Donald Carr was one the finest players in Derbyshire’s long history, and the only player from the county to captain England.
He made his Derbyshire debut in 1946 and captained the side between 1955 and 1962. During his long career, he scored 14,656 runs, putting him 8th on the all-time list of run-scorers for Derbyshire. He also scored 18 hundreds and 75 fifties.
He succeed Guy Willatt as captain, and only once during his tenure did Derbyshire finish outside the top half of the county championship.
He also toured India with MCC on the 1951-52 tour of India, playing two Test Matches and captaining his country in the final Test.
He was a slow left arm bowler, good enough to take over 200 first class wickets for Derbyshire, and was a member of the renowned Derbyshire leg trap of the 1950s along with Derek Morgan and Alan Revill.
In 1959, he became the first – and to date still only the third – Derbyshire batsman to score 2,000 first class runs in a season, including five hundreds. He was also named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1960.
Whilst still on the playing staff, he was appointed Derbyshire’s Assistant Secretary, and then Secretary in 1960. It was this administrative experience which made him an ideal candidate for roles within the higher echelons of the game, and in 1962 he was appointed Assistant Secretary of MCC, and subsequently Secretary of the Test and County Cricket Board in 1973.
Donald was a regular visitor to the Past Player’s annual reunion and maintained regular contact with former players and associates at Derbyshire.
He will be sadly missed by the cricketing family here in Derbyshire. Our thoughts are with Donald’s family and friends.
Donald Bryce Carr: Biography
Born December 28, 1926, Wiesbaden, Germany
Education: Repton School, Oxford University
Cricket Career
Oxford University: 1949-1951
Derbyshire 1946-1963 – First-Class runs: 19,527, First-Class Wickets: 328. Club captain from 1955-62.
England: Two Test Matches v India 1951-52 (captained England in Madras Test)
MCC – Assistant Secretary (Cricket) 1962-1974
TCCB and the Cricket Council – Secretary – 1974-1986
ICC – Match Referee – 1991-94
