Peter Watts 1938 - 2023 RIP

 

Peter David Watts 1938 - 2023

Peter Watts was born in Henlow, Bedfordshire on 31st March 1938 and was educated at Bedford Modern School. A left-hand bat and a leg-break and googly bowler he made his Minor Counties Championship debut for Bedfordshire in 1955 versus Cambridgeshire at Bedford School. Future Notts players Geoff Millman and Ian Davison were two of his team mates. He made a further three Minor Counties appearances that summer.

He joined the Northants staff the following summer, but his appearances in 1956 and 1957 were restricted to Northants Seconds. He made his first-class debut for Northants versus Cambridge University at Wantage Road on 18th, 19th and 20th June 1958. His maiden first-class victim was an illustrious one; the Light blues skipper Ted Dexter.  He made one other first-class appearance that summer playing in the championship match versus Kent at Dover. He made 18 appearances the following season scoring 446 runs @22.30 and taking 34 wickets @30.35. In 1960 he played in 19 first-class matches (369 runs @16.77 and 35 wickets @36.68). He was leading wicket-taker (53 wickets @11.03 in 10 matches) for Northants Seconds as they won the 1960 Second Eleven Championship, his match figures of 13-64 at Derby remain a record for Northants in the competition

He became a first-team regular in 1962, gaining his county cap and making 29 first-class appearances and claiming 59 victims @29.77 with career best innings figures of  7-77 (13-140 in the match) against Hampshire at Dean Park, Bournemouth. His bowling in 1963 was disappointing (18 first-class victims @49.16). The 1964 season turned out to be his best season of his career making 29 first-class appearances scoring 788 runs @20.73; achieving his highest first-class score of 91 came at New Road, after going in as nightwatchman. He had 64 victims @26.03 that season as Northants finished third in the championship standings. They went up one place in the table in 1965 but despite making 28 first-class appearances (852 runs @25.81 and 27 wickets @28.29) Watts was more often being played as a useful batter who could chip in with a few overs. Northants captain Keith Andrew preferred to use slow left-armer Malcolm Scott and off-spinner Haydn Sully. At the end of 1966 Watts left the Wantage Road staff claiming that he could ‘see no future’ for a leg-spinner at Northampton.

He joined Notts for the 1967 season but it was not a successful move. He made his Notts debut in a Gillette Cup contest at Ropery Lane, Chester-le-Street versus the then Minor County Durham on 23rd April. Notts squeaked home by just 11 runs, Watts scoring 1 not out and only bowling five expensive overs (for 30). Skipper Norman Hill was forced to turn to Basher Hassan, who took 3-20, to finish Watts’ allocation. Six days later, Watts made his championship debut for Notts against Kent at Trent Bridge scoring 6 and 13 and bowling a single over in the contest. Notts failed to win a championship match all summer and in 23 first-class appearances, Watts scored 436 runs @16.76 and took 30 first-class wickets @48.86. His highest score was 50 not out versus Glamorgan at Trent Bridge and his best bowling figures were 4-39 versus Hampshire at Bournemouth. Watts final first-class game was on 29th, 30th and 31st July 1967 in a rain affected drawn fixture. His best game for Notts was probably in the second round of the Gillette Cup at Wantage Road where he scored 40 not out and had figures of 8-2-32-0 against former colleagues. Notts lost the match by four wickets. Notts released Watts at the end of the summer, preferring to stick the newly emerging off-spin of batter turned bowler Bob White. Watts was the last specialist England-qualified leg-spinner to appear for Notts in the County Championship prior to the emergence of Calvin Harrison last summer. Peter Watts was a fine fielder achieving 174 first-class catches.

 

His Notts career record is given below:

 

BATTING	M	I		NO		RUNS		HS		AV’GE		CT	ST	100		50
First-Class	23	35		9		436		50*		16.76		21	-	-		1
List A	2	2		2		41		40*		-		1	-	-		-
BOWLING	OVERS		M		RUNS		W		AV’GE		ARPO		BPW		BB		5wI
First-Class	449.2		107		1466		30		48.86		3.26		89.86		4-39		-
List A	13		2		62		0		-		4.76		-		0-30		-

 

His overall career record is as follows:

 

BATTING	M	I		NO		RUNS		HS		AV’GE		CT	ST	100		50
First-Class	183	277		60		4567		91		21.04		174	-	-		21
List A	6	6		3		129		40*		43.00		1	-	-		-
BOWLING	OVERS		M		RUNS		W		AV’GE		ARPO		BPW		BB		5wI
First-Class	3292.5		834		10067		307		32.79		3.05		64.35		7-77		12
List A	19		2		86		0		-		4.52		-		0-24		-

 

Peter Watts returned to Minor Counties cricket appearing for Shropshire (1969) and Bedfordshire (1971). He died on 28th November 2023 at the age of 85.

His younger brother Jim, a left-hand bat and right-arm medium pacer had a successful first-class career with Northants appearing in 375 first-class matches and 151 List A matches between 1959 and 1980 and famously skippering Northants to a six-run victory over Essex in the 1980 Benson and Hedges Final. 

Northamptonshire Obituary

Northamptonshire County Cricket Club is sad to learn of the death of former player Peter Watts at the age of 85.

The older brother of Jim Watts, one of Northamptonshire’s outstanding captains, Peter made 158 first-class appearances for the county between 1958 and 1966 – scoring 4,127 runs and claiming 276 wickets with his leg-spin.

Born in Henlow, Peter had already made his Minor Counties Championship debut for Bedfordshire in 1955 when he secured a place on the professional staff at Wantage Road a year later, Jim joining him there in 1957. He played twice for Northamptonshire in 1958 (against Cambridge University and Kent) before cementing a regular place in the side in 1959.

Despite making 19 first-team appearances in 1960 he also helped the Second XI win their Championship – finishing as Northamptonshire’s leading wicket-taker with 53, while 18-year-old Colin Milburn topped the run-scoring chart with 1,153. Peter enjoyed a hugely successful visit to Derby with the seconds that summer, returning match figures of 13 wickets for 64 runs, still a Northamptonshire record in the competition.

His two most successful seasons in the County Championship were 1962 and 1964, under the captaincy of Keith Andrew. In the former year he and his brother dominated the match against Hampshire at Dean Park in Bournemouth, Jim hitting 145 and 78 not out and Peter claiming 6-63 and a career-best 7-77 for a haul of 13-140 in the game. Their efforts secured a 131-run victory for Northamptonshire against the reigning county champions.

Peter’s highest first-class score of 91 came at Worcester in 1964, after going in as nightwatchman at the end of the first day’s play. His tally of 64 wickets at 26.03 made it statistically his most productive season with the ball, but thereafter was used more sparingly as Northamptonshire relied increasingly on slow left-armer Malcolm Scott and off-spinner Haydn Sully. At the end of 1966 he requested, and was granted, permission to speak to other counties, insisting he could ‘see no future’ for a leg-spinner at Northampton.

He moved to Nottinghamshire for a single season in 1967 – playing against Northamptonshire in a Gillette Cup second round tie. He hit an unbeaten 40 and bowled tidily but finished on the losing side. He made no further first-class appearances after that summer but returned to the Minor Counties scene with Shropshire in 1969 and also turned out for his native Bedfordshire again two years later.

The club wishes to offer sincere condolences to Peter’s family – including Jim – and his friends.