10:10am Sunday 25th July 2010
SOMERSET’s second highest ever run scorer Peter Wight was back at the County Ground on Sunday to watch the T20 game against Kent and during the interval he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Between 1953 and 1965 the right hand batsman played in 321 first class matches for the Cidermen in which he scored a total of 16965 runs at an average of 32.75. He scored 27 centuries with a highest score of 222 not out against Kent at Taunton in 1959.
Now a very sprightly and trim 80-year-old Peter, who was born in British Guyana, explained how he came to play for Somerset.
“I had just arrived from the West Indies, from British Guyana that was, and played as an amateur in the Central Lancashire League.
“I came down to have a two week holiday with my sister at Woolavington near Bridgwater and Bill, my brother in law, said why didn’t I go and have a trial with Somerset. Hetook me to the Coutny Ground but it rained for the whole of the first day I was there.
“The coach asked me to come back the next day and I said that I would try but it might be a bit difficult because I had to travel by bus. I did come back though and within five minutes of watching me batting in the nets he brought me out a contract – which at first I didn’t accept.”
“However, soon after that he asked me to play for the second XI in a match against Gloucestershire and after that he asked me to play against Australia.”
“I bagged it in the first innings but then I got a hundred not out in the second and that was the start of it.”
Wight is very proud to have been inducted into the Hall of Fame: “It’s an honour to have been made a member of the Somerset Hall of Fame, which I don’t think I deserve but I am very willing to accept it. I enjoyed the time that I was here and unfortunately I couldn’t go on forever but I had a great time and loved every moment. The Somerset crowd were magnificent then and they still are today.”
Wight also talked about some of the changes that have taken place since he first started.
“Compared to the way things were when I first arrived here in the 1950’s I can’t recognise the place, the changes are unbelievable.
“In fact it’s 15 years since I last umpired here and I don’t recognise it even from then, but it is absolutely marvellous what has happened. Despite all of the changes the County Ground has still got that same atmosphere.
“Its been wonderful to be back here and I have been amazed by the number of former players including Roy Smith, Mervyn Kitchen and Roy Kerslake. A lot of other people have recognised me and come up to say hello.
“I have just got so many fond memories of the place. I remember when I first started that they had the dog track surrounding the ground here and then there was Cecil Buttle the groundsman who used to look after us.”
He continued: “When I played we changed over in the Old Pavilion where there wasn’t any heat so we were always trying to keep warm and there were splinters in the floorboards.
“We had to travel by train to away matches and sometimes you wouldn’t arrive in a place until two or three o’clock in the morning and then have to go out and field all day.”
During his time on the staff Peter Wight lived in Taunton but after he left he moved to Bath where he opened an indoor cricket school in addition to spending 29 years on the first class umpires list until he retired in 1995.
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