Bunty Longrigg - Early Career

Early Career

Bunty Longrigg was a left-handed middle order batsman and an occasional right-arm bowler. The son of Major G. E. Longrigg, who was a long-time Somerset county cricket committeeman and a solicitor in Bath, the younger Longrigg was educated at Rugby School, and made his Somerset debut in 1925, the year he left school. In his third match, he hit an unbeaten 60 against Kent in a rain-ruined match at Taunton.

In 1926, he was at Cambridge University and arrived with a glowing testimonial in the 1926 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack report on 1925 public school cricket by H. S. Altham. "His record of 840 runs for an average of over 50 was remarkable," Altham wrote. "Above all he watches the ball, and is hard to bowl out. What with his success for Somerset in August, his clever fielding near the wicket, and a capacity to bowl slows of which he might have made more use, Longrigg will be watched very carefully at Cambridge."

In the event, Longrigg's first year at Cambridge was a disappointment: he made 77 in the Freshman's trial match and then played in five first-class matches for the university cricket team, but without success, and did not win a blue. Back in the Somerset side for much of the second half of the season, though, he again did well, improving his highest score first with 62 against Derbyshire and then with an unbeaten 81 against Warwickshire.

After his poor start in 1926, it took Longrigg a while in 1927 to break into the Cambridge side and with a top score of only 74 and a batting average of 27, he possibly benefited from the illness of Duleepsinhji and injury to Maurice Turnbull in winning a blue. In the University Match, though, he justified his place with a second innings 57 that gave Cambridge the initiative and led to their victory over Oxford. Wisden said that Longrigg displayed "much skill". By contrast, Longrigg's form for Somerset later in the 1927 was unimpressive, and he did not pass 50 in any innings.

In 1928, Longrigg's place in Cambridge's best side seemed to be assured. Mostly he opened the innings and against Sussex early in the season hit an unbeaten 84, his highest score to that point. He achieved little in the University Match, but later in the season with Somerset he improved his highest score again, making 95 against Hampshire after five wickets had fallen 90 on a wet wicket at Weston-super-Mare. In all cricket in 1928, he made 800 runs with an average of 28.57.