Reg Perks

Who was Reg Perks?

Reginald Thomas David "Reg" Perks was an English cricketer who played in 2 Tests in 1939, and was the mainstay of Worcestershire's bowling for a long period from the middle 1930s until the middle 1950s. He was also an aggressive left-handed tail-end slogger, who frequently hit up thirty runs in twenty or so minutes, and on three occasions hit three sixes off consecutive balls. His highest first-class score of 75 against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in 1938 took just thirty minutes. He does, however, hold the world record for the most ducks in a first-class career, with 156.

Perks was first involved with Worcestershire as early as 1928, when he joined their ground staff. He showed considerable promise in his first season with the first team in 1930, with 59 wickets for 23 each, with 7 for 20 against Leicestershire on a rain-affected wicket his outstanding performance. It was several years before he improved upon this, but by 1935 he was clearly one of the hardest-working of several emerging pace bowlers with 119 wickets for less than 22 each and an annual output of around a thousand overs per season. The following three years saw Perks maintain his form. he took fifteen for 106 against Essex at Worcester in 1937, the best match figures of his career.