Len Creese

Len Creese
Personal information
Full name	William Charles Leonard Creese
Born	27 December 1907; Park Town North, Transvaal, South Africa
Died	9 March 1974 (aged 66); Buckland, Kent, England
Batting	Left-handed
Bowling	Left-arm medium
Domestic team information
1928–1939	Hampshire
Career statistics
Matches	281
Runs scored	9,938
Batting average	24.06
100s/50s	6/50
Top score	241
Balls bowled	25,359
Wickets	410
Bowling average	27.42
5 wickets in innings	15
10 wickets in match	1
Best bowling	8/37
Catches/stumpings	191/–
	Source: Cricinfo, 21 February 2010

William Charles Leonard Creese (27 December 1907 – 9 March 1974) was a South African born English first-class cricketer. Creese was a left-handed batsman who bowled left-arm medium pace.

Career for Hampshire

Len Creese left South Africa as a young man, determined to make a career in England as a professional cricketer.

Second World War. Creese's final appearance for the county came in the 1939 County Championship against Yorkshire at Dean Park Cricket Ground in Bournemouth

.

Creese was regarded as one of the best

all-rounders on the county circuit. In his 278 matches for the county, Creese scored 9,894 runs at a batting average of 24.01, with 50 half centuries, 6 centuries with a high score of 241 against Northamptonshire in 1939. Such was Creese's skill with the bat that he passed the 1,000 run mark for a season five times, with his best season being in 1933 when he scored 1,275 runs at an average of 35.41, with 5 half centuries, 2 centuries and a high score of 165*

.

Creese was also a consistent bowler, taking 401 wickets for the county at a

catches

for Hampshire.

John Arlott described Creese as "sturdily built, strong, brave and a combative – but inconsistent – cricketer", adding that while Creese was unsure against spin bowling he was outstanding against pace bowling: "it often seemed that the faster the bowling, the better he liked it".^[1] A note of Hampshire trivia came when Creese accidentally shot his teammate Gerry Hill while Hill was bowling in the nets. The bullet stayed in Hill's leg for the remainder of his life. Commenting on the incident Hill said: "Creese was as mad as a hatter. He had this gun and whether it went off accidentally, I don't know... I was running in to bowl and it knocked me off my feet."

Later career

In addition to playing first-class matches for Hampshire, Creese also represented the Players in the 1935 Gentlemen v Players fixture and represented the Combined Services in two matches after the war, coming against Oxford University and Surrey in 1946.

In 1949 Creese joined

Minor Counties Championship from 1949 to 1950, with all four of his fixtures for Dorset coming against Berkshire

.

Prior to joining Dorset Creese stood as an

County Ground at Hove

. In the late 1950s Creese was the landlord of the Dripping Well public house in Hastings.

Creese died at Buckland, Kent on 9 March 1974.

References

^ ^a ^b John Arlott, "W. L. C. Creese", The Cricketer, May 1974, p. 39.

External links

Len Creese at
Cricinfo
Len Creese at CricketArchive
Matches and detailed statistics for Len Creese

[JA-1] John Arlott, "W. L. C. Creese", The Cricketer, May 1974, p. 39.

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