Charles Palmer

Charles Henry Palmer (15 May 1919 – 31 March 2005) was an English cricketer, who played for Leicestershire and Worcestershire from 1938 to 1959. He was born at Old Hill in Staffordshire. Palmer also played one Test match for England. He later went on to become a respected cricket administrator. He was awarded his CBE in 1984 for services to cricket in the Queen's Birthday Honours.

Life and career Palmer was a small man (five foot seven inches tall, only a slight build) with poor eyesight who played wearing glasses. Trevor Bailey joked that he looked "a natural for the role of a hen-pecked bank clerk in a farce". This did not stop him becoming a fine batsman and slow medium bowler because he "possessed deceptively strong wrists" which enabled him to play shots like the cut and drive with excellent timing.

On the back of this, he was appointed player-manager of the England tour side to the West Indies in 1953–54, which was captained by Len Hutton, and it was here that he won his only Test cap, making 22 and 0 and taking no wickets in the five overs he bowled. The series was played in bad temper, but Palmer's good-natured style helped the situation. Ironically, his figures were "spoiled" by Jim Laker whose eight for two in 1950 is the world record return by a bowler taking eight wickets. A catch was dropped from a swing by Laker which deprived Palmer of a nine for none return and Laker then managed to edge a few more so that Palmer finished with eight for seven. Even worse for Palmer was that Surrey still won the match by seven wickets.

A curiosity of Palmer's bowling was his fascination with what is called the "donkey drop". This is usually an accidental delivery that flies high because the ball has been released too soon. Palmer used it deliberately, sending it twenty feet or so high with the intention of it dropping behind the batsman and onto his stumps. It sometimes paid off and in 1957 when leading Leicestershire against the touring West Indians, Palmer claimed the wickets of no less than Frank Worrell and Rohan Kanhai with it.

After retiring as a cricketer, Palmer was appointed chairman of Leicestershire, he became a member of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) committee, was President of the MCC in 1978–79, and chairman of the Test and County Cricket Board between 1983 and 1985. He died, at the age of 85, in March 2005.