Tony Pigott 1958 -2026 RIP

 

02/02

SCCC:

Sussex Cricket is profoundly saddened to announce the death, on Sunday 1 February, of Tony Pigott at the age of the 67, in Tunbridge Wells following a heart attack.

Anthony Charles Shackleton “Lester” Pigott was a distant relative of the Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton. He was born in Fulham in 1958 and went to Harrow School before joining the staff at Sussex County Cricket Club in 1977. The following year he made his debut against Surrey when he took his first three first class wickets in a hat trick. A unique achievement and one that befitted his remarkable character. He was an ebullient cricketer, bowled quickly and hit the ball hard as a lower order batsman and always gave of his very best for the team in pursuit of victory. In 1984 he made his single Test match appearance for England against New Zealand in Christchurch, again typically, postponing his wedding in order to play for his country. Tony left Sussex to join Surrey in 1994, seeking a fresh challenge but he was dogged by back injuries and became second team coach in 1996, with the intention of starting a second career in coaching.

But, in the same year, he played a crucial role in the Revolution which saw the committee replaced and in 1997 he was appointed as Chief Executive of his beloved Sussex County Cricket Club, a role in which he made a huge impact. He was energetic, ambitious and optimistic and these qualities led not only to Hove becoming the first cricket ground in the UK to install floodlights but more importantly to creating the culture that led to the Golden Age of Sussex Cricket and the first County Championship win in 2003. 

Chris Adams, on hearing of Tony’s death, said ‘Tony was one of, if not, the biggest positive transformative influences in the history of the club. An incredibly sad day for his family, the Sussex family and indeed the broader family of cricket. Personally, Tony played an enormous part in moulding my life for the better and was the number one reason I signed for Sussex in 1998. A really loveable, glass half full character who will be missed dearly by many. Thank you ‘Lester’ for everything you did for Sussex CCC, the 2003 Championship in my eyes will always be dedicated to you and the brave few who stood up and were counted in 1997.”

After leaving his role as CEO in 1999 Tony went on to a variety of roles in cricket and was a frequent visitor to Hove both as a Pitch Inspector and a Match Referee. Despite being dogged by ill health, Tony retained his enthusiastic approach to life and in November 2025 published his memoirs “Lester and the Deckchair Revolution” which have been much enjoyed by all who read them. Indeed, he was due to visit the ground at Hove on Saturday 7 February to talk to the members of the Cricket Memorabilia Society and a number of events to promote his book were being arranged for the start of the season. He will be sorely missed by all of us at Sussex Cricket and by all his friends in the game. As Ian Gould said this morning, “It's terribly sad. Lester was one of the world’s great characters”.

A piece written last March

Tony Pigott: "I was meant to get married that weekend, but I'd have run through a brick wall to play for England"

HUW TURBERVILL: Pigott postponed his wedding to answer England's SOS call in New Zealand in 1983/84; the 66-year-old, a seamer for Sussex and Surrey, now lives in Wadhurst and pleasingly is all clear after a battle with oesophageal cancer

That was my third and final winter playing for Wellington (also 1979/80 and 1982/83), so playing that Test (the second, at Christchurch), was special for me. One of the reasons I went to Wellington that winter was that I was the official standby, and England had injury prone bowlers in Graham Dilley, Neil Foster and Norman Cowans.

I'd actually taken 72 Championship wickets for Sussex in 1983, compared to Foster's 51, Dilley's 28 and Cowans' 18 (we looked up the exact numbers on Cricket Archive – Ed). I'd missed January for Wellington because of a shin injury. I was back but my shin was still sore. We were playing at Palmerston North against Central Districts, and captain Ervin McSweeney asked me to bowl a few overs. I said: "I don’t think I can." I didn't field.

We were having lunch in the tiny pavilion at this tiny place. The phone went the day before the second Test that started on a Friday (the first had been drawn). I thought, "Who the hell is phoning me in Palmerston North?" It was Alan Smith, the England manager. I said: "Really?" He said, "Yes, we have a couple of injuries. How's your fitness?" I said, "Fine!", which was a complete lie.

But I would have run through a brick wall to play for England. When England call you, you don't say no. "Are you around this weekend?" I said yes but sort of stuttered, and he picked up on that. I said: "I'm meant to be getting married." My fiancée was English, and we had a two year-old son, and they were out there with me. She was very understanding and was delighted for me. We got married a month later, although we are no longer together. Dilley and Foster failed late fitness tests, and I was selected.

How did it go?

Beefy (Ian Botham) went through the New Zealand batting order, saying about everybody, "Bounce him! Bounce him! And him!" All except Bruce Edgar, who he said to pitch it up to. Which I did, for my first Test wicket (the famously obdurate opener had made 1 off 33 balls). When I was at Sussex, Imran and Garth Le Roux bowled uphill at Hove, and I bowled downhill as I was a rhythm bowler.

In this Test, (captain) Bob Willis and Cowans bowled downhill, and Botham and I went uphill. It wasn't as steep as at Hove, but it was still into a strong wind. My shins were so sore I could hardly walk. It was a shocking pitch, and we should have pitched it up more. At one stage my figures were 2 for 17 off 10, though, and I'd also dismissed Jeremy Coney, caught by Beefy at slip. Then Richard Hadlee played like it was the Sunday League, making 99 (off 81 balls). He slogged it everywhere.

And England could only make 82 and 93 in reply…

The ridiculous thing was that we had a strong lineup, with Derek Randall coming in at No.7… but Hadlee, Lance Cairns and Chatfield bowled well, and used the pitch better. (Foster returned for the third Test at Auckland, which was drawn. Pigott joined the long list of one-Test wonders who were so plentiful in that ludicrous era of selectorial scapegoating.)

That trip to New Zealand was known as the 'Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll tour'. Was that a fair description?

I was with the England team in Wellington for the first Test – and I can make… absolutely no comment!

You did well in New Zealand in domestic cricket overall (43 first-class wickets at 21.13)…

In the first year, Wellington hadn't beaten Auckland for years and years, but we won, and I was leading wicket-taker in the country. We had great people in our team… Bruce Edgar, Jeremy Coney (he's fantastic on the radio), Ewen Chatfield (now a taxi driver).

What happened next?

I got injured straight after. It was called Compartment Syndrome. It was like shin splints, but worse. Agony. Then, when I came back from New Zealand, I nearly signed for Somerset. Sussex offered me a contract, but it was less money than before, which was ridiculous. They were penniless at the time. We had a bonus scheme for the capped players, and they took it away from us. I asked if I could speak to other counties, they said yes, and Beefy said to come on down to Taunton.

I then went back to Sussex to have the operation on my shins. When I woke up, the first thing I said to the nurse was, "I don’t want to leave Sussex." An epiphany moment! Luckily, although I had agreed a deal with the secretary Tony Brown at Somerset, for some reason I hadn't actually signed. John Barclay and Ian Greig came to the hospital, and I signed a new deal for Sussex.

Did you ever come close to playing for England again?

There was talk of me going on the Ashes tour in 1986/87. Mike Gatting was a good mate of mine. He said it was me or Gladstone (Small) for the last pick. I missed out on the tour by one place, but Gladstone did well and had a good career. Sky years later asked me if I was disappointed, and I said, "No, at least I have played a Test match. Lots of very good cricketers didn't win a cap."

Did you love playing for Sussex?

I had 18 marvellous seasons at Hove. When I was seven my mum asked me what I wanted to do. She expected me to say a stockbroker, like my dad, or an accountant… but I said, to play cricket for Sussex and England. Tony Greig was my first captain, a fabulous guy and fantastic skipper.

I also played with John Snow, my absolute hero – he is why I played first-class cricket – an inspiration watching him bowl for England in the Ashes in the 1970s. I played in 1978 – my first three wickets in first-class cricket were a hat-trick: against Surrey at Hove in July: Intikhab Alam, Robin Jackman, Pat Pocock – all Test players.

Not a bad start. I didn't play in the NatWest final that year, though, when we beat Somerset, Viv Richards, Beefy et al. We had Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, and Giles Cheatle, who sadly passed away recently, bowled well in that. We missed the title by two points to Nottinghamshire in 1981. The key match was at Trent Bridge. Notts needed 251 and managed a draw on 223 for 9… Imran had No.11 Mike Bore plumb lbw but Arthur Jepson – who had played for Notts – didn't give it, and he finished four not out.

In 1982 we won the John Player League, winning 14 out of 16 matches. Then in 1986 we beat a strong Lancashire side easily in the NatWest final. We should have beaten Warwickshire in the 1993 final – what a game of cricket that was. I had 10 years alongside Imran. He was fabulous, and he knew it – very arrogant, but it helped him become one of the greatest.

He bowled little swingers before he joined us but was soon bowling at the speed of light. I also had a decade with the great Garth Le Roux too. Kepler Wessels was a wonderful opener when he came to us, so I was sad when he became a bit crab-like batting for Australia and later South Africa, though he still did well.

What did you do after that?

After 15 seasons with Sussex, I did finally leave, and played three at Surrey (1994 96). I had a great time, playing with Alec Stewart, Mark Butcher, Graham Thorpe (I was his agent at the time – I'm so sad he has gone), both Bicknells, both Hollioakes, Alex Tudor, Ali Brown – it was fantastic.

I loved my career – bowling to Barry and Viv Richards, Mike Gatting, Gordon Greenidge, Beefy (I got them all out!) and facing Malcolm Marshall, Wayne Daniel, Michael Holding, Sylvester Clarke, and later on, Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne. (Argh, Tony cries out in pain – he suddenly tells me has a cracked rib). Sorry! Then, I became Surrey's 2nd XI coach for a year.

Then you became chief executive of Sussex…

Another fantastic time – three years – in my career. I signed Chris Adams, and I made Peter Moores – who was captain – the coach after saying farewell to Desmond Haynes. I'd shared a room with Peter for 10 years, and I knew he was going to be a good coach.

I signed Richard Montgomerie, Matt Prior, Tim Ambrose, Jason Lewry, and all those players who went on to win the title. I brought Snowy on to the board. After that, I became a pitch inspector, then a match referee. I was involved with cricket for 46 years. I got oesophageal cancer five years ago but have recovered. Apart from falling and hurting my ribs, I'm absolutely fine.

30/01

Northamptonshire County Cricket Club is sad to learn of the death of former player Peter Lee at the age of 80.

Northamptonshire-born in the village of Arthingworth, fast bowler ‘Leapy’ Lee began his professional career at Wantage Road although he enjoyed his greatest success in the game after joining Lancashire in 1972.  Four years later he was named one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year – sharing the honour with his former team-mate David Steele – as the only English bowler to claim 100 first-class wickets in the 1975 season. 

Lee made his Second XI debut for Northamptonshire under the captaincy of Dennis Brookes in 1966, signed professional terms in 1967 and proved an immediate success in the ‘stiffs’ – his bowling figures of 8-25 against Essex at Chelmsford that year remain a club record nearly 60 years later.  But he wasn’t given a proper run in the County’s first team until 1969, when he picked up 36 Championship wickets for Roger Prideaux’s side.

The arrival of Sarfraz Nawaz the following summer dealt his prospects a blow, and although he bowled well in 1971 (helping, perhaps significantly, to skittle Lancashire for 41 in a Second XI match in May) it would prove his final year at Northampton prior to his ‘second coming’ for the Red Rose. 

Jack Mercer, Northamptonshire’s long-time coach and scorer, had advised the young seamer to ‘keep fit, keep straight and keep an eye on Brian Statham’ if he wanted to prosper in the county game – and he duly relocated to Statham’s old stamping ground at Old Trafford, hastened by the County’s decision to bring in pacemen John Dye and Bob Cottam from Kent and Hampshire respectively for the 1972 season.

It proved an inspired move.  In 1973 he claimed 101 first-class wickets, followed by 112 in 1975, 66 in 1976 and 73 in 1977.  He was twice named the PCA Players’ Player of the Year – always a coveted accolade for any professional cricketer.  He appeared for Lancashire against Northamptonshire in the Gillette Cup final at Lord’s in September 1976 and removed both Man-of-the-Match Peter Willey and Geoff Cook, although fortunately for the County his efforts weren’t enough to deny Mushtaq’s men victory.  In the early stages of his Lancashire career, he continued to net during the winter at Wantage Road.

A serious shoulder injury in 1978 marked the beginning of the end for Lee in the first-class game; he was released by Lancashire in 1982, and after a season with Durham in the Minor Counties Championship he turned out in league cricket, eventually coming back to Northamptonshire where he represented clubs including Earls Barton, Cogenhoe and Hamilton Taverners.  He remained a handful with the new ball, as many opposing batsmen will recall – sometimes painfully.

In 2024 he was inducted into Lancashire’s Hall of Fame, along with Michael Atherton and his former team-mate Frank Hayes; the speech recognising his achievements was made by his ex-Lancashire captain, David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd.

Lee’s record across all first-class cricket shows 599 wickets at 25.60 in 202 matches, plus another 230 at 22.53 in one-day matches. 

NCCC offers sincerest condolences to Peter’s family and friends.

Words written by Club Archivist Andrew Radd

Remembering Peter Lee (1945-2026)

Everybody connected with Lancashire Cricket is saddened by the passing of our former player, Peter 'Leapy' Lee, aged 80.

Peter was born in Northampton and made his debut at the age of 22 for his home county. 

He played 44 matches for Northants before joining Lancashire in 1972 and was awarded his county cap in the same season.

In 1975 he became the last Lancashire bowler to take 100 wickets in a season - with 112 wickets at an average 18.45 - and was chosen as one of Wisden’s five Cricketers of the Year.

A fast-medium pace bowler, with great pace and accuracy, he became one of the county’s leading bowlers over the following seasons. He went to Lord’s four times to play in Gillette Cup Finals.

His last first-class wicket was Geoffrey Boycott in a Roses match. He took 496 wickets for Lancashire at an average of 22.82 after 11 seasons with the Club.

In total, he took 599 first-class wickets – with 496 of them for Lancashire – claiming five wickets or more in an innings on 29 occasions, plus exactly 200 one-day wickets for the Red Rose.

In 2024 he became the 22nd player to be inducted into Lancashire Cricket’s Hall of Fame.

Peter was a regular attendee of the former players’ days held at Emirates Old Trafford – he was known as a humble man, amiable, a great professional and a model team member.

Lancashire Cricket offers our sincerest condolences to Peter’s family and friends.

20/01

Worcestershire County Cricket Club are today saddened to share the news of the passing of Norman Gifford MBE, aged 85, after a prolonged battle with illness.

A former Worcestershire captain, Norman enjoyed an illustrious playing career that saw him win the County Championship with the Pears in 1964, with his exceptional form rewarded by virtue of a call-up to the England side later that summer, where he went on to represent his country 17 times between 1964 and 1973, including 15 Test Matches and two One Day Internationals.

Norman, represented Worcestershire with distinction for 22 years, between 1960 and 1982, with the famed spinner taking a remarkable 1,615 first-class wickets during that time.

Nominated for the Wisden Cricketer of the year in 1975, Norman was honoured in 1978, when he was awarded an MBE for his services to cricket.

After his time as a player at New Road, Norman went on to represent Warwickshire for five years between 1983 and 1988, where he captained the side before eventually retiring from cricket at the age of 48.

In his later years, Norman returned to his beloved Worcestershire as Club President, before being awarded an Honorary Vice Presidency Role.

Norman’s contribution to both Worcestershire and Warwickshire was recognised in 2016, when the two counties began to compete for the Norman Gifford Trophy, a longstanding tradition that sees both clubs contest the trophy in both Vitality Blast T20 matches each year.

Everyone at Worcestershire County Cricket Club would like to offer their sincere condolences to the family, who are all in our thoughts.