was very strange how it first happened. I'll never forget it. In December 1970, I was actually working for the British American Tobacco in Southampton. When I got out of bed on Christmas Eve to get ready to go to work, the most excruciating pain shot through my back. That was the first death knell really for my first-class career, because, obviously in those days, medical services treating back problems were nowhere near as far advanced as they are now. I struggled all the way through 1971. Trying to re-model my action in the nets didn’t really help at all. Coaches favoured at the time the classic Fred Trueman side-on action, whereas I was much more front-on. My back problems simply worsened as the natural twisting to try and get side-on just didn’t suit my body. In my last season I knew my back was gone, but I battled on and enjoyed probably my best season for the club. 

From memory, did that season include a first-class hat-trick for you?

Yes, it came in the first innings of the home game against Kent in mid-July at Southampton. Their openers put on over a hundred for the first wicket and went into lunch still not having lost a wicket. Peter Sainsbury then struck in the first over, trapping Nicholls lbw. In my first over from the other end, I managed to get the opener Graham Johnson caught behind. My second victim was Asif Iqbal bowled and then, for the hat-trick,  my fellow West Indian Bernard Julian. The umpires in that game were David Constant and Arthur Jepson. I was so happy to get those three, but I bowled a load of rubbish after that! I ended up with 3 for 106. 

What was your best performance in that summer of 1972?

This had come a month or so earlier at the old Waggon Works Ground in Gloucester. It was actually a very close game which we ended losing by two wickets. We batted first and Barry made 64 out of 190. We then bowled them out for 164 early on day two. They had been about 60/1 at the close, but I took 6 for 49, beating my previous Championship best of 5-36. I am pretty sure that took me past 100 Championship wickets for Hampshire with that last wicket. Second time round when we batted, we made just 200 and declared 8 down. Trevor Jesty top-scored again with 50 on a testing wicket. They then managed to chase them down, thanks in the main to a brilliant century by Mike Proctor. As good as the hundred he made was the catch that Barry took to dismiss him. I am not sure anyone took a better catch in all my time with Hampshire off my bowling. Starting to go to his right at first slip, he had to adjust and catch it low to the ground with his left hand almost behind the keeper. 24 hours after achieving my career best analysis I had bettered it again with 7-79. At the time, The Telegraph used to give a magnum pf champagne for the performance of the week. Just my luck to d0 it in the same week as Bob Massie, taking all his wickets at Lord’s in the Ashes Test. I ended up with 13-128 in the match, on the losing side, and with hardly a mention in the conversation about any champagne! It was actually a great game of cricket. We thought we had a chance when Proctor was out in the 16th over of the last 20. They won with one ball to spare.

How did the 1972 season finish up?

We finished 9th for the second season in a row. David Turner scored that brilliant hundred against the Australians. Roy Marshall finished his career with 203 at Derby at the back end of the summer. It was also my last game for Hampshire. I went off injured after 6 overs; that was my first-class career over. Lancashire knocked us out of the Gillette Cup at Bournemouth, despite Barry making a brilliant 129 on the television. Bob Herman and Tom Mottram had come together to share the new ball when it was over for me. I actually went out to the West Indies that winter, along with a number of others who were playing county cricket regularly, for trials for the West Indies Test team. My back told me it was going to be all over, sadly. For others, it was the start of their international careers. I did manage to play for Rawtenstall in the Lancashire League after that, though, before I took up umpiring. 

Do you look back on Hampshire as your club very much still? 

Very much so. I was obviously incredibly lucky to umpire all around the country and in Test matches, but my time with Hampshire was very special. I always enjoy meeting up with the guys I played with, at the annual reunions at the club at the new ground, whenever I can get down from Manchester to attend. It is definitely a special club for me in so many ways.

The summer of 1982 with Kevin Emery

Kevin reflects on that amazing summer for Malcolm Marshall, Trevor Jesty and himself. Malcolm was Kevin's new ball partner and bagged 134 first-class victims at just 15.93, while Trevor topped the Hampshire batting averages with 1645 runs at 58.75, including centuries against both India and Pakistan. For Kevin, it was a truly memorable summer after his 2nd XI debut in 1981. Hampshire finished 3rd in the County Championship table, behind Champions Middlesex and Leicestershire, and 5th in the JPL. Kevin wrote a fine piece for the 1982 Hampshire Handbook, looking back on the mental side of making the step up to play for Hampshire in April 1982. This quote is from page 47 of that edition.

" To conclude, the County game poses far more questions concerning concentration, temperament, attitude and physical endurance. Hard work is the key to success, yet to make the grade can be rewarding in so many ways, not least of these being the enjoyment and pleasure derived from watching and playing against some of the best players in the world."

 At the back end of the summer in 2025, while watching a game together at the Utilita Bowl, John Winter asked Kevin to reflect once again - all these years later - on what made that season so special for him. Within weeks, Kevin sent this superb piece through for our HCH website.

In my first ever game for Hampshire CCC, for the 2nd XI at the end of June in 1981 at Horsham,  I bagged a 6 for in Sussex’s first innings ie. 24 -13-38-6 and got one wicket in the second innings, giving me match figures of 32-15-50-7. I also received the nickname Billy’s Boots in that game, that was thereafter shortened to Billy or Boots and to this day some former players still refer to me as Billy. So memorable in so many ways. It helped us win the game, our first win in the 2nd XI Championship that season which helped us go on to be Champions at the end of the 1981 season. It was also my first game with Robin Smith, “the Judge” as he had come over that same Summer from Durban.

In the B & H game v Essex in 1982 …a game we narrowly lost but should have won…I got 5-24 to equal Bob Herman’s record ( ie. 10-3-5-24 ). We had Essex 14-6 at one point chasing 131 to win and would have won the game if the Umpire - Jack Van Geloven - had his hearing aid batteries replenished at teatime, because he failed to give Stuart Turner out caught behind off me when he was 30 odd and with Essex still needing 28 to win, and they would have been 9 down. So I could have got the record outright…c’est la vie!

In the Championship game vs Glamorgan at Portsmouth, I managed to snare 10 wickets in the game …ie. 22-6-51-6 in the first innings and 23-10-50-4 – so 10 for 101 runs as match figures. Gordon Greenidge (183*) and Trevor Jesty (135*) put on an unbroken partnership of 251 as we won the match by an innings and 76 runs. At one point in that match, I think I had a mid-innings spell of 4 wickets for 3 runs! So great to win the game and to make a significant contribution, especially as Malcolm only got two wickets in the game and from memory was feeling a little unwell.

In the Championship game v Essex at Chelmsford , I took 6-67 in the first innings  and one wicket in the second innings as we strove for victory, but alas the weather gods were against us and we narrowly failed to chase down 86 off 8 overs, falling just 11 short ( no circle restrictions or powerplays) which was galling as we had dominated that game and deserved to win.

In an under 25 game vs Kent at Bournemouth (40 overs competition) in May 1982, where bowlers were restricted to 8 overs, I had figures of 7.4-2-10-5 and helped bowl out a strong Kent side for 138, which we knocked off for 2 with a few overs to spare. I also had 2 catches dropped, so it could have been even better figures! In the Championship game at Bath v Somerset in 1982, I managed to take a 5 for, in front of my old teammates from Lansdown CC in Bath, where I had played for 2 seasons previously…so that was a good day, which people still remind me of to this day, which is nice!

My favourite game was the First Team game v Surrey at the Oval in early June 1982.  It was sandwiched between a JPL game at Leicester on the Sunday which was televised. So we started on the Saturday, played all day, then rushed up to Leicester on the evening for the Sunday League game v Leicestershire then returning that night back to London to resume play again on the Monday. We arrived in London on the Friday night, in preparation for the game the next day. As usual I travelled up with Gordon and Malcolm from Chandlers Ford. I lived with Malcolm at his house and Gordon, who lived just around the corner, was the designated driver in his sponsored car, so we usually travelled as a threesome to away matches.

Malcolm Denzil Marshall, ( aka Macco ) who was lively and all action on the field of play, was the complete opposite on the road. He would be in the back seat as quick as a flash, just like one of his searing inswingers, and snuggle down with a pillow in readiness for a nap. Indeed, before we got onto the M3, Macco would be in the land of nod dreaming of sunlit beaches and bowling “unplayable peaches”. Generally, he would wake up not far from the destination, suitably refreshed and enquire of GG. “How far, man?”

On this particular Friday, traffic was not too bad and as the Oval was on the way to the Hotel, we popped in and dropped our kit off for tomorrow, before bumping in to Sylvester Clarke and Monte Lynch, who advised us that there was a function that they were going to in Brixton that night and that we were welcome to pop along after we had  checked in to the hotel. Well, there was steel drums and music and dancing as well as plenty of rum, which I think Sylvester took a liking too. It was great to see Macco, GG, Clarkey and some fellow Bajans strutting their stuff, before we politely said our goodbyes and headed back to the Hotel…with the song ..”Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot” still ringing in my ears as I tried to get to sleep.

The next morning, at the ground, we discovered that we were going to be playing on a re-laid wicket, that their Head Groundsman, Harry Brind, had “put to bed “at the end of the 1981 season. It looked ok and on winning the toss Nick Pocock elected to bat. GG nicked off to Clarke early and very soon we were anything but “hot hot hot” as we slumped to 80-5 with Sylvester taking two early wickets. The wicket was playing ok to begin with, but then a few balls started to misbehave, but nothing too alarmingly, as Trevor Jesty and Macco put on 40 odd for the sixth wicket. Jets fell for 55 to the returning Clarke and then a “chatty” Robin Jackman snared a few and We were all out for 148.

Confidence was a little low in the team as We hadn’t won a Championship game yet and had lost 3 B & H games, albeit only just, in 2 of them. Mind you, We had won a couple of John Player games, but this game was pivotal if we were to get our season “up & running” and so, we needed some early wickets to wrestle back some momentum and turn the game our way, as we went out to field in mid-Saturday afternoon.

We did just that as Malcolm roared in, with both venom and accuracy. I chipped in as well and we had Surrey 22-3 then 93 for 6, so the game was well poised going into the final session of the day. Monte Lynch held us up with some crisp square driving and forged a few useful partnerships down the order with Thomas, Clarke and Monkhouse but by the end of play on Saturday it was “even-steven” as Surrey were 158-9, just 8 runs ahead. So, Game On!

The variable bounce started to re-appear at the back end of Saturday’s play, when every run seemed vital and every ball was an event, so really absorbing cricket for both Us, the players, as well as a large West Indian contingent who had made their way into the ground from mid-afternoon to catch a few overs in the sunshine.

What they did witness was Sylvester, smiting a few fours off Steve “Piggy” Malone, which didn’t please Piggy at all…and the red ball mist started to descend! Our batters all implored him to not do anything reckless and definitely - “DO NOT BOUNCE SYLVESTER” - as they didn’t want him to be any angrier than he needed to be, come our second innings.

Well after a third four was agriculturally muscled to mid-wicket, Piggy lost it and let Sylvers have two bouncers and would probably have bowled more, but for the fact that you were only allowed one per over back in 1982, with any additional bumpers being deemed a no-ball.  Clarkey reminded Piggy that he had to bat again in the next innings… with those immortal words .. “Man, I’m coming for you, Izze a coming for you!” Fortunately, Tim Tremlett intervened by bowling Clarke the next over, but as Clarke walked off, he pointed towards Piggy in a threatening manner, just to remind him once more!

SO at the close of play, 304 runs had been scored for nineteen wickets but the main talking point among our players and a few of the “Brown Caps” was that Piggy was staring down the barrel on Monday when we were to resume. Much friendly teasing and banter ensued, but deep-down Piggy was already feeling “the heat”. Off we popped/drove up to Leicester that night and on arrival at our hotel, Piggy was already enquiring of the batters if they had any additional protection for him to wear, should he be needed to bat, back at the Oval, in our second innings?

By the way he was most definitely going to be needed as every run would be vital.

The John Player League game was televised the next day on BBC 2, so there was a good crowd in at Grace Road and Leicester totalled 211 for 5 in their 40 overs, with D I Gower getting 96 before he became one of my three wickets that I took in the last over, finishing with figures of 8-2-21-4, a personal best in the competition for me and what a bonus as it  was all caught on camera too.

We were up with the rate at one point as Jets and Macco put on a useful 40 odd for the sixth wicket and then Bobby Parks played deftly to get us within striking distance, but we just fell away at the end and Leicester won by 9 runs. A few dropped catches in their innings were to prove costly in the end, but Bobby took a liking to the veteran Ken Higgs bowling, to get us close. Although when I came in at number 10, he sidled up to me and told me that Higgs was bowling big away swingers and to get ready to run, so he could get back on strike.  Higgsy’s first delivery, was a massive inswinger, which hit me flush on the foot – Oucha!! Cheers Bobby!!, but we scrambled a leg bye to get him back on strike, but he perished a few balls later.

There’s a lesson there – watch the ball and trust your own instincts and don’t pre-judge. So, what could have been our third win out of 4, turned into a narrow loss and we contemplated what might have been as we headed South, backdown the M1, to resume the 3 day match with Surrey.

Sadly, for Piggy, he did not get in to bat, so was unable to road test the Chest Guard that Trevor Jesty had in his possession, in preparation for his potential bruising encounter with the 90-mph bowling of Sylvester Clarke, the following day.

On Monday morning, back at the Oval, we arrived bright and early hoping to wrap up their innings quickly. Unfortunately for us Jackman chanced his arm, often backing away and slicing behind square. Mark Nicholas put him down off me, in the slips and he and Monkhouse put on 75 precious runs for the last wicket, which gave Surrey a priceless lead of 66 runs on a wicket that started to misbehave a tad, as the effect of the heavy roller wore off on the morning of the second day.

At the beginning of our innings that pitch deteriorated a bit, with balls short of a good length tending to keep low and then perversely the pitched-up balls started to climb and lift, especially from the Pavillion end.

We were soon 3 down early, with Clarke and Thomas bowling quickly, but were still 30 odd behind, when Gordon started to counter attack and when he was joined by Malcolm, who was promoted to number 5, because Nick Pocock had a heavy cold ( or was it a heavy heart?) they proceeded to improvise and punish anything loose to put on 72 before Macco fell to a smart catch by Clinton. GG was playing magnificently though and ferociously square cutting anything short and wide, whilst also being watchful of the various shooters and lifters as we started to add to our overall lead.

Meanwhile, whilst all the wickets were falling, back in the Pavillion, Piggy was anxiously grabbing all the protection he could muster from all quarters in preparation for when he as going to be needed to bat! Trevor Jesty’s chest guard was being adjusted for a tight fit, a few towels were being stuffed down his back leg and on top of the chest guard. I think he also pilfered a sort of arm guard from somewhere, as he steeled himself for the potential battle ahead. As for me – due in at number 10 – I was being encouraged by John Rice to wear a helmet, for the first time, for in Ricey’s own words, if I went out to bat in just a cap, “Clarkey will try and knock your head off!”

Wisely, I adjusted the various inserts inside the helmet and made sure the chin strap was secure, checking a few times in the mirror, only to witness Piggy in the background trying to stuff a toilet roll in his box for extra protection?? Back to the game in the middle and we continued to lose wickets, with Clarke back in the attack and bowling a fearsome bouncer at our nose running captain, who had dropped himself down to No.9, before clean bowling him next ball!

As I entered the fray and I went past David Evans, the softly spoken Welsh Umpire, I heard  him reminding Sylvester that he had already bowled his one bouncer for the over so another would be a no ball! Sylvester just nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders and in typical Bajan style, pursed his lips & sucked on his teeth as he went back to his mark.

I was somewhat relieved to hear Umpire Evans re-iterate said point as he gave me my guard, comforted in the fact that this ball should be in my half at least? Bobby Parks urged me to watch the ball closely, for at this point we were only 93 ahead, so anything we could eke out would be vital!!

I steeled myself for my first delivery from the menacing and mighty quick Sylvester and found myself leaning slightly forward only to hastily duck a 90mph bouncer, which was accompanied by the Welsh lilt of “No ball, Sylvester, now I told you before”, which sadly for me, meant another ball in the over! I took a moment to look behind the wicket, only to see a plethora of slips and gulleys and a leg slip as well. There was one solitary fielder, in front of me, at wide mid-off in Geoff Howarth & Jackman at wide fine leg. Next ball was pitched up and I smashed it (well hit it out the middle at least) straight to Howarth, who moved half a centimetre to his left to field it. Damn it!  But at least it was the end of the over.

Teddy Thomas, a very useful all-rounder for Surrey was in the middle of a very exacting spell from the Vauxhall end and was getting some sharp lift for a fullish length, with his left arm over angle and we managed to sneak a leg bye of the last ball of his over, so the lead was now 95. Unfortunately, Bobby got in a tangle trying to pull another Syvester Clarke bouncer, first ball of the next over and just spooned a catch up to Howarth at a now shortish wide mid-off.

Now usually  if we were 10 down, my teammates would be getting themselves kitted out in readiness for a stint in the field and be busy inside the dressing room , sorting kit out , changing socks etc… but not on this occasion , as Piggy strode out onto the Kennington Oval, the whole balcony was full as everyone sought a front row seat on what was about to unfold between Sylvester and our erstwhile number 11. Even the crowd which had swelled by mid-afternoon, were aware that something memorable was about to unfold. Piggy, with all his protection on, looked more like Falstaff about to enter the stage in a Shakespearian drama at the Old Vic, rather than, our usually svelte like paceman (from Essex) about to enter the fray at the Oval.

As Sylvester walked past me, once again, Umpire Evans cautioned the big Bajan that he had bowled one for the over and if he bowled another bumper he would call it a No ball. Sylvester shrugged and again pursed his lips and sucked his teeth…I think he may have said “ Oh Man, he gonna die!” or it might have been- “Man.. I’ll try?” He walked back towards his mark. But made a bee line towards Piggy and greeted him with a quizzical -  “ What you? A Mitchelin Man??

Piggy surveyed the field and noted that everyone bar Jackman at Fine leg were in close proximity. There was a Short leg, a Leg Gully, and the rest were in the slips cordon. It was at this point that I thought Piggy had, for once, had a good idea re the toilet roll, though it might have been better employed around the back of his trousers instead!

As Clarke waited to bowl, Piggy took guard then proceeded to frantically tap his bat in the crease which got increasingly quicker as Clarke came in to bowl. Sylvester hurled the delivery down, which then cannoned into Piggy’s left arse cheek, as he backed away to square leg, hitting him in virtually the only place where he had no protection! The impact was greeted with a deafening squeal from Piggy, as the ball ricocheted down to a wide long on, only to be followed up with an even more emphatic “NOOOOOO !!” as I implored him to come back for Two.

Well, the Balcony was in hysterics and most of the Surrey Brown Caps were equally amused by this show of brazen cowardice and couldn’t resist teasing Piggy incessantly about why his heart was now located in his rear end??? The crowd loved it too! Thereafter, I think I got the best 5 not out of my life, fending off 3 lifters from Clarke and being wrapped on the hands a couple of times in front of my face, as Piggy flailed away, nicking one over slips for four before being bowled by Teddy Thomas. Our lead was 104 and so Surrey required 105 to win on an increasingly difficult surface.

I recall, there was about an hour’s playing time left and before we went out to bowl, we realised this was a big opportunity to get our first win in the Championship and whilst Piggy set about refilling the toilet roll holders, Malcolm and I warmed up and nodded to each other!

That Monday evening Macco was rapid, hostile, intimidating and accurate as he blew away their top four batters in quick succession, with the odd the ball rearing off a length. I chipped in with the wicket of Monte Lynch, (who had top scored for them with 67 in their first innings) as Surrey ended Day 2 on 19 for 5. That evening We were buoyed by our efforts but knew that Surrey still had some useful batters to come but the game was there to be won.

Malcolm and I continued where we left the night before and reduced Surrey to 68-9, in their quest to get 105 to win. Every ball seemed like an event, every run stopped was crucial as was the taking of wickets at regular intervals. Teddy Thomas stood up and crashed a few boundaries and we knew we needed to get rid of Jackman early (who came in one place higher at number 10) which I did with a beautiful nip backer for 1. When their last batsman Monkhouse joined Thomas, they still needed 37. A couple of half chances went begging and nails were being bitten down to their roots as Thomas “Chinese- cut “Macco and I in successive overs, for boundaries and the deficit was reduced to single figures. Monkhouse edged a four between slips and gully off me and so the target was only another 4 to win.

With nerves fraying in all quarters, it was fitting that Macco, secured the last wicket, as he bowled a quick away swinging delivery to the left-handed Thomas, who nicked it and was smartly pouched by Pocock at slip.  We had won by 3 runs !!It was a simply amazing and magnificent game of cricket!! Surrey’s 10th wicket partnership was their highest in both innings and Malcolm finished with career best figures (at that time) of 20-1-38-7 and match figures of 10 for 76, to add to his 49 runs in the low scoring match. I got 3 wickets in each innings and had match figures of 36 overs, 8 maidens, 113 runs and 6 wickets as well as my vital 5 not out in our second innings.

We celebrated with gusto in the changing rooms at the end of the game, had a beer with a few of the Surrey players before heading off mid afternoon on the M3 back to Southampton.

I think it was the turning point for our season!

Moreover, given everything that went on in the game, the twists, the turns, the comedic incidents and the tough and uncompromising manner that cricket that was played in – and then add in the privilege of having a front row seat to see Malcolm in his absolute pomp, makes it my most memorable match and more especially also, as I was able to contribute  a little to a magnificent nail-biting win.

The summer of 1969 with Richard Gilliat 

Richard in conversation  with John Winter in September 2025 (with additional notes in italics) about Richard's breakthrough summer, when Hampshire finished 5th in the County Championship and Runners-Up to Lancashire in the first season of the John Player League

Richard, we are here to talk about your favourite season playing for and captaining Hampshire - and there must be quite a few to choose from. If I can start by asking you, how did you begin playing for Hampshire? 

RG - Yes, so I was at Oxford University and had played a few games on the Surrey Ground staff in 1964. I've got to say that I don't think it was my particular dream to play cricket professionally at that stage. If anything, tennis was my favourite game at school and as a student. I was lucky enough to captain Oxford University at both football and cricket and got blues for both, but tennis was always my preferred option, really. So I think the Hampshire cricket connection came about through Desmond Eagar who knew my uncle Ivor. I was playing for Oxford University at Iffley Road and in the Parks where he saw me play. He then got in touch and invited me to come down to Southampton to play a few trial games for the 2nd eleven in 1965 and 1966.

Richard won his four cricket blues at Oxford between 1963 and 1967. He played twice against Hampshire, making 49 in 1965 and 62 in 1966 before playing for the Club. During his time at Oxford, Richard made his Hampshire 2nd XI debut at Basingstoke on 19th August 1965. He made 23* in his only innings against Kent. Having been picked for the MCC President's XI to play the West Indies at Lord's in July 1966, Richard made his Hampshire first-class debut on a very special sporting day in England. Saturday 30th July 1966 was the day England beat Germany 4-2 at Wembley in the World Cup Final and, while "some people were on the pitch at Wembley", Richard was in the field for Hampshire at Northlands Road against Derbyshire. In a drawn game, he made 8 and took 2 catches on his first-class debut. He then played both games in Portsmouth Cricket week against Yorkshire and Lancashire. In fact, he played every Championship game until the end of that 1966 summer. For the last two, he was joined by David Turner, who made his first-class debut in the penultimate game against Kent at Bournemouth. David was immediately followed by Trevor Jesty who made his first team debut at Portsmouth in the very next game - the last of the Championship season against Essex. Richard's only 2nd XI game in 1966 was at Laverstoke Park, where he was run out for 22 against Somerset. This was because Mike Barnard and Colin Ingleby-Mackenzie had stepped back in to play in Hampshire's first ever Gillette Cup Semi-Final at Worcester on August 10th.

What was the next summer like in 1967?

RG - Well in 1967 I was finishing at Oxford and only available for Hampshire in the second half of the season. It was the year we won the 2nd XI Competition under Leo Harrison's captaincy. I don't think I played a single game for the 2nd XI that summer, where Keith Wheatley and Richard Lewis were among the leading run-scorers. I batted at three in the first team instead and found it hard to make runs. I think I must have replaced Henry Horton at three who had been such a wonderful servant of the club. I do remember batting for a very long time to make my first hundred against Kent at Southampton. Underwood was just so hard to get away, and he mopped up the tail. It was the first time I remember batting with David (Turner) who made his first fifty for the club in the same innings. We were in trouble when we came together and the scoring was very slow.

The record books show that Richard made 122 against Kent in only his second game back after University on July 16th 1967. It took him 6 hours and 10 minutes. He hit 2 sixes and eight fours, sharing a fifth wicket partnership of 112 with David Turner who made his maiden half-century with 52. In total, Richard played in 13 first-class matches in the second half of the 1967 summer, finishing third in the averages, with 546 runs at exactly 26.0. Having finished 11th in 1966, Hampshire dropped one place in 1967 to 12th in the County Championship table.

In 1968, there was the arrival of the overseas players and Barry Richards joining Hampshire. How much do you remember about the summer?

RG - Well, let's talk first of all about how he signed for Hampshire. It was very last minute, I think it was 99% certain that Clive Lloyd was joining us, when he opted for Lancashire instead. It left us, virtually at the last minute, without an overseas player. The deal that we had offered Clive was never going to be enough, because his club side in Lancashire contacted Lancashire and said that they would double anything that we were prepared to pay. They just did not want to lose him. He was a talisman for the Lancashire leagues and somebody Lancashire particularly wanted. So yeah, it was a very much a last minute thing. I had spent some time in South Africa with Martin Harrison, son of Leo. Martin had spent a lot of time in South Africa, and he knew Barry and recommended him very highly. In fact, I'd actually played against Barry when he came over in 1963. He captained a South African Nuffield Schools side against Charterhouse. He scored a fantastic hundred and I remember former South African opening batsman, Jackie McGlew, was coaching that side. He told us that day that Barry was the best young player he'd ever seen. I didn't doubt that at all. Everything we saw that day, just bore that out. In all my time, when I went on to play the game professionally, I never saw a better player. 

So what was it that marked Barry out from anybody else, and what elevates him quite rightly into the all time greats? 

RG - He saw the ball really early. He could play every shot. I mean, I've been watching Shubman Gill this summer and some of the current Indians play beautiful cover drives, but nobody ever played the cover drive more gracefully, more effortlessly, or with better placement than Barry. Any form of spin, left arm over, right arm swing and seam, pace, the short ball, he could play everything. He only had one weakness and that was boredom! He loved the battle. He loved playing against the best; it brought the best out of him. The more difficult the conditions, the better he played; the more the challenge, the greater the number of runs that he made. I think Gordon also spurred him on after 1971. Gordon was great for him. It was a tremendous partnership. It encouraged Barry to go to even greater heights. There would be times when Barry would come back and say, "God, I wish I could hit the ball as hard as Gordon does." But Barry was all timing. Gordon was all muscle and, as an opening pair, they were absolutely ferocious. They were so good to captain: they were both really keen students of the game and they did give advice, but overall, what they did to set the tone was just amazing. Both were truly special players. Sorry, I digress, but no time talking about how good those two were is ever wasted!

What about your own season in 1968?

RG - It was a much harder season for me. I know that I didn't make a hundred in that third season. Barry just ended it up making it look so much easier than everyone else, including Roy Marshall who was, himself, a very destructive batsman.

Injuries ravaged the side in 1969 and you had to retire hurt at Ilford in mid-June after you were struck on the head by Keith Boyce?

RG - I got hit on the head and retired hurt. Thankfully, I was able to join Peter (Sainsbury) back at the wicket the next day and things just went my way. It was the start of a great run of form for me actually.

Richard's modesty prohibits him from elaborating on that knock of 109 at Ilford which was the fastest Championship hundred of the season that year. It was the first of Richard's six centuries that summer; his second came in the next game at home to Glamorgan (112) at Bournemouth. 

Is it true that before 1969, you never really felt as if you were going to make it as a professional for Hampshire? 

That is absolutely right. I was just lucky enough to score 6 centuries that season, but it was the game against Warwickshire at home when I got 223 not out that really sticks in the memory. It was the only double century that I scored for Hampshire. And my other memory from that summer, and this game in particular, was about the bonus points. Bonus points were awarded for each 25 runs after 150 in the first 85 overs; we managed to get maximum bonus points that day. 

Did it help having the John Player League for the first time that summer in 1969?

RG - Maybe that freed me up a bit. I remember making a hundred against Glamorgan on the Saturday at Bournemouth and then making a fifty on the Sunday at Southampton in "Butch" White's Benefit game. We finished second to Lancashire in that first season of the JPL, but became a far better Sunday side in 1975. Just going back to that double hundred, I remember partnerships both with Roy Marshall and Danny Livingstone. Roy made the game look so easy. I was batting three and he was four. He was ridiculously talented, unpredictable. He could hit the ball to all parts; you weren't quite sure what you were going to get. I remember batting sometimes at number three when he was opening, and you'd be on the edge of your seat, because the first ball could fly down to third man as easily as be hit straight back over the bowler's head. But make no mistake, Roy was a fantastic player. 

Richard, what are your memories of the attack that you faced that day?  

RG - I do remember that there were some good bowlers in that Warwickshire line-up. Ibadulla was playing and he came on after Blenkiron and McVicker. But it was Tom Cartwright who was the pick. He bowled such great lines, wicket to wicket. He also moved it around enough both ways. He was always difficult to face, but I managed to work him a few times to leg. He went for a few runs that day and I remember him just saying, "you know, why do I have to bowl to this chap?" I don't think he was particularly impressed with the way that I scored my runs, but it was a day when everything went right. And actually, my other memory of that day, of course, is that, as I was walking back to the pavilion at tea, I was capped. It was a Monday at the end of June. There wasn't a big crowd, but it was such a special moment for me. I felt that I'd really finally arrived in the side by then. Barry Richards would have been one of the stars, of course, but he didn't play in the game where I got 223 because he'd been knocked unconscious by Mike Proctor about a week or two early. So he was unavailable. Unlike me, he could hit the ball to all parts of the ground. Obviously, he was just a genius, the best player I ever played with, simply the best player I have ever seen play the game. As I said before, he just had everything. All these years later, the memories remain so vivid. I can't remember many of my own innings thankfully. Barry was such a wonderful timer of a cricket ball and just a joy to watch from the other end when you batted with him. He actually missed a few games that second season through injury, but still made nearly 1500 runs in the Championship. I think he made 5 hundreds that summer.

You were also vice-captain in 1969. How did it come about that you ended up that season taking on the captaincy at Hampshire? 

RG - Yes, so it was the end of the 1969 season that Roy was injured. I'd struggled a little bit with injuries myself, but then towards the end of the season, I was given the chance to captain the side in the absence of Roy. It was for the last two Championship games that season and for the last two Sundays in the JPL. Roy was a wonderful player, but maybe not the most adventurous or attacking captain. We had a very good bowling attack that summer with Bob Cottam and "Butch" White, Alan Castell, Peter Sainsbury and Trevor Jesty. Bob and "Butch" took 200 Championship wickets between them opening the bowling. Later, as the full-time captain, I wanted to change the tone a little bit. I had great support from Desmond (Eagar) behind the scenes. I just wanted us to play a more attacking form of cricket. Roy immediately returned a captain in 1970 when he was fit again. In those two games as captain in 1969, I dropped down the order to four - with David (Turner) slotting in at three, where he was so well suited. We also said a final good-bye to "Shack" at the end of that special summer of 1969.

In terms of your mantras later as a full-time captain, what were the big things that you always believed in?

RG - I was very much in favour of attacking cricket with the bat: I always wanted us to score our runs quickly, put pressure on the opposition, have a positive mindset because bonus points were so important. In the field, it was all about having a fast over rate, moving quickly between overs, because you wanted to give yourself the best chance to take 20 wickets in the game. Obviously catches win matches, so the fielding was the thing, probably, during my time as captain, that consistently stood out and put us right towards the top always. The opening partnership was totally fearless and put us on the front foot when we were were batting. But the fielding with David Turner in the covers, the brilliant slip cordon and Bob (Stephenson) behind the stumps made us a top side and stand out. We were also a happy side, a very positive dressing room. It was an easy team to captain in many ways because I think we all wanted to play the game the same way. 'Keep the game moving forwards and give ourselves every chance to win'. 

Finally, as captain, what do you think was the secret of Hampshire's success in the seventies? 

We were lucky that we had no England test stars. There was continuity of selection, a lot of experience - mixed with a lot of ambition and desire. But you do make your own luck in the game. We didn't prepare any wickets, particularly. We had such such a good balance to the side - with three genuine all-rounders. The bowlers were very skilful against many of the world's best batsmen playing in county cricket back then. There was a real depth to the squad as well. We enjoyed going to play on any ground. We also enjoyed tremendous home support. Each of the Hampshire grounds we went to - especially for Bournemouth Cricket Week and Portsmouth Cricket Week - meant we were tremendously well supported. Hampshire crowds are always very partisan, very knowledgable, but overall incredibly supportive of the team. Looking back now, it was such a privilege for me to captain Hampshire, with so many great professionals in that era.