Charles Phillip Mead (9 March 1887 – 26 March 1958) was an English professional cricketer who played in seventeen Test matches for England and had an extensive domestic career with Hampshire in English county cricket, spanning 31 years. Mead was born in Battersea. Overlooked by Surrey, he joined Hampshire in 1903 and made his debut for the county in first-class cricket in 1905. He established himself in the Hampshire team as a left-handed batsman the following season. After passing 2,000 runs in a season for the first time in 1911, Mead was chosen as one of five Wisden Cricketers of the Year. He was subsequently selected to tour Australia in 1911–12, making his Test debut against Australia. After success in the 1912 season, he toured South Africa, scoring his first Test century during the tour. Mead's appearances at Test level were infrequent, spanning seventeen matches across five series between 1911 and 1928. He scored nearly 1,200 runs in Tests, making four centuries. The paucity of his appearances at Test level were attributed to hostility toward his status as a professional batsman by England captain Plum Warner, playing for an "unfashionable" county, and an abundance of strong batsmen in county cricket competing for limited spaces in the England team. Despite the end of his Test career in 1928, Mead continued to play first-class cricket until 1936, when he was released by Hampshire at the age of 49. He then played two seasons of minor counties cricket for Suffolk in 1938 and 1939, whilst employed as a cricket coach at Framlingham College.
Mead holds many batting records. He is the fourth-highest run-scorer in first-class cricket, having scored over 55,000 runs during his career. He holds the record for the most runs in the County Championship, while his 2,843 runs in the 1928 County Championship constitutes an all-time record for a single season. He also made 153 first-class centuries during his career, the fourth-highest number by a batsman. His number of runs for Hampshire (48,892) is the greatest number any batsman has scored for a single first-class team. He also exceeded a thousand runs in every season of first-class cricket except his first – when he only played one match.
In later life, problems with his eyes which had begun in 1942 led to Mead becoming totally blind by August 1946. He retired to Bournemouth, where he died in hospital in March 1958, following an operation for internal bleeding.
Early life
Mead was born in at 10 Ashton Buildings in Battersea on 9 March 1887, the second eldest of seven children. His talents as a cricketer were first spotted as a schoolboy at Shillington Street School, scoring his first century as a ten-year-old while playing in the South London School League. He also played for the combined London Schools team. He was spotted playing in a school's match at The Oval by C. B. Fry, who encouraged him to pursue cricket as a profession. Mead joined the staff at Surrey in 1902, aged 15, primarily as a slow left-arm orthodox bowler. While trying to establish his career, he worked in a shop in the West End of London. Mead left Surrey in 1903 after he was not offered a contract at the end of that season, having been unable to force his way into the powerful Surrey team of the time.
Cricket career
Early years at Hampshire
A fortnight after Mead was released, Surrey attempted to reverse their decision by offering him a contract. However, he had been to Hampshire for a trial and decided to sign a two-year contract with them; Fry assisted him in securing a contract by persuading one of Hampshire's financial backers, Charles Hoare, to provide him with a job whilst he undertook his two-year residency qualification to represent Hampshire in the County Championship. Hoare provided him with employment at his training establishment Mercury, where Mead coached naval trainees during his qualification period. Aged 17, he nearly made his debut in first-class cricket for the Players of the South against the Gentlemen of the South at Bournemouth, but his inclusion was vetoed by W. G. Grace who objected because of his age. He made his first-class debut for Hampshire in 1905, against the touring Australians at Southampton. He showed his skill against fast bowling in this match, particularly against that of Tibby Cotter, by scoring 41 runs.
After qualifying in 1905, he immediately established himself in Hampshire's County Championship team in 1906. He opened the batting on his Championship debut against Surrey, but was dismissed for scores of 0 and 3. In the following match against Yorkshire, he batted from the middle order and scored his maiden first-class century, making 109 runs in Hampshire's second innings, In his first full season, he passed a thousand runs for the season (a feat he repeated for the next 27 consecutive seasons) with 1,014 at an average of 26.68, and made a further century. His slow left-arm orthodox bowling was used by Hampshire in 1906, with Mead taking 22 wickets at a bowling average of 35.36, claiming his maiden five-wicket haul (5 for 62) against Warwickshire. He began to regularly open the batting in 1907, alongside Alex Bowell. Mead scored 1,190 runs from 25 matches in 1907, but only managed to record a single century. In 1908, he played for a Hambledon XII in a commemorative first-class match against an England XI at Broadhalfpenny Down.
Test debut
Mead was prolific during the 1911 season, having dropped down to the upper-middle order. He scored over 2,562 runs at an average of 54.51 from 29 matches, making nine centuries. in addition to scoring a maiden double-century, an unbeaten 207 runs against Warwickshire in August, with Mead sharing in a 292 runs partnership for the third wicket with Alexander Johnston. The following month, whilst playing for the Players in the Gentlemen versus Players match at the Scarborough Festival in September, he made a second double-century (223 runs). He was Hampshire's leading run-scorer in the County Championship that season, with 1,706 runs at an average of 58.82. Overall, he ranked fourth behind Tom Hayward, Jack Sharp and David Denton, despite Mead having played at least ten fewer innings than them. his form led him to be selected for the MCC's 1911–12 tour of Australia. Under the captaincy of Plum Warner, it was considered the strongest touring team that had been sent to Australia at the time. being dismissed for a 16–ball duck by H. V. Hordern in his first Test innings. He played in all five Test matches, but had success only in the Third Test at Adelaide, where he shared in a partnership of 63 runs for the fifth wicket with Jack Hobbs, with Mead's contribution being 46 runs. Warner's hostility toward Mead, which remained for the rest of his career, was attributed to Mead's status as a professional batsman, when traditionally it was amateurs that batted and professionals that bowled. In his first match of the season, Mead had played for The Rest against England in the Test trial match at The Oval in early May. He did not have success in the match, making scores of 1 and 17. Later in May, he played for the MCC against the Australians and for The Rest against the MCC Australian Touring Team, whilst in overall first-class cricket he topped the national batting averages in that year. In the series, which England won 4–0, Mead was said to have "scored solidly", in the Test matches, his average of exactly 54 was second to Hobbs' 63.28. In the 1914 season, which was truncated in August by the outbreak of the First World War, Mead and Hampshire had success. their highest championship finish to that point, with Wisden describing Mead as 'a tower of strength' in the Hampshire batting order. Mead was rejected from active service during the conflict because of varicose veins, along with other medical issues. During the war, he played for Frank Hopkins Hampshire Club and Ground team against a Royal Garrison Artillery team.
Post-war career
After the conclusion of the war, Mead returned to a Hampshire team that had been greatly weakened by the deaths of several pre-war players in the conflict. Upon the resumption of first-class cricket in 1919, Mead began the season by hitting an unbeaten 91 against the Australian Imperial Forces at Southampton. Across the season, his 23 matches yielded him 1,720 runs at an average of 55.48, topping Hampshire's batting averages, In November 1919, the Hampshire committee afforded Mead a benefit for the following season. In 1920, Mead scored 1,887 runs at an average of 49.65 from 24 matches, making six centuries. In the same year, he shared in a Hampshire record partnership for the fourth wicket of 259 runs with Lionel Tennyson. However, he was ruled out of playing in the Test having injured his hand three days prior in a County Championship match against Lancashire. He was subsequently recalled for the Third Test in place of Patsy Hendren, though despite his selection, he did not play in the final eleven. Up to that point in the series, the Australian fast bowlers Jack Gregory and Ted McDonald had dominated the English batsmen, establishing a 3–0 lead for the Australians. Picked in the team for the drawn Fourth Test at Old Trafford, Mead made 47 runs in his only innings. In the Fifth Test at the Oval, Mead made an unbeaten 182 runs in England's first innings total of 403 for 8 declared. His innings, which spanned over five hours, was described as one of "non-stop defence". Mead was bemused by Hampshire's collapse, commenting "nobody bowled me anything I couldn't play in the middle". He was chosen for the winter tour to South Africa, playing in all five Test matches during the series, He made a half century (66 runs) in the Fifth Test, also played at Durban, and finished the Test series as England's second leading run-scorer with 392 runs, behind Jack Russell's aggregate of 436 runs.
Mead ended the 1923 season second in the national first-class averages, behind Hendren. Mead scored over two-thousand runs in 1926, with 2,326 at an average of 62.86, making ten centuries. Mead achieved the best batting average of his career (74.53) in 1927, having scored 2,385 runs and made eight centuries, During the season, he again established a record partnership for Hampshire, this time alongside George Brown for the third wicket against Yorkshire, with the pair putting on 344 runs; The season was notable for Mead scoring his 100th first-class century, a feat achieved against Northamptonshire at Kettering; in recognition of his achievement, Mead was presented with a cheque for 7,613 shillings and a gold watch. He was the first left-hander and the fourth batsman overall to reach the landmark. His highest score on the tour (151 runs) came in the second innings of the third match, with Mead having been absent ill during the first innings.
Final Test and later first-class career
thumb|left|Phil Mead (second from right) walks out to field in his final Test match, played at [[Brisbane Showgrounds|Brisbane in 1928|alt=Black and white photograph of a cricket team]]
Far from declining as he aged, as some had expected, It was noted by the Hampshire Telegraph that Hampshire's batting was inconsistent throughout the season, with Mead being the "only batsman who can be relied upon to tackle the opposing attack". On the back of his form, and at the recommendation of Hobbs, he earned a Test recall at the age of 40 when he was selected for the MCC winter tour of Australia. Mead played in the First Test match at Brisbane, limiting his appearances that season to 21; despite this, he managed to score 1,733 runs and average 55.90. In January 1930, the Hampshire committee afforded Mead a second benefit match, against Gloucestershire in June of the forthcoming season. His form declined substantially in 1930, when his average dropped to 29.65, His form again declined in 1932, when his average dropped to 30.25 from 27 matches. in a period when regular captain Lord Tennyson's unavailability led to several players deputising for him.
Mead had further success in 1934, scoring 2,011 runs at an average of 52.92 from 29 matches. His average dropped to 38.37 from 30 matches in 1935, before dropping further in 1936 to 33.05 from 26 matches. In contrast to how many retiring professionals of the time were treated, the Hampshire committee decided to pay Mead a wage until September 1937. and was re-engaged in March 1938. He debuted in minor counties cricket for Suffolk in the 1938 Minor Counties Championship against the Surrey Second XI at Ipswich School. He played minor counties cricket for Suffolk until 1939, making eleven appearances in the Minor Counties Championship. He topped Suffolk's batting averages in both seasons, averaging 76.80 in 1938 and 71.28 in 1939, placing him second overall in the national minor counties averages for 1939. Having finished in third-place in 1939, their best finish for several years,
Playing style and statistics
When preparing to face a bowler, Mead was known for his thorough routine and predictable mannerisms, with Arlott describing how having got to the crease with his "rolling, self-reliant" walk, he took guard, twirled his bat, tapped his bat in the crease and took several shuffling steps up to it. Before every ball he would tug his cap. His crouch when preparing to face a delivery was said by Wisden to make his batting look less pleasing on the eye, when compared to peers like Woolley. during his career, he scored four centuries before lunch, demonstrating his ability to score runs quickly.
Mead relied upon good timing of the ball, and was a strong driver of the ball on both the leg-side and off-side, making use of his long arms to reach for the ball and punish any wayward delivery. Only Hobbs (61,760), Woolley (58,959), and Hendren (57,611) have scored more. He made over a thousand runs in each season that he played, except for 1905, when he was completing his residency qualification; of these, he scored two thousand runs in a season on nine occasions and three thousand twice. Alongside his 153 centuries, he also made 258 half centuries. For Hampshire, Mead made 700 first-class appearances, a record for the county. He scored 48,892 runs for Hampshire, which is the most runs any batsman has scored for a first-class team. His 138 centuries for Hampshire is more than twice the number of Roy Marshall (60), who has the second highest number of centuries for the county. In addition to playing for Hampshire, Mead played a significant number of matches for the MCC (47), scoring 2,177 runs, and for the Players (18), scoring 988 runs.
Early in his career, Mead was utilised as a change bowler. A man of large build, Wisden remarked how despite this he was a nimble slip fielder. After going blind he encountered financial difficulties and received assistance from a fund raised by Herbert Sutcliffe for Mead and Len Braund, that had raised £4,400 by December 1946. He was elected an honorary life member of the MCC in 1949. following an operation for internal bleeding.