Gordon Wilcock

Who is Gordon Wilcock?

Howard Gordon Wilcock is a former English cricketer who played first-class and List A cricket for Worcestershire during the 1970s.

Wilcock was signed by Worcestershire in 1968, having been spotted playing club cricket for Ilkley Cricket Club. He made one Second XI appearance for the county that season, and many more in 1969, but Brian Krikken prevented his standing as keeper until the end of the year. Wilcock also played for Dudley Cricket Club during this period, and continued in the seconds in 1970.

He made his first-class debut against Oxford University at The University Parks in May 1971, though in a game affected by the weather he did not get to bat, and effected only one dismissal, taking the catch to remove John Ward. He retained his place for the County Championship game against Lancashire that followed, in which he achieved his first stumping, accounting for Farokh Engineer off the bowling of Norman Gifford. He was then first-choice keeper for the rest of the season, replacing Rodney Cass.

A final return of 40 first-class dismissals in 1971 was made up of 36 catches and four stumpings. In one-day cricket he managed 12, and was also occasionally useful with the bat in the shorter form, winning a match against Hampshire with a four off the penultimate ball. Wilcock also did fairly well in 1972, with 42 first-class and 11 List A dismissals, although Cass displaced him at the end of the summer, and in 1973 Wilcock did not get a single first-team game in either first-class or List A cricket.