Former Sussex and England cricketer celebrates 92nd birthday

Ian Thomson was part of Sussex County Cricket Club’s bowling attack between 1952 and 1965.

The former sportsman is marking the occasion with a small picnic organised by his daughter Tracey Linscer.

Ian, who lives in Red Oaks Care Home in Henfield, was part of the 1964 Gillette Cup winning team and picked up man of the match at Lord’s Cricket Ground for his efforts.

Marylebone Cricket Club 1964/65 Tour of South Africa. The tour included players such as Geoffrey Boycott, Ted Dexter (Vice-Captain), Fred Titmus and Jim Parks. Ian Thomson is pictured third from left.

In the same year, in what is considered to be his greatest performance, Ian took ten wickets against Warwickshire at Worthing in June 1964.

He is only the second cricketer to take ten wickets in an innings for Sussex.

His ten-wicket ball is on display at the Sussex Cricket Museum at the County Ground in Hove.

But it is the 1964–65 Marylebone Cricket Club tour to South Africa that he remembers most fondly.

He played in all five tests and took nine wickets, four more than his teammate Geoffrey Boycott.

He said: “My mother was very pleased with me when I got man of the match.

Ian Thomson with his daughter Tracey on a cruise to the Northern Lights.

“Incidentally, my mother came to South Africa came to watch me play in a test match in Cape Town. She liked Cape Town very much and I was very keen on South Africa.”

Ian said his mother, Nellie Louise Thomson, played a pivotal role in his career, encouraging him to contact Sussex Cricket and ask for a trial.

He said: “My mother was a very keen sportswoman.

“She had four brothers who all played football and cricket for St Luke’s School in Brighton.

“She was always keen on cricket. She kept saying to me, ‘why don’t you write into Sussex for a trial?’ and that is how it all started.

“I had a trial very, very quickly and before I knew what I was doing I was playing in county cricket with my mother watching all the home games at Hove, Eastbourne and Hastings.”

Ian’s talent was apparent from a young age, having first made an impression at the age of 14.

He said: “I went to a school in London called Forest School and I was very keen on cricket.

“I was fielding on the boundary and I threw the ball in to the wicket keeper without a bounce and the cricket master called me over and said ‘that was a big throw’ and I said ‘yes I can throw a long way’.

“He asked me if I’d ever bowled a cricket ball, which I hadn’t and he said ‘I want you to bowl a couple of overs now’.

The Sussex Cricket team that won the Gilette Cup. Ian Thomson (third from right)

“I bowled the two overs and I got two wickets. They were all straight and from the age of 14 to 18 I played in the school’s first XI at cricket. “

Ian’s playing career ended in 1965 but he reappeared in two matches in 1972.

He also tried his hand at coaching, teaching cricketing brothers Tony and Ian Greig when they were just young boys.

In 2018, he opened the Sussex Cricket Museum alongside England and Sussex cricketer Chris Adams.

Ian said that while cricket was always his passion, he was a talented all-round sportsman and could have pursed careers in other fields.

Ian with his wife of 59-years Eileen.

He said: “I also did very well at football and believe it or not boxing. I was made captain of school boxing, but my mother wasn’t keen on me doing it.”

Ian married his wife Eileen in September 1955, with the couple celebrating their 59th wedding anniversary shortly before Eileen died in 2014.

Their daughter Tracey, who lives in Portslade, said the pair were “inseparable” but Ian keeps his spirits up by keeping in contact with his old teammates.

Tracey said: “I did a 90th birthday celebration for dad and all the players came – Tony Buss, Peter Graves, John Snow and Les Lenham.

“My dad’s really popular and he’s a real team player. His memory isn’t what it used to be but cricket he knows off the back of his hand.”

Tracey is hoping that when coronavirus restrictions are eased, her dad will be able to reunite with his old teammates and have the celebration he deserves.

She said: “My dad had three falls last year and had to be admitted to Worthing Hospital.

“He’s had his Covid vaccine now and things are looking up.

“It’s been a tough year but he’s come out of it the other side and he seems quite invincible. It’s just amazing and I keep saying I’m determined to get his letter from the Queen for his 100th birthday.

“I had a wonderful childhood. He’s a wonderful dad and I am very proud of him.”