Mandy Mitchell-Innes

Norman Stewart Mitchell-Innes, known as Mandy Mitchell-Innes (7 September 1914 – 28 December 2006) was an English cricketer who played in one Test in May 1935. He became England's oldest surviving Test cricketer on 7 October 2001, on the death of Alf Gover. Following his own death, that distinction passed to Ken Cranston, who himself died a few days later. Mitchell-Innes was also the last surviving English cricketer to have played Test cricket before the Second World War.

Mitchell-Innes was born in Calcutta,^[1] where his father was a businessman of Scottish descent.^[1] He returned to England with his family at the age of 5 to live in Somerset.^[1] He was educated at Sedbergh School, where he was a precocious schoolboy batsman – he scored 302 in a house match in one afternoon.^[1] He played for Somerset against Warwickshire at Taunton in August 1931, while still a 16-year old schoolboy, returning by overnight train from a golf tournament in Scotland.^[1] He won an exhibition to read law at Brasenose College, Oxford in 1934.^[1] Despite suffering from hay fever, which occasionally affected his performance, he scored a record 3,319 runs for Oxford University Cricket Club from 1934 to 1937, at an average of 47.41, an aggregate which has never been surpassed.^[1] He captained Oxford in 1936 and 1937. He also played in four Gentlemen v. Players matches from 1934 to 1937, one at Folkestone and three at Lord's, and for Scotland in 1937. He also captained Oxford at golf; his grandfather, Gilbert Mitchell-Innes, had been a captain of Prestwick golf club,^[1] where the Open Championship originated.

He was still a student when he was called up by Plum Warner to play in his only Test for England, the first Test against South Africa at Trent Bridge in June 1935. Warner, chairman of the England selectors, had seen him score 168 for Oxford against the tourists, but he was out for only 5 in the Test, which ended in a draw. He was also selected for the second Test, at Lord's, but withdrew on account of his hay fever, worrying that he might sneeze just as he was about to take a catch in the slips, and was replaced by Errol Holmes. He never played for England again. He toured Australia and New Zealand with an MCC team in 1935–36, but no Tests were scheduled.

He joined the Sudan Political Service after graduating in 1937, reducing his opportunities to play first-class cricket, but he continued to appear for Somerset occasionally until 1949. He was one of the three joint captains of Somerset in 1948, alongside Jake Seamer and George Woodhouse, but he played in only 5 matches that year. He left the Sudan Political Service in 1954, and was company secretary of Vaux Breweries in Sunderland for 25 years.

He married Patricia Rossiter in 1944, and they had a son and daughter together. He retired to Herefordshire in 1980, and lived with his daughter in Monmouthshire after his wife died in 1989. He was survived by his son and daughter.

Notes

External links

• Player profile: Mandy Mitchell-Innes from ESPNcricinfo
• Obituary, The Daily Telegraph, 30 December 2006
• Obituary, The Guardian, 12 January 2007
• Obituary, The Times, 7 February 2007