Norman Gifford obituary: England spinner

Gifford was not one to complain. Although on occasion favoured by another England captain, Ray Illingworth, his Test career was restricted to 15 matches. Yet he beavered away in county cricket, becoming in all probability the last bowler in England to finish a career with more than 2,000 first-class wickets, given the reduction in fixtures. Apple-faced and aggressive, he bowled with a flat trajectory from wide of the crease and spun the ball as opposed to Underwood, at a quicker pace, cutting it off the pitch.

At county level, too, he had to compete for a place, in that Doug Slade, another left-arm spinner, was in Worcestershire’s side when he made his debut in 1960. Nevertheless, Gifford was soon taking wickets consistently to the extent that he made his Test debut in 1964, and was a member of three Championship-winning sides, captaining the last of these in 1974.

“I got to know him on that tour of India and Pakistan — Norman was a great competitor who would die for you,” said Keith Fletcher, the England batsman.

“He was not shy of a trick or two — you had to stop him in his delivery stride when you weren’t ready to face his next ball. He was aggressive in the middle but a super bloke — friendly over a glass of beer while he smoked a pipe. I remember one match in India when we were in the field for three days, it was 116 degrees, Alan Knott was sunburnt off the pitch and Norman had to bowl a lot of overs. His face went red and he was foaming at the mouth.”

Gifford’s final Test appearances came in the following summer, 1973, but he was to play on for Worcestershire and, finally, Warwickshire, until he was 48. His international career had a dramatic conclusion when, in 1985, he was made England captain six days short of his 45th birthday for two one-day internationals against Australia and Pakistan in a limited overs competition in Sharjah. A number of regular players were missing. His enduring craft was apparent in that he took four wickets at a cost of only 23 runs in the second match.

Norman Gifford was born in 1940 in Ulverston, historically in Lancashire, one of four brothers. His father, John, a foreman for a medical company, played for the town’s cricket club, and his mother, Freda (née Baxter), made the teas. Another of their sons, Tom, played for Morecambe for a season as a professional. Norman, who was not notably academic, left Victoria High School, Ulverston, at the age of 16 to become a painter and decorator. He enjoyed horse racing and Formula 1 racing, but cricket was his prime enthusiasm.

Gifford was offered a trial with Lancashire but opted for Worcestershire and was coached by Charlie Hallows, the former Lancashire batsman. His bowling — he was never other than a useful tailend batsman — developed to the extent that he was chosen to play in two Tests against Australia in 1964, taking five wickets overall, but was dropped for the fourth match in the series when England preferred to play two off spinners. He was not selected again until 1971, by when Illingworth was captain.

The rivalry with Underwood was respectful. “Obviously my husband wished Derek had been around at a different time but he admired him and I never heard anything detrimental said about him,” said Alison Gifford. Illingworth felt that Gifford could spin the ball more on a flat pitch and as a consequence he played in nine Tests in England in the summers of 1971, 1972 and 1973. The captains who came afterwards unanimously selected Underwood ahead of him.

Fletcher said: “Ray got bees in his bonnet and did things like that occasionally. You can’t argue with Derek being by far the better bowler, especially on English pitches.” Gifford played on for Worcestershire until 1982 — his wife said “he did not want to leave as he loved Worcester and felt he was not finished” — and then joined Warwickshire at the behest of Bob Willis, captain of the club and of England and a personal friend. There was a further motivation: 2,000 wickets were within Gifford’s sights.

He reached this landmark in 1986 and retired in 1988, having also captained Warwickshire. In all first-class cricket he took 2,068 wickets at an average of 23.56, his best figures being eight for 28 against Yorkshire in 1968, and scored 7,048 runs at 13.00. His 33 Test wickets came at 31.09. He had the distinction of receiving the first man of the match award in one-day cricket, albeit in a losing cause, for taking four for 33 against Sussex in the inaugural Gillette Cup final in 1963. In retirement he coached Sussex, Durham, England U-19s and was an assistant coach to England sides on tour.

Gifford married, first, Jan Garner, who worked in quality control. She and their two children, David, who works in non-destructive testing of aero engines, and Caroline (“Cadi”) a manager in the NHS, survive him. He was divorced and was remarried to Alison Browning, who worked in retail and met him at Worcestershire’s New Road ground. She and their son, Mark, who played squash for Sussex and works in technological computing, also survive him. Although he had numerous friends in the game, he was a private man and did not wish to have a funeral.

Bruce Talbot, who covered the club for The Argus in Brighton, said: “I remember listening to him for an hour or so when he was coach of Sussex bemoaning the standard of cricket compared to when he played.” Still, the game was Gifford’s life and he coached Worcestershire’s young cricketers when in his seventies, giving up only at the outbreak of Covid-19. He became president of Worcestershire in 2017. According to his wife, Alison, “Norman never left cricket”.

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