Full Name

Kenneth James Grieves

Born

August 27, 1925, Burwood, Sydney, New South Wales

Died

January 03, 1992, Rawtenstall, Lancashire, England, (aged 66y 129d)

Batting Style

Right hand Bat

Bowling Style

Legbreak Googly

Kenneth James Grieves, who died suddenly at his home in Rawtenstall on January 3 at the age of 66, was one of Lancashire's longest serving professional cricketers with 452 first-class appearances to his credit. He was a middle-order batsman, scoring 22,454 runs at an average of 33.66 with a highest score of 224. He also took 242 wickets with leg-breaks and googlies. Born in Sydney, Australia, he came to England in 1947 to keep goal for Bury, to.be followed by spells with Bolton Wanderers and Stockport County, having played cricket ten times for New South Wales. He joined Lancashire in 1949 as a rosycheeked, ebullient extrovert, and became a loyal and devoted servant of the club for the next 16 years. He was never a stylist and he played the game without ever allowing his natural talent to be subdued. Many a player of my generation will remember how well and efficiently he played the square cut. As a fielder I doubt if anyone has ever surpassed him. He, held 608 catches in his career, and his 555 for Lancashire are likely to remain a record. He was a magnificent first slip and in the outfield he was supreme, catching the ball high up, in front of his face, in the Australiar fashion. In 1951 he created a Lancashire record of six catches in an innings and eight in the match, against Sussex at Old Trafford. He was a great practical joker with a wonderful sense of humour, but all his pranks were kindly and there was never a hint of malice or spite. I never saw him lose his temper for he was intrinsically a happy manplaying the game he loved, in the company of players he liked and respected. He captained Lancashire for two seasons in 1963 and 1964, but that was not his metier - he preferred to be the journeyman, that jack of all trades who is of inestimable value to any cricket team. In 1978 became a valued member of the Lancashire committee, and with his knowledge ol the game, and his advice and help to future players did much to help Lancashire restore some of its former glory. After 12 years he stood down and was elected a life vice-president. Most of all he was a friend. We spent hundreds of hours together on and off the field, talking over the game in hotel lounges, taking in shows on Saturday nights, playing the odd game of golf, simply enjoying each other's company. As the next season approaches the game will be the worse for his loss, but over the years cricket has been blessed by the fact that part of it was Ken Grieves.
Alan Wharton, The Cricketer

Ken Grieves Career Stats

Batting & Fielding

FormatMatInnsNORunsHSAve100s50sCtSt
FC490746792245422433.66291386084
List A77221062*42.000250

Bowling

FormatMatBallsRunsWktsBBIBBMAveEconSR4w5w10w
FC490-72092426/60-29.78---80
List A7140---24.00-000

Debut/Last Matches of Ken Grieves

FC Matches

Span
1945/46 - 1964

List A Matches

Span
1963 - 1964

Recent Matches of Ken Grieves

Photos of Ken Grieves

Ken Grieves
Ken Grieves portrait
Ken Grieves makes a save