Martin Corke

Martin Dewe Corke OBE (8 June 1923 – 14 January 1994) was an English cricketer. Corke was a right-handed batsman. He was also a prominent member of the Greene King Brewery. Corke was born at the hill station of Murree in the British Raj, where his father, then Captain Francis Sinclair Corke, was serving with the 1st battalion 16th Punjab Regiment. In 1944, he was struck down with tuberculosis, which ended his time in the British Indian Army.

Cricket and later life Returning to England, he married Jean Armour, daughter of artist George Denholm Armour, in 1946. He played regularly for Suffolk throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s, making a total of 105 appearances for the county, the last of which came against Cambridgeshire in 1964. He made four further first-class appearances for the Free Foresters, the last of which came against Oxford University at the University Parks in 1958.

His commitments to the brewery saw him become a director of Greene King, during which himself and his fellow directors resisted takeover manoeuvres from larger rivals; his directorship saw him have notable success as marketing director. He held further positions as chairman of St Edmundsbury Bench as chairman of Suffolk County Cricket Club.

He died at from cancer at Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk on 14 January 1994. His uncle Ronald Lake also played first-class cricket.