Born On This Day: 23rd October

Versatile all-rounder John Rice was born in Chandler’s Ford in 1949. He was raised in Surrey and was briefly on their groundstaff before moving to Hampshire in 1971, where he sometimes opened the bowling and sometimes the batting. He played in nine first-class matches in both 1971 & 1972, but there was just one Sunday League match in the Championship year of 1973 and a quiet season in 1974, before he established himself in 1975.

In first-class cricket that year, he averaged 22.10 with the bat, and took 49 wickets at 26.65, but he made an even more important contribution to Hampshire’s first Sunday League title – in all limited-overs matches that year he took 38 wickets at 13.86 at an economy rate below 3.5, and on a Sunday v Northamptonshire took 5-14, including Hampshire’s first Sunday League ‘hat-trick’. Then in the decisive match at Darley Dale, he took 4-14.

In 1976, with Gordon Greenidge on tour he opened the batting in some Championship matches, while in the following year, his recorded his best bowling figures of 7-48 against Worcestershire. In 1978, he played again in the Hampshire side that won the Sunday League v Middlesex at Bournemouth taking 16 wickets at 24.6 each, with a best of 4-39.

In the first three years of the 1980s, following the departures of Richards and Gilliat, he became more important as a batsman and in 1981 he scored his two first-class centuries in consecutive matches. In the first at Hove he came in to face the second ball after opener Tim Tremlett was run out without facing from the first, and ‘carried’ his bat for 101*. Then he went to Edgbaston and scored 161*.

Rice was also a very fine slip fielder with 153 slip catches in 168 first-class matches, and his all-round skills and positive disposition seemed to fit him for a coaching career. He scored 777 runs in 1982 but was not re-engaged when in sight of a benefit, and he succeeded Vic Cannings as coach at Eton College, until he retired. He also worked closely with Barry Reed for some years coaching Hampshire’s Colts and under-19 sides, helping to develop players including Chris Tremlett and Jimmy Adams.  

Also today: Dick Court, Lewis Dorey, Horatio Dumbleton, William Judd