Duncan Fearnley - bat maker to Ian Botham, Allan Border, Viv Richards, Sunil Gavaskar, Wasim Akram - dies at 83

When Graeme Hick made 405 not out against Somerset, Duncan Fearnley launched their 405 model. (Representational image from Joseph Janney Steinmetz Collection via Wikimedia Commons)

Duncan Fearnley died at 83 earlier today. Part of the squad when Worcestershire won their first two County Championship titles, in 1964 and 1965, the left-handed batter Fearnley made 3,294 runs from 97 first-class matches between 1962 and 1968.

He had a stint as Chair of Worcestershire County Cricket Club from 1986. During his twelve-year stint, they won the County Championship (twice), the Sunday League (twice), the Refuge Assurance Cup, the Benson & Hedges Cup, and the NatWest Trophy. He was also Worcestershire President from 2011 to 2013, and later an honorary Vice-President.

Yet, none of that is his greatest legacy.

In his early days, Fearnley had done an apprenticeship in the bat-manufacturing industry. With help from his father, he launched his brand of bats, Tudor Rose. Then came the stumps, characterised by the famous logo. In 1968, he opened a shop in Worcester of handmade bats.

The first major cricketer to use a Duncan Fearnley bat was John Snow. The fiery, flamboyant Snow, a world-class fast bowler, was not a batter of repute, but was a superstar of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

That opened the floodgates. Not only did Fearnley get English cricketers like Basil D’Oliveira, Dennis Amiss, David Steele, Allan Lamb, Ian Botham, and Graham Gooch, but he also signed up overseas stars like Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards (West Indies), Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri (India), Allan Border (Australia), Wasim Akram (Pakistan), Graeme Pollock (South Africa), and Bev Congdon (New Zealand).

In the 1980s, Graeme Hick moved from Zimbabwe to England and evolved as the next big thing in England cricket. He played for Fearnley’s beloved Worcestershire. When Hick made 405 not out against Somerset, Duncan Fearnley launched their 405 model. Of all their models, the Magnum remains arguably the most celebrated bat.

The man is no more, but the bat will continue to remain part of cricket for years to come.