Robertson-Glasgow Raymond Image 1 Oxford University 1922

Description

Murrayfield, Edinburgh born Raymond Robertson-Glasgow was both a distinguished player and a celebrated cricket writer, a tall right-arm fast-medium bowler who was able to swing the ball appreciably. Educated at Charterhouse School, he was in the School XI in 1918 and 1919, when he scored 537 runs at an average of 38.36, and took 44 wickets for 18.52 runs each, including 6-90 against Winchester.  He then went up to Corpus Christi College, Oxford University, making his first class debut in 1920 when he represented both Oxford University and Somerset. He played for Oxford University against Cambridge for four years from 1920 to 1923, winning a Blue in his first year with the University team, and for Somerset with varying frequency until 1937, where he had a reputation as one of captain John Daniell’s principal partners in crime when it came to humour.

He also played five times for The Gentlemen against The Players between 1924 and 1935, and also represented Marylebone Cricket Club (M.C.C.) several times between 1927 and 1933. His nickname of “Crusoe” came, according to Robertson-Glasgow himself, from the Essex batsman Charlie McGahey. When his captain asked McGahey how he had been dismissed, he replied: “I was bowled by an old —– I thought was dead two thousand years ago, some bloke called Robinson Crusoe.”

He achieved several notable bowling performances for Somerset such as his career best 9-38 in the first innings of Middlesex at Lord’s in 1924, 7-56 and 7-50 against Sussex at Eastbourne, 6-60 and 5-87 against Gloucestershire at Bristol in 1923; and 5-47 and 5-37 against Warwickshire at Weston-super-Mare in 1930. As a batsman he could be useful. When opening the Somerset innings with A. Young, he shared in stands of 160 against Essex at Knowle and 139 against Worcestershire at Taunton in successive matches. His highest innings was 80 against Hampshire at Taunton in 1920.

During his playing career, which lasted from 1920 to 1937 totalling 144 first class matches, he scored 2,102 runs at an average of 13.22 with 4 half centuries. With his bowling he took 464 wickets at 25.77 in first class cricket, claiming ten wickets in a match on half a dozen occasions and five wickets in an innings 28 times.

Of considerable personal charm, an infectious laugh, and possessing an infallible sense of humour, these qualities found their way into his writings when from 1933 he became a cricket correspondent for the Morning Post. He later wrote for The Daily Telegraph, The Observer and The Sunday Times. Convivial, popular and humorous, he subsequently won acclaim for his writing, in which his strong sense of humour shone through. He retired from regular cricket writing in 1953. He contributed a number of articles to Wisden and was the author of many books, including Cricket Prints, More Cricket Prints, 46 Not Out – an Autobiography, Rain Stopped Play, The Brighter Side of Cricket, All In The Game and How To Become A Test Cricketer. He was Chairman of the Cricket Writers’ Club in 1959.

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