Neville Knox

Who was Neville Knox?

Neville Alexander Knox was an English fast bowler of the late 1900s and effectively the successor to Tom Richardson and William Lockwood in the Surrey team. Because of his profession as a singer, Knox's career was short, but he was undoubtedly the fastest bowler of his time and one of the fastest bowlers ever to play for England – probably capable of speeds over 150 km/h.

Knox attended Dulwich College. He played two matches for Surrey in 1904 without achieving a great deal, but the following year, aided by some fiery pitches at The Oval, advanced so much that he was an excellent backup to Walter Lees in a major Surrey revival. Although he was expensive on true pitches Knox took 129 wickets for less than 22 runs each, and his promise was clearly noted, though even then the length of his run-up was seen as taking a great deal of energy out of him and it was thought Knox would have trouble coping with arduous seasons.

The following season – one with hardly a day of rain in the Home Counties after early May – bore out almost all that was thought of Knox.