Doug Padgett

Doug Padgett (born Douglas Ernest Vernon Padgett, 20 July 1934) is a former English cricketer, who played more than 500 first-class matches and represented England in Tests twice, both in 1960. The cricket writer Colin Bateman recorded Padgett was, "nimble, happy anywhere in the order, he was a great technician and one of the best batsmen of his era on a bad wicket".

Born 20 July 1934, in Bradford, Padgett had an elder brother, Granville, who was also a professional cricketer. He played for Idle Cricket Club in 1951. Also in 1951, he became the youngest player then to play first-class cricket for Yorkshire, aged just 16 years and 320 days. Paul Jarvis broke his record in 1981.

After National Service, Padgett was one of the first of a new generation of Yorkshire batsmen to cement his place in the Yorkshire first team. He scored more than 1,000 runs in 1956, and in the County Championship-winning side of 1959 he was the leading batsman with more than 2,000 runs. He usually batted at No 3, though he occasionally opened the innings.

In 1960, a tour by the South Africans, widely perceived as weak, led the England Test selectors to experiment with new batsmen, and Padgett played in the fourth and fifth matches. He was not a great success, and was one of a number of England players criticised in The Oval Test match for slow batting in the second innings. He went to New Zealand the following winter on an extensive MCC tour, but he was never picked again for England. Padgett failed to convert his innings into big scores, albeit registering 50 one hundred and twenty nine times in his first-class career, Padgett only reached the century mark on thirty two occasions. This counted against him when the England selectors considered his promotion to further international duty. However, he remained a valued member of the Yorkshire side that won six further Championships across the 1960s. He scored more than 1,000 runs in 12 seasons.

He retired from playing in 1971, much to the frustration of the new captain, Geoffrey Boycott, who relied on his counsel. Padgett then captained Yorkshire's second eleven, becoming assistant, then head coach.

He watched the teenage Michael Vaughan for "about a quarter of an hour without saying a word", before turning to the county's Cricket Development Manager and saying, "Sign him".

Yorkshire County Cricket Club

• County Championship 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1966, 1967, 1968
• Gillette Cup 1965, 1969