Chick Cray
Personal information
Full name
Stanley James Cray
Born(1921-05-29)29 May 1921
Stratford, Essex, England
Died10 October 2008(2008-10-10) (aged 87)
Torquay, Devon, England
NicknameChick
BattingRight-handed
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1954 & 1957Devon
1938–1950Essex
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 102
Runs scored 4,218
Batting average 24.66
100s/50s 7/17
Top score 163
Balls bowled 32
Wickets 1
Bowling average 40.00
5 wickets in innings –
10 wickets in match –
Best bowling 1/0
Catches/stumpings 24/–
Source: Cricinfo, 20 April 2011

Stanley James Cray (29 May 1921 – 10 October 2008) was an English cricketer. Cray was a right-handed batsman and known to fellow players as Chick. He was born in Stratford, Essex.

Cray made his first-class debut for Essex against Worcestershire in the 1938 County Championship. He became a regular in the Essex team in 1939, but the start of the Second World War abruptly ended his first-class career with Essex in its tracks.[1] Serving in the war, Cray served in the British Raj, while stationed there he played two first-class matches for a Services XI against an Indian XI and a Bengal Governor's XI, both in 1944.[1] Following the war, Cray returned to Essex, where he played first-class cricket once more from 1946 to 1950.[1] As well as his appearances for Essex and a Services XI, he also played a single first-class match for a combined Essex and Middlesex team against a combined Surrey and Kent team in 1947.[2] Cray was a member of the Essex team which tied with Northamptonshire in 1947, a match in which he scored a century in the Essex first-innings.[3]

In total he made 99 first-class appearances for the county, scoring 4,062 runs at a batting average of 24.46, with sixteen half centuries, seven centuries and a high score of 163.[4] His highest first-class score came against Nottinghamshire in 1950.[5] Cray passed 1,000 runs for a season twice, in 1947 and 1949.[6] Following the 1950 season, Cray coached in South Africa when out of the blue he received a phonecall informing him his services were no longer required by Essex.[7]

Following his release he played Minor Counties Championship cricket for Devon on two occasions, firstly in 1954 against the Surrey Second XI and secondly against Oxfordshire in 1957.[8] While in Devon he was the professional at Paignton Cricket Club. He retired fully from playing and coaching in 1961, following problems with a hand injury he had sustained in a car accident.[7] He had a number of jobs outside of cricket, including as a postman and a kitchen assistant.[7]

One of the last living cricketers to have played first-class cricket before the war, Cray died in Torquay, Devon on 10 October 2008.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "First-Class Matches played by Chick Cray". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
  2. ↑ "Surrey and Kent v Middlesex and Essex, 1947". CricketArchive. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
  3. ↑ "Essex v Northamptonshire, 1947 County Championship". CricketArchive. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
  4. ↑ "First-class Batting and Fielding For Each Team by Chick Cray". CricketArchive. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
  5. ↑ "Essex v Nottinghamshire, 1950 County Championship". CricketArchive. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
  6. ↑ "First-class Batting and Fielding in Each Season by Chick Cray". CricketArchive. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Williamson, Martin (10 November 2008). "Essex veteran Cray dies". Retrieved 21 April 2011.
  8. ↑ "Minor Counties Championship Matches played by Chick Cray". CricketArchive. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
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