Martin Thursfield

Martin Thursfield
Personal information
Full name
Martin John Thursfield
Born (1971-12-14) 14 December 1971 (age 53)
South Shields, County Durham, England
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1990Middlesex
1992–1996Hampshire
1997Sussex
Career statistics
Competition First-class List A
Matches 24 33
Runs scored 309 60
Batting average 15.45 6.00
100s/50s –/– –/–
Top score 47 19
Balls bowled 2.844 1,434
Wickets 38 25
Bowling average 40.50 46.96
5 wickets in innings 1 –
10 wickets in match – –
Best bowling 6/130 3/31
Catches/stumpings 2/– 6/–
Source: Cricinfo, 11 December 2009

Martin John Thursfield (born 14 December 1971) is an English former cricketer who played first-class cricket as a medium pace bowler for Hampshire, Middlesex, and Sussex.

Thursfield was born in December 1971 at South Shields, County Durham. A club cricketer for Boldon Cricket Club,[1] he initially had trials with Worcestershire in 1988.[2] In April 1989, he joined the staff at Middlesex,[3] He made his debut in first-class cricket for Middlesex against the touring New Zealanders at Lord's in 1990. He made a further first-class appearance for Middlesex in the 1990 County Championship against Essex at Ilford.[4] Thursfield was deemed enough of a pace bowling prospect to be selected to tour New Zealand with Young England Cricketers in the winter which followed the 1990 season.[5] During the tour, he made a single Youth One Day International appearance against the New Zealand Young Cricketers at Hamilton.[6] Thursfield broke his leg during a match on tour, but only left the field of play after he had insisted on bowling two more deliveries.[5] This injury had the impact of severely stunting his development as a bowler.[5]

He left Middlesex following the 1990 season, joining Hampshire for 1991.[7] He returned to action four months after breaking his leg.[7] With the presence of bowlers such as Malcolm Marshall in the Hampshire side, Thursfield found his first team opportunities limited.[5] His first team debut would not come until 1993, when he played a first-class match against Oxford University. He subsequently made two appearances in the 1993 County Championship,[4] alongside six List A one-day appearances in the 1993 Axa Equity & Law League.[8] The following season he made seven appearances in the County Championship, alongside appearing in first-class matches against Oxford University and the touring South Africans;[4] in first-class matches that season, he took 17 wickets at an average of 30.82,[9] taking his only five wicket haul with figures of 6 for 130 against Middlesex.[10] He made six further one-day appearances in the 1994 Axa Equity & Law League. After the 1994 season, Thursfield found his first-class opportunities limited and was mostly utilised in one-day cricket,[8] before being released by Hampshire following the 1996 season.[11] In twenty first-class matches for Hampshire, he took 33 wickets at an average of 39.42.[12] In 31 one-day matches, he took 23 wickets at an average of 48.91, with best figures of 3 for 31.[13]

Thursfield signed a one-year deal for Sussex for the 1997 season,[11][14] making two first-class and one-day appearances.[4][8] He was released by Sussex just three months into his one-year contract, with their chief executive Tony Pigott opining that he felt Thursfield was never going to be a regular in the Sussex side.[14] After the end of his cricket career, Thursfield became a police officer with Durham Constabulary, where he served alongside former cricketer Gary Brown.[15]

References

  1. ^ "Robson signs". Shields Daily Gazette. South Tyneside. 18 January 1988. p. 16. Retrieved 14 July 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  2. ^ "Cricket hopefuls". Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette. 21 January 1988. p. 39. Retrieved 14 July 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ "Senior league". Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette. 27 April 1989. p. 49. Retrieved 14 July 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ a b c d "First-Class Matches played by Martin Thursfield". CricketArchive. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d Steen, Rob (23 July 1993). "Cricket: Gatting going in the right direction". The Independent. London. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Under-19 ODI Matches played by Martin Thursfield". CricketArchive. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Great to be back". Sandwell Evening Mail. 16 May 1991. p. 61. Retrieved 14 July 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ a b c "List A Matches played by Martin Thursfield". CricketArchive. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  9. ^ "First-Class Bowling in Each Season by Martin Thursfield". CricketArchive. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  10. ^ "Hampshire v Middlesex, Britannic Assurance County Championship 1994". CricketArchive. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Cricket 1997: County-by-county guide". The Independent. London. 17 April 1997. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  12. ^ "First-Class Bowling For Each Team by Martin Thursfield". CricketArchive. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  13. ^ "List A Bowling For Each Team by Martin Thursfield". CricketArchive. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Sussex start their clear-out of players". The Independent. London. 10 July 1997. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  15. ^ "Career in Focus – Police Force" (PDF). Beyond the Boundaries (3 ed.). July 2017. p. 16.