Alan Paul Pridgeon (born 22 February 1954) is a former English cricketer who played first-class and List A cricket for Worcestershire County Cricket Club, taking 530 first-class and 273 List A wickets for the county between the early 1970s and the late 1980s. He was capped by the county in 1980. He played football in the winters as a centre-half for Stourbridge F.C.^[1]

Career

Born at Wall Heath, Kingswinford, Staffordshire, he was educated at Summerhill Secondary Modern School.^[2]

After playing club cricket first for Himley, then in the Birmingham League for Stourbridge, he was offered a trial by Worcestershire.^[1] He made his first-class debut against Cambridge University at Fenner's in May 1972, though he had an unsuccessful match, taking no wickets and not batting in either innings.^[3] He had to wait until the middle of July to play again, bowling Barry Dudleston of Leicestershire to claim the first wicket of his career.^[1]

Pridgeon was given only occasional opportunities for the next three seasons, but in 1976 things turned his way: Brian Brain and Keith Wilkinson left the club, while Jim Cumbes spent the summer in the United States playing football.^[1] Pridgeon was rarely out of the first team during that famously hot summer. Indeed, his 1,200 deliveries in List A cricket were the most he sent down in any one season.^[4] In late May he claimed what was to remain his career-best bowling return in taking 7/35 against Oxford University, three further successes in the second innings bringing him his only ten-wicket match haul.^[5]

He dropped out of the side after the first half of 1977, but returned to play a full part in the 1978 season. In late July of that year, he achieved his best bowling performance in a one-day match, taking 6/26 against Surrey in the John Player League.^[6] At the time, this was the second-best return for Worcestershire in a List A game (behind Jack Flavell's 6/14 against Lancashire in 1963).^[7] However, in 1979 he was once again mainly a Second XI player.

From 1980, when he was capped, until 1984 Pridgeon commanded a regular place in the Worcestershire side. In 1983 he took 72 first-class wickets, the most he would manage in a single summer; he also topped 50 in 1978, 1980, 1981, 1984 and 1986. In 1984 he made his one half-century, hitting 67 against Warwickshire.^[8] However in 1985 his fortunes took a dramatic turn for the worse. Neal Radford had arrived from Lancashire, and he and Phil Newport were ahead of Pridgeon in the pecking order; he ended up playing just one first-class match (and that against Cambridge University) and no List A games at all.

Pridgeon bounced back in 1986 to play a full part in the season, but although he took a County Championship best of 7/44 against Leicestershire in 1987,^[9] his appearances gradually diminished as his career began to wind down. He did, however, take part in the county's Championship-winning seasons of 1988 and 1989, and in 1988 he took 30 List A wickets, his most of any year. In 1989, his final season of first-class cricket, he was awarded a benefit season in the latter year, which raised £154,720.^[1]

On leaving Worcestershire, Pridgeon took up a coaching role at Shrewsbury School.^[1] However, he continued to play cricket, turning out for Shropshire in 1991 and 1992 while playing at club level for Wroxeter.^[2] In June 1991 he made his sole List A appearance for them, playing (though taking no wickets) against Leicestershire in the NatWest Trophy.^[10]