Christopher Bazalgette, a true Hampshire cricketing legend with the Hogs and Hambledon, notwithstanding 30 or more years with the XL Club, has bowled his final ball.
He died on Thursday, aged 84, after bravely battling a long illness, which left him bedridden for the closing year or so of his life.
He had been advertisement manager for The Cricketer, a founder of the European Cricketer Cup, a Life Member of Hambledon, a life member of the Hogs CC.
In a long and distinguished amateur career, he took over 2,500 wickets including those of Mark Nicholas (3 times), Ravi Shastri, Jeff Crowe and Doug Walters. 1,405 of these wickets were taken for Hampshire Hogs, for whom he made over 800 appearances, the last in 2017.
Christopher joined XL Club in 1977 and over the years was a match manager, chairman of the Cricket Committee, South District Chairman, and a member of the Executive Committee.
In some 138 matches for XL between 1978 and 2009 he took 205 wickets with best figures of 7-50. He achieved a five-wicket haul nine times.
His bowling was deceptive; he cut a portly, balding figure in an outsized pair of flannels held up by a gaudy Hogs' tie and would lope up to the wicket and deliver the ball above the batsman's eye-line at a slow medium-pace. He relied on fractional away swing and fielders who could hold on to catches in the deep. Many a visiting batsman to Warnford aimed to hit him over the wall and out of the ground, but few did. Bowling to his infamous 7-2 field, the Jette was so meticulous with his bowling game plan that he would mark where his fielders should stand. Woe betied them if they strayed a foot or two ...
A larger than life character and hugely respected in club cricket circles, he appeared on tour for many amateur teams around the world and even taught Channel 4 comedian Ali G to play the game.
As a writer he penned over 800,000 words, mainly for 'The Cricketer International'. He has starred in a number of American, Australian and British television programmes on the game and wrote a book entitled Think Cricket. His funeral predictably packed St James Church, Southwick,
He died on Thursday, aged 84, after bravely battling a long illness, which left him bedridden for the closing year or so of his life.
He had been advertisement manager for The Cricketer, a founder of the European Cricketer Cup, a Life Member of Hambledon, a life member of the Hogs CC.
In a long and distinguished amateur career, he took over 2,500 wickets including those of Mark Nicholas (3 times), Ravi Shastri, Jeff Crowe and Doug Walters. 1,405 of these wickets were taken for Hampshire Hogs, for whom he made over 800 appearances, the last in 2017.
Christopher joined XL Club in 1977 and over the years was a match manager, chairman of the Cricket Committee, South District Chairman, and a member of the Executive Committee.
In some 138 matches for XL between 1978 and 2009 he took 205 wickets with best figures of 7-50. He achieved a five-wicket haul nine times.
His bowling was deceptive; he cut a portly, balding figure in an outsized pair of flannels held up by a gaudy Hogs' tie and would lope up to the wicket and deliver the ball above the batsman's eye-line at a slow medium-pace. He relied on fractional away swing and fielders who could hold on to catches in the deep. Many a visiting batsman to Warnford aimed to hit him over the wall and out of the ground, but few did. Bowling to his infamous 7-2 field, the Jette was so meticulous with his bowling game plan that he would mark where his fielders should stand. Woe betied them if they strayed a foot or two ...
A larger than life character and hugely respected in club cricket circles, he appeared on tour for many amateur teams around the world and even taught Channel 4 comedian Ali G to play the game.
As a writer he penned over 800,000 words, mainly for 'The Cricketer International'. He has starred in a number of American, Australian and British television programmes on the game and wrote a book entitled Think Cricket. His funeral predictably packed St James Church, Southwick,
