John Mortimore

John Brian Mortimore (14 May 1933 – 13 February 2014) was an English cricketer, who played in nine Tests for England from 1959 to 1964, and captained Gloucestershire between 1965 and 1967.

Career His county colleague and fellow off-spinner, David Allen, spun the ball more than Mortimore, but “Morty” was able to coax county batsmen with cunning and pin-point accuracy, which often led to their downfall. he had match figures of 71–45–67–1. He had the misfortune to be brought into the England side for the Fourth Test against Australia at Old Trafford in 1964, when only 18 wickets fell for 1271 runs. He took no wicket for 122 off 49 overs and never played Test cricket again.

Mortimore had a 26-year stint at Bristol, and captained the county side for three seasons. He scored more than 15,000 runs and took over 1,800 wickets in his first-class career. he hit 52 in the second innings of the same match to help Gloucestershire to victory by five wickets, putting on 109 in 40 minutes with Ray White.

Mortimore is sometimes remembered for his role in the dramatic conclusion of a televised 1971 Gillette Cup semi-final between Gloucestershire and Lancashire at Old Trafford, when he was hit for 24 runs in an over by David Hughes in fading light as Lancashire emerged victorious. However, two years later Mortimore helped Gloucestershire to win the same tournament, appearing as they beat Sussex in the final.

Having played for Gloucestershire since 1950, Mortimore retired after playing two games in the 1975 season, at the age of 42. In his first game, he had played alongside the brothers Tom and Ken Graveney; in his last game he played alongside Ken's son David.