Arnold Long obituary: record-setting Surrey wicketkeeper

Anyone who was behind the stumps for Surrey in the 1960s and 1970s was no mug, but in his era wicketkeepers were not expected to have to bat. He was in that mould. The county’s batting was sufficiently strong in the 1960s and 1970s for Long’s left-handed contributions down the order, such as these were, not to be of paramount importance. The necessity for this leading county, who were champions in 1971, was that he held his catches — as indeed he did after becoming Surrey’s first-choice wicketkeeper in 1962.

Long succeeded Roy Swetman (obituary, August 7, 2023) and in his first full season, his 74 catches and 91 dismissals in all set a record for the county. Going in down the order, he could concentrate in the pavilion on qualifying to be an insurance broker. “The difference now is that if wicketkeepers can’t bat, they don’t play,” Fletcher said. “A keeper/batsman gives the side balance but there has to be a weighing up of how many runs he’s scoring against how many catches he might be missing.”

There were few cricket photographers in Long’s playing days and they tended to be positioned at the two London Test grounds, Lord’s and the Oval. Hence he and Surrey’s prime slip fielder, Stewart Storey, would feature regularly in pictures of the batsmen of the day. Long could evaluate a match well and hence would be of considerable help to captains and bowlers alike — or at least to “those who wanted to listen”, as he would say with a faint smile. In his 452 first-class matches for Surrey and towards the end of his career for Sussex, he took 923 catches and brought off 124 stumpings.

Arnold Long was born in Cheam, Surrey, in 1940, the son of Joseph Long, a milkman, and his wife, Edna (née Kelly). As a wartime baby, he narrowly escaped death when, in nearby Wallington, his mother took him down to an air-raid shelter while his grandparents lingered in their house to make a cup of tea — only for it to be flattened by a bomb. Arnold survived and was educated at Wallington County Grammar School.

Playing for Surrey Boys Club, he was spotted by Arthur McIntyre, the county’s former wicketkeeper and now first X1 coach. He made his first-class debut in 1960 and, after succeeding Swetman, retained his place until 1975, when, as senior professional, he was believed to be insufficiently supportive of the captain, John Edrich (obituary, December 25, 2020). Roger Harman, Long’s team-mate and friend, said: “Arnold was incorrectly accused of leading a disruptive element and certain people in authority thought he should have sorted it out. He didn’t have a lot of choice but to leave and Sussex were the beneficiaries.”

Long had no desire to lead his new county but was appointed in dramatic circumstances in 1978 when Tony Greig, who the previous year had been sacked as England captain for joining Kerry Packer’s breakaway World Series Cricket, was deposed as Sussex captain. John Barclay, who in turn succeeded Long, said: “Arnold had been brought up in the tough school of Surrey’s cricket and was a tough competitor who brought something different to our cricket.”

Although Sussex were in disarray after Greig’s departure, they managed to defeat a stellar Somerset side in the Gillette Cup final at the end of the season, not least through Long’s astute use of his spinners, Barclay and Giles Cheatle. Long, who retired in 1980, scored 6,801 first-class runs with a highest score of 92 at an average of 16.75. He was to return to the Oval as chairman of Surrey’s cricket committee in 1991, but further differences within the club led to its disbandment.

He had studied for his insurance qualifications in the subterranean second XI dressing-room at the Oval while waiting to be called to bat. He had set up his own business in 1969 with a partner in Bill Morley, based in the Kent suburbs at Bexleyheath. He undertook some coaching at Whitgift School in Croydon, was a season ticket holder at Chelsea FC, played golf as well as football and gardened at his home in Banstead.

Long is survived by his wife, Barbara (née Parker), whom he met while she was working in insurance for Legal & General, and by their children, Martin, a software developer; Matthew, a carpenter; and Nathalie, a pharmacist.

His wife coped amusedly with the ribbing of his team-mates over the ubiquitous mattress, which Long placed in the back of his van for the comfort of his passengers. “Those players,” she joked, “they thought I was up to naughty things.”

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