Mike Nurton made his debut for Oxfordshire in the 1963 Minor Counties Championship against Dorset. Nurton played Minor counties cricket for Oxfordshire from 1963 to 1990, which included 218 Minor Counties Championship matches. By the end of his Minor counties career with Oxfordshire, he had scored 12,713 runs in the Minor Counties Championship.

When and where did you start playing cricket?

I started playing cricket in the back garden with my father and brother. At eleven years of age I started at Abingdon School at the same time that Gerald Smithson (England, Yorks., Leicestershire) was appointed cricket coach and Tony Hillary (Cambridge Univ. and Berkshire) was my form master and master i/c cricket My father resurrected Boar’s Hill C.C. and I filled in when the team was short. Hence I was immersed in cricket from a young age.

What’s your earliest cricketing memory?

My earliest cricketing memory was being taken to Elmer Cotton in Turl Street in Oxford by my father to buy a new cricket bat. It was a Gradidge size 6 with Len Hutton’s autograph. My mother was cross that dad had spent £2.50 on the bat and lectured me how I should look after it! I still have a photograph of me in full cricket attire standing under the Walnut tree in our back garden.

Biggest influence on your career?

There were many influences on my career. As mentioned my father, Gerald Smithson, Tony Hillary and also Charlie Brooks. Charlie played for Berkshire (his dad had played as a wicket-keeper for Surrey and retired to run The Spread Eagle pub in Northcourt)) and Charlie played for the Berkshire Gents against the school each year. He convinced me to join Oxford City C.C. and insisted that I opened the batting at the age of sixteen. Oxford City C.C. had a very strong fixture list in those days.

Most memorable match you played in?

Many matches were memorable but the game at Poole Park against Dorset when Andrew Wingfield-Digby was timed out gained considerable coverage in the national press. It was chaos for a time because Phil Garner refused to continue the game until the issue was resolved. He seemed to be the only person to understand the law – the umpires certainly didn’t. Eventually the match was drawn but it was an exciting finish. Apparently Andrew Kennedy (ex Lancs.) who was the Dorset Captain refused to play for the county again.

Highlights of your playing days?

The highlights of my playing days were being selected for the minor counties representative side against Australia and New Zealand. I was later lucky enough to be invited to tour Kenya with the rep. side and later to captain the team on the tour to East Africa.

Best player you played against?

I have stated on numerous occasions that the best player I witnessed at first hand was Alvin Kallicharan. Viv Richards looked quite good when he first arrived at Somerset and played in a B & H game at Torquay! Of minor county players I would say Colin Lever (brother of Peter) who played for Bucks was an outstanding performer. He played for Chesham before moving north to play Lancashire League cricket in which he was hugely successful with both bat and ball. He topped averages in the league against many overseas international cricketers.

Favourite grounds where you have played?

There were many attractive grounds we played on but if I had to choose one it would be Torquay Cricket Club. We always toured the West Country in August and so a large crowd, often of holidaymakers, would assemble to watch a match. In those days Torquay was an attractive seaside resort with plenty of options for entertainment in the evenings. Barrie Matthews was captain of Devon for several years and owned a nightclub in the town. He was a very generous host and provided us with a meal and entertainment.

Team mate which made you laugh the most?

The most amusing team mate was Mike Smith who was the regular wicket-keeper when I started. He was an excellent ‘keeper but never took the game or life too seriously. Both on and off the field he was there to enjoy himself and encourage others to do the same. A happy go lucky character he loved gambling on fruit machines. He was also a bundle of energy from the time he arrived for a game until he went home – often late and after several beers.

What did you enjoy most about playing for Oxfordshire?

I enjoyed playing for Oxfordshire because I was given so much support and encouragement as a young man from the likes of Jo Banton, David Laitt, Keith Talboys, Mike Smith, Terry Strange and Tony Pickering. It was somewhat ironic that I was born at 21 St. Paul’s Crescent in Botley which was a stone’s throw from Oxford City’s ground on The Southern-by-Pass and was where Oxfordshire played most home games at that time. However the house I was born in was actually in the county of Berkshire as was the house I was brought up in Wootton. Later the boundaries were changed and both places were put in the county of Oxfordshire. Hence Oxfordshire had to use one of only two special registrations to allow me to play for the county. These were used sparingly and usually only used for talented cricketers moving into the area. It was a tricky decision to make because at the same time that I was asked to play for Oxfordshire I received an invitation to play the next three games for Berkshire. It was a decision I can honestly say I never regretted. The confusion also occurred later after boundary changes when Berkshire played a home game at Abingdon Cricket Club against Oxfordshire which was then in fact in the county of Oxfordshire.