Full Name

Charles Kerrison Hill Hill-Wood

Born

June 05, 1907, Hoxne, Suffolk

Died

September 21, 1988, Barton-le-Clay, Bedfordshire, (aged 81y 108d)

Also Known As

changed name from Charles Kerrison Hill Wood in 1910

Batting Style

Right hand Bat

Bowling Style

Left arm Fast medium

Education

Eton College; Oxford University

RELATIONS

(brother),

(brother),

(nephew),

(brother),

(father)

Charles Hill-Wood, who died on September 21, 1988, aged 81, was the last survivor of the four brothers who played for Eton and Derbyshire and variously at Oxford or Cambridge, although only three of them won Blues. Their father, as S. H. Wood, captained Derbyshire at the turn of the century. After two years in the Eton XI, Charles Hill-Wood did little in the Freshman's match in 1927 to displace any of the previous year's bowlers still in residence, but in 1928 he was bowling with appreciable pace and went into the University Match having taken 38 wickets. Left-arm and fast-medium, he bowled with a quite individual action, almost coming off the wrong foot, it seemed, and he made the ball swing into the right-hander. However, he could also cut it away to the slips, and when supported by his field he took a number of wickets this way. At Lord's, he opened the bowling against Cambridge and his brother, Denis, opened the batting; but while his six wickets for 79 in the first innings gave Oxford the chance to keep on equal terms on the first two days, it was his defiant batting on the third evening which saved the match for his side. An hour and three quarter's play remained and Cambridge were seeking the last three Oxford wickets when Hill-Wood, out first ball in the first innings, joined H. M. Garland-Wells. There was still half an hour to go when the last man, Benson, came in, and at seven minutes to seven Hill-Wood, who throughout had played only those balls he had to, survived a high chance to short leg. A few minutes later, the match was safely drawn.

Going to play for Derbyshire, he took 21 Championship wickets at 32 each, and in 1929 he looked a much better bowler. Though he disappointed against Cambridge, when his two wickets cost 174 runs, he took 51 wickets at 25.33 for Oxford, including a career-best performance against Northamptonshire at Kettering. After the University had scored 380, with Aidan Crawley hitting 204, he and E. M. Wellings bowled out the county for 76 in less than 22 overs, Hill-Wood taking six for 24 in his eleven overs. When Northamptonshire followed on, he took seven for 68 in 22.5 overs and Oxford won by an innings and 121 runs. In his eight games for Derbyshire that season he scored 206 runs, proving useful as a lower-order right-hand bat, and took twelve wickets at 34.33. His 37 wickets for Oxford in 1930 cost 33.54, and at Lord's he suffered from poor catching in the Cambridge second innings after his three wickets and then 47 runs had secured for Oxford a small first-innings lead. In their second innings, Oxford were bowled out for 101, leaving Cambridge the winners by 205 runs, an amazing volte-face and recompense perhaps for being thwarted by Hill-Wood two years earlier. He played no regular first-class cricket after this. In his 58 first-class matches, the last of which was for the Europeans against the Muslims in the Bombay Quadrangular Tournament of 1935-36, he took 185 wickets at 29.98 and scored 1,256 runs at 19.62.
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack

Charles Hill-Wood Career Stats

Batting & Fielding

FormatMatInnsNORunsHSAve100s50sCtSt
FC58771312567219.6205200

Bowling

FormatMatRunsWktsBBIAve5w10w
FC5855471857/6829.98101

Debut/Last Matches of Charles Hill-Wood

FC Matches

Span
1928 - 1932