Alf Pope, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetAlf Pope
English cricketer
Date of Birth: 15-Aug-1909
Place of Birth: Tibshelf, England, United Kingdom
Date of Death: 11-May-1996
Profession: cricketer
Nationality: United Kingdom
Zodiac Sign: Leo 
About Alf Pope
- Alfred Vardy Pope (15 August 1909 – 11 May 1996) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Derbyshire between 1930 and 1939.
- He was in the club's championship winning team of 1936 and took 555 wickets overall. Pope was born at Tibshelf, Derbyshire and began work as a coal miner at the age of 14.
- Between 1923 and 1926, he was playing for the Tibshelf colliery cricket club which played in the Bassetlaw League and the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Collieries League.
- In 1925 at the age of 16, he was one of the scorers in a Derbyshire match at the County Ground.
- He joined Samuel Cadman's nursery at Derbyshire during the General Strike of 1926.Pope made his debut for Derbyshire the 1930 season in May against Middlesex taking 3 wickets in total and finishing not out in the only innings he played.
- He played one more match that year, and twice in the 1931 season taking a reasonable wicket toll in all matches.
- In the 1932 season he started playing the full season and achieved two five wicket innings with 6 for 54 against Nottinghamshire.
- In the 1933 season he achieved 7 for 84 against Sussex and in the 1934 season he took 6 for 21 against Nottinghamshire.
- He managed five 5 wicket innings in the 1935 season, two of them in one match against Hampshire giving him a 10 wicket match total.
- In Derbyshire's Championship winning season of 1936 Pope achieved four 5 five wicket innings with 6 for 129 and 11 wickets in the whole match against Northamptonshire.
- As his brother George was unavailable to bowl in the season, his captain Arthur Richardson, would warn him he might have to bowl until close of play.
- Pope would respond cheerfully with "I like bowling, skipper".With his brother back in the 1937 season he shared the honours again, but achieved 5–85 against Kent.
- In the 1938 season he had four 5 wicket innings with a best of 6 for 48 against Sussex.
- He also made his top run score of 103 runs in 1938 against Warwickshire.
- In the 1939 season his best bowling was 6 for 44 against Surrey.
- With the outbreak of the Second World War, first-class cricket was suspended and he didn't have the chance to play first-class games again.
- Pope was a right-hand batsman who played 316 innings in 214 first-class matches for Derbyshire with a top score of 103 and an average of 18.38.
- He was a right-arm off-break and right-arm fast-medium bowler who took 555 first-class wickets at an average of 22.54 and a best performance of 7 for 84.
- He took 5 or more wickets in 22 innings, and took 10 wickets in 3 matches.In 1940 and 1941 Pope appeared in matches for the Bradford League and in 1941 with Bill Copson took Saltaire to the Bradford League title.
- He and Copson were signed for Windhill Cricket Club for the 1942 season.
- He played games for the North of England in 1942 and a non-status game for Derbyshire in 1945. Following the war Pope took a number of coaching ad professional jobs.
- He was at one time employed as a P.
- E.
- Instructor at St Joseph's College, Blackpool where he lived in Cleveleys and cycled to work.
- Pupils' recollections refer to Alf Pope – a "cricketer" and his punishments with his favourite cricket bat.
- He then spent twenty years coaching and as groundsman at Berkhamsted School.Pope umpired one first-class match in 1951.
- He reappeared at Derbyshire in 1954 playing a couple of games for the club and ground.
- By 1957 he was coaching at Chesham Cricket Club where he coached Mike Taylor.Pope died at Derby at the age of 86.
- His brothers George Pope and Harold Pope followed him into the Derbyshire team.
- His son Anthony played for Derbyshire 2nd XI and in various non-status matches for the MCC.
Read more at Wikipedia