 Mervyn Burden in 1958 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mervyn Derek Burden | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 4 October 1930 Southampton, Hampshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 9 November 1987 (aged 57) Whitchurch, Hampshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm off-break | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1953–1963 | Hampshire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source: Cricinfo, 10 December 2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mervyn Derek Burden (4 October 1930 – 9 November 1987) was an English first-class cricketer.
Burden was born at Southampton in October 1930, being educated there at King Edward VI School.[1] The school was evacuated to Poole during the Second World War, where he excelled at football more than cricket. While practicing in the cricket nets at the Cunliffe-Owen Aircraft factory in March 1947, in order to maintain his fitness for football,[2] he was spotted by Hampshire coach Sam Staples and their captain and secretary Desmond Eagar, who recommended him for a trial at the County Ground.[3] He reportedly turned up to his trial with no pads or bat. Bowling medium pace, his first delivery of his trial (bowled at Neil McCorkell)[2] flew over the nets without bouncing and shattered a dining-room window. His misfortune continued on the second day of his trial, when he was asked to assist groundsman Ernie Knights, having been struck on the ankle by a shot from Johnny Arnold, only to kick a bucket of whiting all over the square.[4] He subsequently spent two years on National Service.[3]
Burden would eventually turn to off spin bowling following a discussion with Staples successor, Arthur Holt, about Hampshire's lack of a spin-bowler following a number of retirements.[3] He made his debut for Hampshire in first-class cricket against Worcestershire at Worcester in the 1953 County Championship, with him making a second appearance that season against Surrey.[5] He established himself in the Hampshire side following a match against Leicestershire, in which he took figures of 7 for 48.[1] He played regularly for Hampshire throughout the 1950s in partnership with fellow spinner Peter Sainsbury,[3] taking over fifty wickets in a season in 1955, 1957, and 1958.[6] He received his county cap in 1955, the same season in which he took 70 wickets at an average of 21.75.[1] Described as a genuine number eleven, he made one half century in 1960 when he came in as a nightwatchman against Warwickshire.[4] The following season, he played an important role in helping Hampshire win their first County Championship title, taking exactly fifty wickets at an average of 22.92;[6] these included his career best bowling figures of 8 for 38 against Somerset at Bournemouth.[3] However, despite a successful season, he did not feature after July, with slow left-arm orthodox spinner Alan Wassell being preferred.[3] He returned to make seventeen appearances in 1962, taking 65 wickets, albeit at a higher average of 30.38.[6] In 1963, he made just three appearances in the County Championship,[5] but did take 6 for 84 in his penultimate match against Gloucestershire.[3] He was subsequently released from his contract in August of that year to take up an appointment outside of cricket.[7] In 174 first-class matches, Burden took 481 wickets at an average of 26.11; he took 23 five wicket hauls and took ten-wickets in a match on four occasions.[8]
Burden was popular among both players and spectators and was included in a 2005 list of Hampshire cricket cult figures.[4] His obituary in Wisden declared, "The value of such a man is not to be estimated in figures."[1] Tony Lewis said of him that "his humour was never extinguished by failure" and noted that John Arlott called Burden "salt of the cricketing earth".[9] Arlott himself devoted a chapter to Burden in his book, John Arlott's Book of Cricketers.[2] Burden died suddenly at Whitchurch on 9 November 1987, aged 57.[10]
- ^ a b c d "Wisden – Obituaries in 1987". ESPNcricinfo. 5 December 2005. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
- ^ a b c Arlott, John (1982). John Arlott's Book of Cricketers. London: Sphere Books. pp. 91–98. ISBN 9780722112779.
- ^ a b c d e f g "A–Z (B21)". www.hampshirecrickethistory.wordpress.com. 7 November 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ a b c Symes, Pat (December 2005). "Hampshire cult heroes". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 December 2009.
- ^ a b "First-Class Matches played by Mervyn Burden". CricketArchive. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
- ^ a b c "First-Class Bowling in Each Season by Mervyn Burden". CricketArchive. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
- ^ "Hants' off-spinner released". Leicester Evening Mail. 1 August 1963. Retrieved 2 March 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "First-Class Bowling For Each Team by Mervyn Burden". CricketArchive. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ Lewis, Tony (2010). Taking Fresh Guard. London: Headline Publishing Group. p. 103. ISBN 9780755361588.
- ^ "Cricket: Mervyn Burden". Derby Daily Telegraph. 10 November 1987. Retrieved 2 March 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.