Norman Gifford
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| Full name | Norman Gifford | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
30 March 1940 Ulverston, Lancashire, England |
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| Batting style | Left-handed batsman (LHB) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling style | Slow left-arm orthodox (SLA) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source: [1], 1 June 2005 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Norman Gifford (born 30 March 1940, Ulverston, Lancashire, now part of Cumbria) is a retired English cricketer, who played primarily as a left-arm spinner. Gifford played county cricket for Worcestershire, and Warwickshire, and represented England in fifteen Tests and two ODIs between 1964 and 1985.
Cricket writer Colin Bateman said, "a spinner who pushed Derek Underwood out of the England side had to be something special, and Norman Gifford was just that. A great competitor with a deep knowledge of the game, 'Giff' could find turn from most surfaces despite firing in his left-arm deliveries".
Known to Worcestershire folk as "Apple Norm", Gifford served his apprenticeship as a professional cricketer in the Worcestershire second team during 1959, and when in May 1960 he took 2–25 from 18 overs in a drawn Second XI match against Kent, he was called up to the first team for the game against the same opposition that began the very next day. Gifford took four wickets in Kent's first innings, but Worcestershire collapsed to their second-lowest ever score of 25 all out on their way to an innings defeat. In the next game against Cambridge University Gifford took ten wickets in the match, including second-innings analysis of 15.5–7–18–6.
Gifford finished 1960 with 41 wickets at an average of 17.90, but this only hinted at the success he was to enjoy the following year. 1961 proved to be the most productive season of Gifford's career as he took 133 wickets. In July 1961, he was notified he was on the long list to tour India and Pakistan with the MCC side, but was not selected for the final party. In compensation he toured Rhodesia and Pakistan with an International XI. He was again fairly successful in the 1962 and 1963 seasons, with 92 and 72 wickets respectively, and in 1962 was selected for the Players in their final match against the Gentlemen before the distinction between amateur and professional cricketers was abolished.
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