Norman Mitchell-Innes

Mandy Mitchell-Innes

Personal information
Full name	Norman Stewart Mitchell-Innes
Born	(1914-09-07)7 September 1914 Calcutta, India
Died	28 December 2006(2006-12-28) (aged 92) Monmouthshire, Wales
Batting style	Right-handed
Bowling style	Right-arm medium, fast
International information
National side	England
Only Test (cap 283)	15 June 1935 v South Africa
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1931–1949	Somerset
1934–1937	Oxford University
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class Matches 1 132 Runs scored 5 6,944 Batting average 5.00 31.42 100s/50s 0/0 13/32 Top score 5 207 Balls bowled – 4,897 Wickets – 82 Bowling average – 34.70 5 wickets in innings – 0 10 wickets in match – 0 Best bowling –/– 4/65 Catches/stumpings 0/– 151/–
Source: CricketArchive, 9 October 2014

Norman Stewart Mitchell-Innes, known as Mandy Mitchell-Innes (7 September 1914 – 28 December 2006) was an amateur cricketer for Somerset, who played in one Test match for England, in 1935. Between 1931 and 1949 Mitchell-Innes played 132 first-class matches, appearing 69 times for Somerset, and 43 times for Oxford University. In these matches he scored 6,944 runs, including 13 centuries and a top score of 207. He was well-regarded for the grace of his batting, but his cricket career was limited by both hay fever and his overseas work commitments.

Mitchell-Innes made his debut for Somerset while he was still a schoolboy at Sedbergh School in 1931. He subsequently went to Oxford University and appeared in the annual match against Cambridge in each of his four years. His total of 3,319 first-class runs is a record for the Oxford University team, and he is regarded as one of the best university cricketers ever. After completing each year at Oxford, he returned to play for Somerset. He played his best years of cricket while at university, passing 1,000 runs in the season during three of his four years there. After graduating from university, he joined the Sudan Political Service and missed the 1938 cricket season entirely. His was only available for Somerset during periods of leave thereafter, often playing for around four to six weeks. In 1948, he was one of three players to captain Somerset when the county struggled to appoint anyone on a permanent basis. He played his last first-class matches in 1949.

Mitchell-Innes left the Sudan Political Service in 1954, and became the company secretary at Vaux Breweries. Upon the death of Alf Gover in October 2001, he became England's oldest surviving Test cricketer until his own death in December 2006, when the distinction passed to Ken Cranston.

Norman Stewart Mitchell-Innes was born in Calcutta on 7 September 1914, where his father was a businessman of Scottish descent. Both his father, also named Norman, and his grandfather, Gilbert, were keen golfers. The former was the All India Amateur Golf Champion in 1893 and 1894, while the latter captained Prestwick Golf Club. He moved to England with his family at the age of five to live in Minehead, Somerset, and gained a scholarship to Sedbergh School based in Cumbria. At Sedbergh he developed quickly as a cricketer, first playing for the school's first team aged 15. The subsequent year, he scored 302 not out in a house match in one afternoon. In the summer of 1931, after scoring two half-centuries for Sedbergh against Durham School and Stonyhurst College, Mitchell-Innes was called up to play for Somerset County Cricket Club in a County Championship match against Warwickshire. He had to travel down from Scotland by overnight train for the fixture at the County Ground, Taunton. He took two wickets, and scored 23 runs in the match, which was drawn.