If your First-Class cricket career is going to consist of just a single match, there would be some satisfaction in spending your time on the same field as great West Indian players like Seymour Nurse, Wes Hall and Dave Holford – which is what happened to Cheshire all-rounder Robert Kelsall in 1969.
Kelsall, born on 29 June 1946 in Stockport, batted right-hand and bowled right-arm off breaks and played for Nottinghamshire’s Second XI from 1966-69, making the step up to the first team for that one match against a visiting side from Barbados. He batted just once – in partnership with yet another great West Indian servant Deryck Murray, keeping wicket for Notts in this game – for 8no and bowled three overs for six runs, taking the wicket of test cricketer Nurse, caught by Barry Stead, for 52.
Despite these reasonable figures, Kelsall did not appear again for Notts First XI, though he did continue with the Seconds that season, and returned to his native county of Cheshire. He played for them in the Minor Counties Championship throughout the 1970s.
His last recorded senior cricket was an away fixture against Northumberland at Jesmond that petered out to a rain-affected draw on 20 August 1979, exactly ten years to the day since his appearance against Barbados – he was dismissed by yet another international bowler and former Notts player, Indian left-armer Dilip Doshi.
June 2020
Nottinghamshire First-Class Number: 455