Mick Norman

Norman's first-class debut, against India in 1952, coincided with that of Frank Tyson, who regarded the young Northampton Grammar School old boy as "another Dennis Brookes in the making". It took several seasons for Norman to establish himself in the first team. A Catholic, he spent two years in a seminary before finally deciding on a cricket career.[1]

In 1959, Brookes' last season, Norman made his presence felt with just over 1,000 runs and a maiden Championship century against Warwickshire. The following year, when he established a long-running opening partnership with Brian Reynolds, Norman "improved immensely", according to the club's Annual Report, and the four summers between 1960 and 1963 brought him 7,150 county runs. His four hundreds in 1963 included 152 against Nottinghamshire at Northampton,[2] his highest for the county. However, in the next two seasons he struggled for consistency. Against Glamorgan in 1964 he suffered the miserable experience of a king pair (falling to the first ball of each innings) in one day, to Ossie Wheatley each time.[3]

At the end of 1965 Norman moved to Leicestershire and enjoyed a new lease of cricketing life. He played on until 1975, combining cricket with teaching in the last few years of his career. He adapted with conspicuous success to the rough-and-tumble of the John Player League which Leicestershire won, with Norman's help, in 1974.[4]

In the 1976–77 season, Norman was a member of the MCC team that was the first international cricket team to tour Bangladesh.

• Mick Norman at ESPNcricinfo