| Chick Cray | |
| Country: | England |
| Fullname: | Stanley James Cray |
| Nickname: | Chick |
| Birth Date: | 29 May 1921 |
| Birth Place: | Stratford, Essex, England |
| Death Place: | Torquay, Devon, England |
| Batting: | Right-handed |
| Club1: | Devon |
| Year1: | 1954 & 1957 |
| Club2: | Essex |
| Year2: | 1938–1950 |
| Columns: | 1 |
| Column1: | First-class |
| Matches1: | 102 |
| Runs1: | 4,218 |
| Bat Avg1: | 24.66 |
| 100S/50S1: | 7/17 |
| Top Score1: | 163 |
| Deliveries1: | 32 |
| Wickets1: | 1 |
| Bowl Avg1: | 40.00 |
| Fivefor1: | – |
| Tenfor1: | – |
| Best Bowling1: | 1/0 |
| Catches/Stumpings1: | 24/– |
| Date: | 20 April |
| Year: | 2011 |
| Source: | http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/10873.html Cricinfo |
Stanley James Cray (29 May 1921 – 10 October 2008) was an English cricketer. Cray was a right-handed batsman and known to fellow players as Chick. He was born in Stratford, Essex.
Cray made his first-class debut for Essex against Worcestershire in the 1938 County Championship. He became a regular in the Essex team in 1939, but the start of the Second World War abruptly ended his first-class career with Essex in its tracks.[1] Serving in the war, Cray served in the British Raj, while stationed there he played two first-class matches for a Services XI against an Indian XI and a Bengal Governor's XI, both in 1944.[1] Following the war, Cray returned to Essex, where he played first-class cricket once more from 1946 to 1950.[1] As well as his appearances for Essex and a Services XI, he also played a single first-class match for a combined Essex and Middlesex team against a combined Surrey and Kent team in 1947.[2] Cray was a member of the Essex team which tied with Northamptonshire in 1947, a match in which he scored a century in the Essex first-innings.[3]
In total he made 99 first-class appearances for the county, scoring 4,062 runs at a batting average of 24.46, with sixteen half centuries, seven centuries and a high score of 163.[4] His highest first-class score came against Nottinghamshire in 1950.[5] Cray passed 1,000 runs for a season twice, in 1947 and 1949.[6] Following the 1950 season, Cray coached in South Africa when out of the blue he received a phonecall informing him his services were no longer required by Essex.[7]
Following his release he played Minor Counties Championship cricket for Devon on two occasions, firstly in 1954 against the Surrey Second XI and secondly against Oxfordshire in 1957.[8] While in Devon he was the professional at Paignton Cricket Club. He retired fully from playing and coaching in 1961, following problems with a hand injury he had sustained in a car accident.[7] He had a number of jobs outside of cricket, including as a postman and a kitchen assistant.[7]
One of the last living cricketers to have played first-class cricket before the war, Cray died in Torquay, Devon on 10 October 2008.[7]