Phil Mead
Image by/from Unknown
Charles Phillip Mead (9 March 1887 – 26 March 1958) was an British first-class cricketer. He performed like a left-handed batsman for Hampshire and England between 1905 and 1936. He was created at 10 Ashton Structures (since pulled lower), second oldest of seven children. Growing up he performed for South London Schools, attending Shillingstone Street School.
His extremely straight bat and quick hard work (surprising for men of heavy build because he was) made him probably the most difficult batsmen to dismiss throughout his career. His mastery within the best county spin bowlers even around the most treacherous pitches is outstanding, but he may be excellent from the fastest bowling while he might get closer into line than almost any batsman in cricket history.
Mead holds many batting records, particularly those of scoring probably the most runs within the County Championship and also the 4th-greatest total in most first-class matches. His quantity of runs for Hampshire, 48,892, may be the finest number any batsman has scored for any single team. Also, he exceeded one 1000 runs in each and every season of first-class cricket except his first – as he only performed one match. He seemed to be an excellent fieldsman, holding 675 catches.
C. B. Fry spotted Mead playing like a schoolboy in the Oblong and encouraged him to become professional he became a member of the Surrey ground staff in 1902.
Mead first trialled for Surrey, but qualified for Hampshire because Surrey’s batting strength was such that they are not able to provide him an agreement. It’s possible that Fry’s Hampshire connections (he’d an exercise Ship Mercury around the River Hamble) helped bring Mead to Hampshire. Throughout his residence qualification period Mead labored in coaching naval trainees, and can make his first-class debut at 17 for Players from the South from the Gentleman, but was vetoed by W G Elegance who objected due to his age.
After one match from the touring Australians if not qualified in 1905, Mead immediately grew to become a normal with Hampshire, but faltered following a promising beginning including 109 against Yorkshire.
However, from 1907 onwards Mead, at this time a dent batsman, advanced very quickly, together with his average reaching 39 within the very wet summer time of 1909. In 1911, he moved lower an order to his familiar position of # 4, and thus effective was this move he was the key run-scorer in 1911 and 1913, and toured Australia in 1911/1912 and Nigeria in 1913/1914. He wasn’t nearly so effective as may have been expected around australia, however in Nigeria he hit an evaluation century and performed particularly well throughout. In 1912 he’d been unbeaten (160* and 33*) in Hampshire’s historic make an impression on the Australians at Southampton.
After The First World War stopped county cricket (Mead was rejected from service due to spider veins), Mead’s listing of achievements increased, as his always-outstanding watchfulness and superb hard work made him the entire master of bowlers for example Tich Freeman who have been deadly against batsmen of poorer technique. In 1921, after missing the very first three Tests against Australia, Mead hit 182 not out in the Oblong within the last Test – showing that England seriously erred in not selecting him for that earlier games when Jack Gregory and Ted McDonald were built with a complete mastery over their batsmen. Also, he hit his greatest score of 280 not out that year against Nottinghamshire. Hampshire, remarkably, lost the match as they were bowled out cheaply on the good wicket within their first innings!
Between 1922 and 1928, Mead was consistently among the top batsmen in county cricket, but England’s outstanding batting strength – with men like Herbert Sutcliffe, Wally Hammond, Jack Hobbs and Frank Woolley – meant Mead had couple of possibilities at Test level. After scoring over 3000 runs in 1928, Mead toured Australia for that second time, but was dropped after one Test in order to make room for an additional bowler.
In 1929, impacted by injuries, Mead declined substantially, neglecting to achieve 2000 runs the very first time because the war. However, despite no more being right in front rank of British batsmen, Mead was still being feared for his great technical skill and arrived at a 1000 runs each year until, at age forty-nine in 1936, he wasn’t re-engaged by Hampshire. In the last innings, Mead performed a wonderfully skilful 52 against Hedley Verity on the badly putting on wicket, and that he performed for Suffolk within the Minor Counties Championship with considerable success in 1938 and 1939 while cricket coach at Framlingham College.
He’d foreseeable mannerisms – getting reached the crease together with his “moving, self-reliant” walk, he required guard, twirled his bat, drawn on his bat within the crease and required several shuffling steps as much as it. Before every ball he’d tug his cap. His batting wasn’t slow, but completely unhurried a spectator once described him as getting ‘stone-walled’ from the quarter to 1 to half past six for 200.
Right after The Second World War, issues with his eyes which in fact had begun in 1941-2 brought to Mead becoming totally blind, but he never were not impressed with this. His financial worries were assuaged with a fund elevated by Herbert Sutcliffe for Mead and Len Braund. He retained a curiousity about cricket and frequently attended Hampshire matches at Dean Park up to his dying on 26 March 1958.
In 1907, Mead signed for Southampton for just one season to help the club’s reserve team like a helpful inside-forward, but he’d no aim of taking on football like a full-time occupation. On 21 December 1907, he what food was in Fratton Park, Portsmouth for any reserve fixture as he was called towards the Dell in which the Saints had an urgent situation as both regular goalkeepers, Herbert Lock and Tom Burrows were unavailable through injuries. Mead therefore performed in goal inside a Southern League match against West Pork U . s .. Based on Holley & Chalk’s “The Alphabet from the Saints” he “formed up well but was just needed in order to save two shots and stored an empty sheet inside a – draw.”
Married to Beatrice Englefield in 1908, he’d two sons, Ronald and Frank. Beatrice’s brother, Frank Englefield, seemed to be an expert footballer, playing for Southampton and Fulham.
