| Derek Semmence | |
| Country: | England |
| Fullname: | Derek John Semmence |
| Nickname: | Semmo |
| Birth Date: | 20 April 1938 |
| Birth Place: | Worthing, Sussex, England |
| Batting: | Right-handed |
| Bowling: | Right-arm medium |
| Club7: | Cambridgeshire |
| Year7: | 1976 |
| Club6: | Northumberland |
| Year6: | 1973–1974 |
| Club5: | Sussex |
| Year5: | 1967–1968 |
| Club4: | Devon |
| Year4: | 1964–1966 |
| Club3: | Essex |
| Year3: | 1962 |
| Club2: | Combined Services |
| Year2: | 1957–1958 |
| Club1: | Sussex |
| Year1: | 1956–1959 |
| Columns: | 1 |
| Column1: | First-class |
| Matches1: | 39 |
| Runs1: | 890 |
| Bat Avg1: | 14.59 |
| 100S/50S1: | 1/2 |
| Top Score1: | 108 |
| Deliveries1: | 156 |
| Wickets1: | 1 |
| Bowl Avg1: | 123.00 |
| Fivefor1: | 0 |
| Tenfor1: | 0 |
| Best Bowling1: | 1/43 |
| Catches/Stumpings1: | 24/– |
| Date: | 19 April |
| Year: | 2011 |
| Source: | http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/20107.html Cricinfo |
Derek John Semmence (20 April 1938 - 29 March 2020) was an English cricketer.[1] Semmence was a right-handed batsman who bowled right-arm medium pace. He was born in Worthing, Sussex.
Semmence made his first-class cricket debut for Sussex County Cricket Club against Warwickshire in the 1956 County Championship. He played first-class cricket for Sussex until 1959.[2] Semmence served in the Royal Air Force in his early years with Sussex, which in 1957 entitled him to play first-class cricket for the Combined Services, firstly against Surrey. He played two further matches for the Combined Services, one in 1957 against Worcestershire and another in 1958 against Warwickshire.[2] Having last played first-class cricket in 1958, Semmence made a single first-class appearance for Essex in 1962 against Oxford University.[3]
In 1964, he joined Devon, making his debut for the county in the 1964 Minor Counties Championship against Berkshire. He played Minor counties cricket for Devon until 1966, making nine appearances.[4] Semmence returned to Sussex in 1967, playing six first-class matches for the county from 1967 to 1968.[2] A somewhat inconsistent batsman at the first-class level, in 35 first-class matches for Sussex he scored 841 runs at a batting average of 15.57, with two half centuries and a single century high score of 108[5] against Nottinghamshire in his debut 1956 season.[6] Semmence was the youngest Sussex player to score a century for the county, a record which remains to this day.
Semmence later played Minor Counties Championship cricket for Northumberland from 1973 to 1974, making 24 appearances.[4] He played a single Minor Counties Championship match for Cambridgeshire in 1976 against Bedfordshire.[4] Semmence was the president of Worthing Cricket Club[7] and previously coached youth cricket for Rajasthan in India.[8]