Bob Carter

Who is Bob Carter?

Robert George Mallaby Carter, known as Bob, is a former English cricketer who played first-class and List A cricket for Worcestershire. He was capped by the county in 1965, and was awarded a benefit season in 1963, which raised about £7,000. All but two of his 523 first-class wickets came for Worcestershire; the others were obtained for MCC in the very last game of his career.

Carter did not make his debut until the age of nearly 24, when he played for Worcestershire against Oxford University in early June 1961, taking four wickets in the second innings. That was his only first-team appearance of the season, and County Championship appearances had to wait until 1962, when he became a regular in the side from mid-season onward, finishing with a more than handy 70 wickets at 22.07 apiece. He was in fact to exceed this aggregate only once, in 1971 when he claimed 79 successes.

For the early part of his career, Carter was somewhat overshadowed by his more illustrious team-mates Len Coldwell and Jack Flavell, but nevertheless managed to make many appearances, especially when his England team-mates were engaged on Test duties. In 1965, the year in which he was capped, he turned in a remarkable performance against Lancashire. Having come into the team in place of Coldwell, who had been injured, in the second innings Carter returned an analysis of 4.1–2–7–6, including a hat-trick, as Lancashire were dismissed for 55.