Eric Cole - Cricket Career

Cricket Career

Cole's early cricket career was split between Egypt and England. He first played for the Egyptian national side in April 1930, playing twice against HM Martineau's XI. Indeed, all his matches for Egypt were against Martineau's team, and he also played twice against them for Gezira Sporting Club.

In 1931, after playing twice for Egypt in April, he made his first-class debut, playing for the Free Foresters against Cambridge University. Back in Egypt, he played for the national side once in 1932 and twice in 1933.

The 1933 English cricket season was when he first became involved with Kent County Cricket Club, playing five times for their second XI in the Minor Counties Cricket Championship that year. He also played his second first-class match that year, playing for the British Army cricket team against the West Indies. He again played twice for Egypt in 1934, and played his final match for them in April 1935.

The rest of his cricket career was in England, and in 1935 he played a first-class match for the Army against Cambridge University, and a Minor Counties Championship match for Kent Second XI against Staffordshire. He played first-class matches for the Army against Cambridge University in the 1936 season and against Oxford University in the 1937 season. He also played for the Combined Services against New Zealand in 1937.

In 1938, after playing for the Army against Cambridge University, he made his debut for the Kent first team, playing County Championship matches against Lancashire, Derbyshire and Worcestershire. These were his only games for Kent. He played a non-first-class match for the Army against the West Indies in 1939, his last recorded match.