Malcolm Walker

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Malcolm Walker
England
Personal information
Full name	Malcolm Walker
Born	14 October 1933(1933-10-14)
	Mexborough, Yorkshire, England
Died	2 September 1986 (aged 52)
	Retford, Nottinghamshire, England
Role	All-rounder
Batting style	Right-handed batsman
Bowling style	Right-arm Off-break
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1952–58	Somerset
First-class debut	28 May 1952: Somerset v India
Last First-class	23 May 1958: Somerset v Yorkshire
Career statistics
	First-class
Matches	29
Runs scored	574
Batting average	11.71
100s/50s	1/1
Top score	100
Balls bowled	1542
Wickets	28
Bowling average	34.85
5 wickets in innings	2
10 wickets in match	-
Best bowling	5/45
Catches/stumpings	8/0
As of 02 Jun 2008 Source: CricketArchive

Malcolm Walker, born at Mexborough, Yorkshire, on October 14, 1933 and died at Retford, Nottinghamshire, on September 2, 1986, was a cricketer who played for Somerset in first-class matches between 1952 and 1958.

Walker was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm off-spin bowler. He played five matches as a 16-year old for Yorkshire's second eleven in 1950, and one the following year, but then joined Somerset where he made his first-class debut in the match against the 1952 Indian side. Three wickets in the match earned him a contract, and in 1953 he started the season as a regular member of what was a very weak side. But in nine matches he scored just 74 runs and took only nine wickets, and was upstaged that summer by an even younger off-spin bowler, Brian Langford, who took 51 County Championship wickets, including 26 in his first three matches.^[1]

Walker did not play at all in Somerset's first team in 1954, but he reappeared in mid 1955 in the match against Essex at Romford and, having batted at No 6 in the first innings, was promoted to open the second innings.^[2] He made exactly 100, putting on 152 with Peter Wight for the fourth wicket and more than doubling his previous first-class aggregate. Wisden reported that he "drove splendidly, hitting fifteen 4's".^[3] After the match, Walker was found to be suffering appendicitis. That limited his further appearances, but he failed to reach 50 in any other innings that season, though his off-spin produced a return of five for 45 against Gloucestershire at Bristol, and that, like his century, remained the best of his career.^[4] In its review of Somerset's season, Wisden said the innings at Romford "raised hopes of [Walker] developing into an attractive opening batsman".^[5]

The hopes were not realised. In 1956, Walker's fellow Yorkshireman Lewis Pickles became a regular opening batsman, and though the combination of Pickles and Walker, according to Wisden, "promised at one stage to develop into a sound opening pair", Walker lost form after scoring 72 in the match against Derbyshire at Yeovil and was unable to regain his place.^[6]

Though Walker played fairly regularly for Somerset's second eleven in both 1957 and 1958, he made only one further first-class appearance, scoring 4 and 0 against Yorkshire at Bath in 1958, a game that was also the last first-class appearance for Pickles, his opening partner.

Walker died in a motorcycle accident in 1986 at Retford.

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