Born in Nottingham and educated at West Bridgford Comprehensive, Stephen John Randall represented Nottinghamshire at every level from Under 11s onwards. In his young days he was a batsman and seam bowler but under the guidance of Eddie Hemmings he developed as an off spinner, very much in the mould of the former England Test player.
His club cricket before he came on the Notts Playing Staff in 1999 was for Caythorpe. Randall had made his debut for the Seconds in 1997 and in 1998 took 30 wickets at 23.13, including an impressive 5-18 v Surrey at Oxted. His first-class debut came in 1999, when he played in three Championship matches; in 2000, he was again successful with the Seconds, taking 39 wickets at a reasonable cost.
He made a few First Team appearances in 2001 both in First-Class and Sunday League matches, but his wickets in the Seconds were more expensive than before. 2002 saw him play in the majority of Sunday League games. His bowling proved economical but not sufficiently effective in terms of wickets taken.
With the appearance of MacGill and Pietersen’s off-spin his opportunities for First Team cricket diminished and after 2002 he moved back to club cricket.
Stephen Randall appeared for Retford in the Bassetlaw League in 2003, helping the club win that title and promotion to the Premier League. In 2004, he was the Premier League leading all-rounder and he has since returned to his first club, Caythorpe. He holds the record of having represented the most clubs in the Notinghamshire Premier League, the eight being: Unity Casuals, Southwell, Balderton, Retford, Welbeck, Cuckney, Caythorpe and Farnsfield.
April 2020
Nottinghamshire First-Class Number: 551
See Stephen Randall's career stats here