Peter Wood by Nigel Stockley

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Player:

PG Wood

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DateLine: 27th January 2022

 

Former Rawtenstall captain Peter Wood has passed away suddenly in Australia at the age of 70.

 

One of the finest amateur batsmen to play in the Lancashire League, Wood held the record for most career runs until it was broken by Mike Ingham in 2003.

 

He hit 14951 runs at 34.0 with twelve centuries and 99 half centuries, making his debut at the age of sixteen in 1968 and retiring in 1996.

 

Wood's 1227 runs at 53.3, including an amateur record thirteen half centuries in 1991 remains the most in a season by an amateur batsman.

 

Twice Wood beat his own club batting record of 912 runs set in 1978 with 917 runs in 1980 and finally in 1991.

 

Six times he won the Lancashire League Senior Batting Award between 1974 and 1991.

 

He was a member of Rawtenstall's championship winning teams of 1976 and 1981 and of the Worsley Cup winning sides of 1976, 1985 and 1990.

 

Wood played a couple of John Player League games for Nottinghamshire in 1982 and he also played five times for Cumberland in 1982 and 1983.

 

He represented the Lancashire League on many occasions between 1974 and 1994 and he also appeared for the League Cricket Conference and Lancashire Cricket Association.

 

After a spell as professional at Walshaw in 1975, Wood took over as Rawtenstall captain from Keith French in 1977, leading the side until the end of the 1981 season and again in 1985 and 1986.

 

He joined Norden as professional in 1982 and moved to Blackburn Northern in the Ribblesdale League in 1983.

 

Wood spent two years in South Africa being named Natal’s ‘Most Promising Young Cricketer’ in 1969 before resuming his Lancashire League career in 1971.

 

During his career Wood faced some of the best bowlers in the world, taking on the likes of Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Allan Donald and Kapil Dev.