Richard Mayes (7 October 1922 – 10 July 2013), known as Dicky Mayes, was an English professional cricketer who played 80 first-class cricket matches for Kent County Cricket Club between 1947 and 1953. Mayes, who was considered a stylish batsman, later coached cricket and played for Suffolk County Cricket Club. He had served in World War II.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Richard Mayes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1922-10-07)7 October 1922 Littlebourne, Kent | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 10 July 2013(2013-07-10) (aged 90) Woolverstone, Suffolk | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relations | Brian Mayes (son) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1947–1953 | Kent | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1957–1963 | Suffolk | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FC debut | 11 June 1947 Kent v Northants | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last FC | 5 August 1953 Kent v Middlesex | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source: CricInfo, 2 June 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mayes was born at Littlebourne in Kent and joined the Kent staff at Canterbury in 1939.[1][2] He played once for the county Second XI before the outbreak of World War II later in the year.[3] Initially primarily a leg spin bowler, he returned to the game after serving in North Africa during the war as a batsman, partially as a result of playing cricket on hard pitches in Egypt his service.[2]
Mayes made his first-class cricket debut in 1947 against Northants at Gravesend. He played for the county First XI for the next seven seasons, making a total of 80 appearances for the side in first-class matches. His best seasons were in 1951, when he scored 719 runs, which he bettered the following season when he made 934.[upper-alpha 1][2][4] He scored four centuries for Kent at First XI level, making his first, a score of 133 against Hampshire, in 1951 before scoring three the following season, including his highest score of 134 against Sussex at Tunbridge Wells,[2][4][5] during which he and Bill Murray-Wood set a record for the sixth-wicket at the ground which stood until 2010.[6] He was awarded his county cap in 1952.[5]
Although he was a "prolific scorer of runs" at Second XI level and considered a "stylish right-handed batsman",[4] Mayes was considered a "bad starter" and he made 23 ducks during his career.[2] He was released by Kent at the end of the 1953 season.[4] He went on to become coach and groundsman at Woolverstone Hall School near Ipswich in Suffolk from 1957 to 1987 where he coached future England international Graham Barlow when he was a pupil at the school.[4][5] He played for Suffolk County Cricket Club in the Minor Counties Championship between 1957 and 1963, making 57 appearances for the county and scoring 729 runs in 1959, at that point a record total for the county in a single season.[7]
As well as cricket, Mayes played football semi-professionally for Ramsgate Town between 1947 and 1951 and for Canterbury City F.C.[5][7]
Mayes lived in Chelmondiston in Suffolk after his retirement with his wife Violet. One of their sons, Brian, also played cricket for Suffolk.[7] Mayes died in Suffolk in July 2013 aged 90.[1][4][5]