Mike Barnard

Henry Michael Barnard (18 July 1933 – 18 December 2018) was an English first-class cricketer and professional footballer. As a cricketer, he represented Hampshire in 276 first-class matches and played an important part in helping the county win their first County Championship in 1961. As a predominantly middle order batsman, he scored over 9,000 runs for Hampshire in a career that spanned from 1952 to 1966. In football, he made 116 appearances in the Football League as an inside forward for Portsmouth, scoring 24 goals. He also played non-League football for Gosport Borough, Chelmsford City, and Poole Town.

Early life Henry Michael Barnard was born on 18 July 1933 in Portsmouth, Hampshire, the youngest of four sons of the hotelier and garage proprietor Robert Barnard, and his wife, Ada. His was a second generation Jewish family, descended from the Rabbi Daniel Barnard, who had emigrated to England from Prague in 1782. During the Second World War, he moved with his family to the nearby town of Havant to escape the threat posed by the Portsmouth Blitz. and played rugby for Hampshire at under-19 level. |group=note He joined the staff at the county in 1951, in the latter, he made a pair.

Barnard's breakthrough into the first team came under unusual circumstances in 1954. When he was attending the opening day of a County Championship match at Southampton against Middlesex, the club received a phone call from off-spinner Charles Knott to say he had been detained at his fishmonger's business and was unable to play in the match, resulting in Barnard being called into the Hampshire team. He came in to bat when Hampshire were 48 for 8, with batting having proven difficult. Barnard launched a counter-attack against the Middlesex attack, top-scoring with a fluent 39 runs. He added 24 runs in their second innings, and although they lost the match, his performance gained him a regular place in the first eleven. In their following match against the touring Pakistanis at Portsmouth, Barnard scored his maiden first-class century with an unbeaten 101 runs in Hampshire's second innings; his innings was watched by his brother and father. He was the first Englishman to score a century against the Pakistanis, on what was their first tour to England. By the 1955 season, he had established himself in the middle order, becoming an integral member of an increasingly successful team. resulting in him being deemed to have had insufficient practice. As a result, he played 11 matches across the season, scoring 488 runs at an average of 25.68;

County Championship winner In the 1960 season, Barnard scored 640 runs from 23 matches, averaging 18.82. He scored 661 runs and averaged 28.73 in 1961, the highest average of his career. His good form continued into the 1963 season, with 980 runs at an average of 25.12 from 27 matches. The following season, he scored 814 first-class runs, averaging 23.94; In the 1965 season he made 26 first-class appearances, scoring 958 runs at an average of 21.28. He played two matches in the 1966 Gillette Cup. but did not play first-class or one-day cricket after 1966. He was described as a fielder of "high class", particularly close-in to the batsman and at slip. In nine one-day matches, he scored 315 runs at an average of 39.37, while also taking eight catches.

The Daily Telegraph noted that he did not score the amount of runs during his career that he perhaps should have,

One of Barnard's best performances came in a 5–4 home victory over Arsenal in the 1958–59 First Division, in which he scored a goal.

Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals

1953–54 First Division

1954–55 First Division

1955–56 First Division

1956–57 First Division

1957–58 First Division

1958–59 First Division

116!!24!!7!!2!!123!!26

Later life After the end of his first-class cricket career, Barnard became a mature student at King Alfred's College in Winchester. The resultant crash caused serious head injuries, broke his neck and gave him severe spinal injuries, the latter of which afflicted him for the rest of his life. He recovered sufficiently to coach cricket at the Warsash School of Navigation, while also working as a commentator for BBC Radio Solent and Southampton Hospitals. He later organised reunions between Portsmouth footballers and Hampshire cricketers.

Barnard died on 18 December 2018 in Southampton following a stroke. His wife, Theresa, predeceased him in 2001. He was survived by their two sons and one daughter. He is considered to be the greatest all-round sportsman the city of Portsmouth has ever produced. Paying tribute following his death, then Hampshire chairman Rod Bransgrove said "he was an indelible part of Hampshire cricket history".