Mark Saxelby

Mark Saxelby
Personal information
Full name
Mark Saxelby
Born(1969-01-04)4 January 1969
Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England
Died12 October 2000(2000-10-12) (aged 31)
Beeston, Nottingham, England
BattingLeft-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium pace
RoleBatter
RelationsBrother, Kevin Saxelby
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1989–1993Nottinghamshire
1994–1995Durham
1996Cheshire
2000Derbyshire
Career statistics
Competition First-class List A
Matches 61 79
Runs scored 2,916 1,442
Batting average 29.45 24.86
100s/50s 2/17 1/6
Top score 181 100*
Balls bowled 1,312 1,510
Wickets 11 34
Bowling average 82.09 37.23
5 wickets in innings
10 wickets in match
Best bowling 3/41 4/29
Catches/stumpings 18/– 15/–
Source: CricketArchive, 10 November 2024

Mark Saxelby (4 January 1969 – 12 October 2000) was an English cricketer.[1] He was a left-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-pace bowler.

He started his eleven-year cricketing career at Nottinghamshire, where he enjoyed a fair few successful seasons and consistently averaged in the 30s with the bat without making himself overly known or feared. However, he was soon off to Durham, who spotted him after an excellent century innings in the Sunday leagues. Despite being keen to keep both Mark and his brother Kevin Saxelby for as long as possible, he was to move to Durham and make 181 on his Championship debut for the team.[2]

However, a season after reaching 1000 runs for the first time, Saxelby was once again packing his bags and moving, after patchy form saw him down to number five in the batting lineup.

After some years in minor league cricket, and a 1996 MCC Trophy win for Cheshire, Saxelby was signed by Derbyshire in 2000 and only appeared for them after an injury to Mathew Dowman left his teammate unable to play.

At the age of 31, Saxelby committed suicide by ingesting weedkiller;[2] he was suffering from depression.

  1. ^ "Mark Saxelby". www.trentbridge.co.uk. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  2. ^ a b Frith, David (2001). Silence of the Heart - Cricket Suicides. Edinburgh, Scotland: Mainstream Publishing. p. 49. ISBN 184018406X.