Graham Webb

Had he not chosen to play the bulk of his club cricket for Blackheath then it is likely that Graham would have been challenging Michael Chetwode's record as the club's leading wicket taker.

Almost certainly the best spinner produced by the school in the last 40 years, unlike most of those he played with, Graham got on with the job in hand in a quiet and undemonstrative manner, allying spin and bounce. His off days could be counted on one hand, and even when wicketless he was rarely bettered by batsmen. His only flaw was a transparent quicker ball which almost always flew down the leg side and often resulted in byes and a few tuts from Peter Shelley.

Playing the bulk of his cricket in a winning side, his opportunities with the bat were limited but he showed enough to suggest he could have been a useful tailender had the need arisen. In the field he was a solid close catcher, a popular man at gully not only for his dry humour but also because it banished Mike Chase to the deep.

His appearance, like that of Dorian Gray, never altered and there were disbelieving snorts when almost 30 years after leaving Cranleigh he claimed he no longer fitted into the same sized whites he wore in the 1st XI. If only those trousers had turned out more often.

Personal Details

Full name Graham Webb
Born Woking, Surrey, October 2, 1960
Height 6ft 1in
Nickname Webby
Batting right-hand tailender
Bowling slow left-arm
Clubs Blackheath
OC Career 1978 to date
School 1st XI 1978

Career Statistics

Batting
M I No HS Runs Av 50 100 C St
75 32 12 55 308 15.40 1 0 25 0

Bowling
O M R W Av BB 5WI SR ER
927.3 249 2839 163 17.42 8-60 11 34.1 3.1

© OCCC 2002