"I was playing with and against some of the best players in the world" - Simon Sutcliffe reflects on his three years with the Bears
23.06.26, 10:00 Updated 22.06.26, 10:52
Paul Edwards
“Sometimes, luck is nothing more than opportunity,” mused that most humane of men, John Arlott. He was referring to the day in 1935 when a late injury allowed Harold Gimblett to make his Somerset debut against Essex at Frome. Gimblett plundered 123 in one of county cricket’s most famous innings and went on to play 368 first-class games spanning twenty years.
Now it is 1980, the last day of April to be exact, and Oxford University are playing Warwickshire at the Parks. The Bears bat first and are nicely placed, say 150-2 when the Blues skipper calls on his off-spinner, Simon Sutcliffe, who is playing his third first-class match. Over an hour later, Sutcliffe’s figures read 12.3-4-19-6 and his life is about to be changed.
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