Career
A determined cricketer, he seemed to make runs and take wickets when most needed. In that season, he passed 1,000 runs for the first time at an average of over 40 runs per innings and made the first of what would be 24 first-class centuries. He passed 1,000 runs in each of the next three seasons, but in 1985, he was moved up the batting order to Number 4 and his batting moved up a notch.
He made 1,644 runs at an average of more than 56 runs per innings as Gloucestershire rose from the bottom of the County Championship table to challenge for the title.
After four more years, Bainbridge retired from Gloucestershire after the 1990 season to go into business, and became involved in the marketing side of the development of Durham as a first-class county. Having missed the entire 1991 season, he played in most of Durham"s first-class games in their two inaugural seasons and he topped both batting and bowling averages in 1993.
He was then made captain for 1994, and the side finished 16th, the first time it had not been bottom in the County Championship. But Bainbridge"s own form suffered, and he was replaced as captain for 1995 and retired finally from first-class cricket the following year.
