Pat Pocock

Pat Pocock Biography

Pat Pocock will forever be remembered for his spell of 2-0-4-7 for Surrey against Sussex at Eastbourne in 1972 — one that included 4 wickets in 4 balls, 5 in an over, 6 in 9, and 7 in 11. The fifth is a shared world-record; the last two, he holds all on his own.

A classical off-spinner with a side-on action, Pocock flighted the ball despite his 6’1” height and believed in luring batsmen out of their comfort zones. Unfortunately, he played cricket in an era when England needed an accurate spinner who would play a foil to their fast bowlers, and John Emburey was preferred ahead of him.

His numbers did not help his cause. A career haul of 67 wickets from 25 Tests at 44 were way inferior to a career aggregate of 1,607 wickets at 27. To add to his woes, he was also a rank tail-ender.

There was the good performance in Test cricket, including 3 five-fors, but the best was probably 3 for 70 and 4 for 93 at Delhi in 1984-85, where he spun England to an 8-wicket win. Curiously, it also turned out to be his last series.

Even more curious was his recall the previous summer when nothing seemed to work for England during their home series against West Indies. Plucked out of nowhere, Pocock bowled tirelessly for figures of 45.3-14-121-4.

His peak came in 1967, when his 112 wickets came at a mere 18. He was selected for the West Indies tour, and his chance came when Fred Titmus lost four toes after his foot got caught in the propeller of a boat.

He later started Pat Pocock Associates. He is a part of the Committee at The Oval and is a popular cricket blogger.

Abhishek Mukherjee

Pat Pocock Batting & Fielding Averages

Career

Avg

100s

50s

Test

ODIs

T20s

World Cup

Pat Pocock Bowling Averages

Career	M	B	R	W	Avg	EC	SR	5WI	10WM	BBI	BBM
Test	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
ODIs	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
T20s	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
World Cup	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--		--