| Peter Wight | |
| Country: | West Indies |
| Fullname: | Peter Bernard Wight |
| Birth Date: | 25 June 1930 |
| Birth Place: | Georgetown, British Guiana |
| Nickname: | Rajah[1] |
| Batting: | Right-handed |
| Bowling: | Right-arm offbreak |
| Role: | Batsman |
| Club1: | Somerset |
| Club2: | Canterbury |
| Year2: | 1963/64 |
| Club3: | British Guiana |
| Year3: | 1950/51 |
| Type1: | First-class |
| Debutdate1: | 10 March |
| Debutyear1: | 1951 |
| Debutfor1: | British Guiana |
| Debutagainst1: | Jamaica |
| Lastdate1: | 3 July |
| Lastyear1: | 1965 |
| Lastfor1: | Somerset |
| Lastagainst1: | Nottinghamshire |
| Columns: | 2 |
| Column1: | First-class |
| Matches1: | 333 |
| Runs1: | 17773 |
| Bat Avg1: | 33.09 |
| 100S/50S1: | 28/91 |
| Top Score1: | 222* |
| Deliveries1: | 4721 |
| Wickets1: | 68 |
| Bowl Avg1: | 33.26 |
| Fivefor1: | 1 |
| Tenfor1: | 0 |
| Best Bowling1: | 6/29 |
| Catches/Stumpings1: | 203/ |
| Column2: | List A |
| Matches2: | 6 |
| Runs2: | 56 |
| Bat Avg2: | 9.33 |
| 100S/50S2: | 0/0 |
| Top Score2: | 38 |
| Deliveries2: | – |
| Wickets2: | – |
| Bowl Avg2: | – |
| Fivefor2: | – |
| Tenfor2: | n/a |
| Best Bowling2: | –/– |
| Catches/Stumpings2: | –/– |
| Umpire: | true |
| Fcumpired: | 567 |
| Umpfcdebutyr: | 1966 |
| Umpfclastyr: | 1995 |
| Listaumpired: | 462 |
| Umplistadebutyr: | 1966 |
| Umplistalastyr: | 1995 |
| Date: | 16 February |
| Year: | 2010 |
| Source: | https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/3/3891/3891.html CricketArchive |
Peter Bernard Wight (25 June 1930 – 31 December 2015)[2] was a Guyanese first-class cricketer who played for Somerset, Canterbury and British Guiana. Wight was a prolific run scorer at the top of the order, scoring 16,965 runs during his thirteen years at Somerset; and at the time of his death only Harold Gimblett had made more runs for the county. After playing, he became an umpire in English first-class cricket, standing in matches from 1966 to 1995.
His family was a mix of Scottish and Portuguese blood with good cricketing talent. His cousin, Vibart Wight had represented the West Indies twice,[3] acting as vice-captain in the third Test against England in 1928.[1] His elder brother Leslie Wight also went on to play Test cricket for the West Indies,[4] while his other brothers represented British Guiana at cricket, hockey, tennis and soccer.[1]
Wight came to England at the age of 20, arriving on a cargo boat in 1951. The conditions in England came as a shock to him, with rationing and outside toilets still prevalent.[1] He had arrived in the country with the intention of studying engineering, but his employer in Burnley refused to release him, as promised, for his motor mechanic exams.[1] With this, he emigrated to Toronto before returning to Lancashire to work in a factory.[1]
In 1953, he was scoring runs for Burnley Cricket Club in the Lancashire League when his brother-in-law suggested he try out for Somerset. He impressed in the nets and was selected to play in a trial game, against the touring Australians. A shaky start saw him dismissed for a first-innings duck but he scored a century in the second-innings[5] and was offered a Somerset contract.[1]
Wight passed 1,000 runs in a season for the first of ten successive years during 1954; his first full season with the county, totalling 1,343 runs in 50 first-class innings.[6] The following year he made his maiden County Championship century, with 106 in the first innings of a nine wicket victory over Worcestershire.[7] The next three seasons proceeded in a similar fashion, with Wight scoring runs with an average fluctuating between the high twenties and low thirties, failing to make the big scores needed to boost it further.[6]
It was during the 1959 season that he truly established himself as one of the leading batsmen in English cricket, despite missing a number of games due to eye problems.[8] He finished the season with 1,874 runs,[8] and with the joint second highest batting average (of those playing more than 2 innings) in the County Championship, behind only M. J. K. Smith.[9] His career best score came also during this season, when he achieved 222 for Somerset against the visiting Kent at the County Ground, Taunton.[10]
When he was released by Somerset in 1965 he had scored 16,965 runs for the county.[11] After retiring he opened a cricket school in Bath and spent 30 summers as an umpire. He umpired 567 games in total and when added to his games as a player he holds the record for most first-class appearances in Post-War England.[1]