Ken Palmer

Background

He was born in Winchester, Hampshire.

Career

Palmer played one Test. Because of injuries to other bowlers (John Price, David Brown and Tom Cartwright), he was called up while coaching in Johannesburg to play in the fifth Test at Portuguese Elizabeth, on the 1964-1965 England tour of South Africa. lieutenant was a poor debut on a pitch made for batting, and Palmer"s one wicket cost 189 runs, which meant his bowling average is the second worst in England"s Test history (after John Warr).

Palmer was appointed as an umpire in 1972, and made his international debut in the England versus Pakistan Test in June 1978.

Achievements

• A reliable all-rounder for Somerset between 1955 and 1969, Palmer was a right-handed middle-order batsman and fast-medium bowler with a whippy action, whose best season was 1961, when he achieved the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets.