Danny Kelleher

Daniel John Michael Kelleher - who was born on May 5th, 1966, in Southwark, London, England - was an English cricketer.  The son of John Kelleher and his wife, and the nephew of Harry Kelleher - who had played cricket for Surrey and Northamptonshire in the 1950s - Danny Kelleher was educated at St. Mary's Grammar School in Sidcup and at Erith College of Technology.  He represented Kent Schools at both rugby and cricket, and toured British Columbia with Kent Under-17s in 1983.  Kelleher was talent-spotted whilst playing at Dartford Cricket Club, joining Kent in 1985, and making his first-team debut two years later.  A popular and exuberant medium-fast bowler, Kelleher had a highly-promising first season, topping Kent's bowling  averages in 1987 with 34 wickets at an excellent average of 25.82.  That season, he took the only two five-wicket hauls of his career: 5 for 76 against Surrey at Tunbridge Wells, and a career-best 6 for 109 against Somerset at Bath.  In 1988, Kelleher scored a 42-ball 50 against the touring West Indians, with four sixes and five fours.  The following summer, 1989, he attained his highest first-class score: 53 not out against Derbyshire at Dartford.  However, as injuries began to affect his form, Kelleher found himself in and out of the side, and he was released by Kent at the end of the 1991 season.  Surrey signed him on a match-only contract the following summer, but he was unable to break into their side, and was released in 1993 having made no first-team appearances in two years.  Around this time, his girlfriend, an actress, also walked-out on him.  In 34 first-class matches, Keller scored 565 runs at an average of 15.27, with two 50s, and took 77 wickets at an average of 32.89.  In 31 List A (Limited-overs) matches, he scored 91 runs at 9.10, and took 22 wickets at 41.81.  Kelleher found a post coaching cricket in Argentina in 1994, but was unhappy there, and returned to England for the final time for a Christmas family gathering that year.  From there onwards, Kelleher's life began to gradually decline.  He wrote to several counties asking for a trial, but received no offers, although he did play a few second-team games for Glamorgan.  Kelleher's father said: "He became more depressed and anti-social, and developed a bit of a drink problem... He was a shy lad, who hid it under an extrovert bravado."  During 1995, Kelleher was prescribed anti-depressant tablets, and began to withdraw from his family, keeping himself to himself, and often not returning phone calls.  He made two suicide attempts, described by his father as, "Nothing more than cries for help".  On December 12th, 1995, having not seen his son for a while, John Kelleher went round to Danny's flat in Barnehurst, south-east London, only to come across his dead body, with bottles of alcohol and pills, and a suicide note, nearby.  Kelleher had killed himself by taking an overdose of Prozac.  Grahame Clinton, Kelleher's former coach at Surrey, later said: "Danny was a talented boy who always gave 100% on the field.  But he was also idle, and not prepared to put in the effort when he was not playing."  Clinton went on to say that he thought that most county clubs cared little about their former players.  Danny Kelleher was just 29 years old.

Albert Trott

Albert Edwin Trott - who was born on February 6th, 1873, in Abbotsford, Victoria, Australia - was an Australian cricketer, who had the unusual distinction of playing international cricket for both Australia and England.  One of eight children of Adolphus and Mary-Ann Trott, Albert's older brother, Harry, also played Test cricket for Australia.  A keen and determined cricketer from a young age, after only three first-class games for Victoria, Trott made his debut for Australia in the Third Test against England at Adelaide in 1895.  Playing with his brother Harry, and batting at number ten, Trott scored 110 runs without being dismissed in this match, whilst also taking 8 for 43 in England's second innings.  At the end of this series, which England won 3-2, Trott's Test batting average stood at 102.5, making it surprising he was not selected for the 1896 tour of England under the captainship of his brother, Harry.  Instead, Trott sailed to England independently, playing for M.C.C. from 1896, and for Middlesex from 1898.  In late 1896, he briefly returned to Australia, where he married 21-year-old Jessie Rice in 1897, before settling with her in England permanently.  In 1898, Trott became the leading wicket-taker in England, and in 1899 was one of Wisden's cricketers of the year after achieving the double of 200 wickets and 1,000 runs in the season.  Between December, 1898, and April, 1899, Trott played two matches for England against South Africa in South Africa which were retrospectively awarded Test status.  In those games, he scored 23 runs at 5.75, and took 17 wickets at 11.64.  When the Australians toured Britain in 1899, Trott, playing against them for M.C.C., achieved the feat for which he is still best-remembered: batting against Monty Noble, he hit a delivery over the Lord's pavilion and out of the ground, something not matched by any batsman since.  At this stage, Trott was considered the leading bowler in the world, and one of the top all-rounders, although he never played Test cricket again because both Australia and England both considered him, essentially, a foreigner.  He settled into a comfortable terraced house in Willesden, with his wife bearing him two daughters, Jessie and Mabel.  Trott's bowling quickly declined from its peak in 1899, when he took 239 wickets, to 1905, when he took only 62.  He drank heavily, and his weight increased rapidly, and he became known for his extramarital liaisons with women.  He had a brief renaissance in 1907, when, in his benefit match against Somerset, he took four wickets in four balls, and then took a hat-trick later in the same innings - the first time that two hat-tricks had been taken in the same first-class innings (and something that has only been achieved once since).  However, the subsequent early finish meant that the game only raised £800, leading Trott to comment that he had "bowled himself into the poorhouse".  Retiring in 2010, Trott took up umpiring, although by this time his wife had left him and returned to Australia with their children.  Trott himself left the family home, moving into lodgings.  In August of 1913, Trott received news that his father had entered an asylum, where he died that November.  His own health was also declining, as he developed dropsy, as well as a heart condition which was complicated by kidney pains.  In July of 1914, Trott's heart problems lead to him being hospitalised, but he discharged himself on July 28th.  On July 30th, he asked his landlady to bring him sleeping pills, but the chemist refused to supply them without a prescription.  Trott reportedly said, "I don't think I can get through another night", and proceeded to write his will on the back of a laundry ticket.  Following this, broke and broken, and wracked by days of pain, Albert Trott shot himself in the temple with a pistol at his lodgings in Harlesden, Middlesex, England.  He was 41 years old.       

Tom Allin

Thomas William Allin - who was born on November 27th, 1987, in Bideford, Devon, England - was an English cricketer who played for Warwickshire County Cricket Club.  The younger brother of Matthew Allin (who played two matches for Devon), and the son of Tony (who played cricket for Glamorgan in the 1970s) and Beverley Allin, Tom began playing for Bideford and North Devon Cricket Clubs, before signing for Warwickshire in 2008.  A right-arm fast-medium bowler, who also batted right-handed, he made his debut for Warwickshire on August 17th, 2011, in the Clydesdale Bank 40 against Surrey, where he scored 2 not out, and bowled two overs without taking a wicket.  He played his only first-class game against Middlesex, starting on May 8th, 2013, but he failed to score a run, and bowled 17 overs without taking a wicket.  These were Allin's only two first-team games for Warwickshire, and he was released prior to the 2014 season, but continued playing Minor Counties cricket for Devon, with his last appearance being against Shropshire in August of 2015.  He became involved in coaching Primary School sport in Barnstaple and Bideford, and was head of cricket at Shebbear College, as well as a coach at Bideford College.  In the winter, Allin played soccer for Northam Lions.  In early October of 2015, his brother was taken into hospital with a serious illness which caused Tom a lot of worry.  Later that same month, Tom was involved in a high-speed traffic collision near Clovelly, in which he suffered severe leg injuries.  He recovered well physically, but in early December he told a nurse that his mood was "up and down", and he was advised to seek support from anxiety and depression services, but he declined.  On January 4th, 2016, Allin was dropped off by a friend at around 7.30-8.00 p.m.; the friend found it "a bit unusual" that he said "bye" and gave her a "long hug" before departing.  Around 9 p.m. the same evening, Allin's body was seen by a motorist at the base of the A39 River Torridge Bridge in Bideford, Devon.  Resuscitation was attempted by passers-by, and then by emergency services, but to no avail.  Three suicide notes were found by police when his home was searched after his death.  All Hallows' Church in Woolsery, Devon, was packed for Allin's funeral service, with former England cricketers, Ian Bell, Jonathan Trott, and Ashley Giles, among the mourners.  Tom Allin was just 28 years old.

Arthur Woodcock

Arthur Woodcock - who was born on September 23rd, 1865, in Northampton, Northamptonshire, England - was an English cricketer.  When only a few months old, he moved to Leicestershire, where - as a right-arm fast bowler and a tailend batsman - he played 121 first-class matches for his adopted county between 1894 and 1908, as well as appearing for the short-lived London County Cricket Club in 1900. Woodcock's first engagement as a player was, in 1887, for Mitcham Cricket Club in Surrey.  His form there was so good that he was recommended as a cricket coach to Haverford College in Pennsylvania, U.S.A.; and he took up employment there between 1888 and 1894, continuing to play English County Cricket between July and September during these years.  In 1895, Woodcock became a member of the Lord's groundstaff, and during that season took 102 wickets at an average of just over 19 runs apiece; this was his most-successful season.  Woodcock was a poor batsman - averaging 8.31 over the course of his career, with a highest score of 62 against Lancashire at Old Trafford in 1898 - but was, during his prime in the late-1890s, considered the second-fastest bowler in England, shaded only by Charles Kortright.  In all, he took 548 wickets at an average of 22.28, with best figures of 9-28 against M.C.C. at Lord's in 1899.  As his county career wound down, he continued to play for M.C.C., and  also umpired some first-class matches in 1906. Woodcock was severely hampered by knee trouble during his later career; so much so that he was forced to drop out of the Leicestershire side in the 1903 season.  On May 14th, 1910, at Billesdon, Leicestershire, England, Arthur Woodcock committed suicide by "self-administered poison".  He was 44 years old.

Stuart Leary

Stuart Edward Leary - who was born on April 30th, 1933, in Green Point, Cape Town, South Africa - was a dual-code professional sportsman, who played soccer as a centre-forward, and cricket as an all-rounder.  Leary started his football career with Cape Town side, Clyde, before moving to English club, Charlton Athletic, in 1950, along with team-mate Eddie Firmani.  Making his debut in 1951, he became a prolific goalscorer, netting a record number of goals for the club: in total, Leary made 376 league appearances for Charlton, scoring 153 goals, until his departure for Queens Park Rangers in 1962.  At Q.P.R., he appeared in a further 94 league games, scoring 29 goals.  Leary played once for the England under-23 team in 1954, but was banned from playing for the full national team due to his foreign birthplace.  Leary had a parallel career as a county cricketer for Kent between 1951 and 1971.  A right-handed batsman, in first-class matches, he scored 16,517 runs at an average of 31.10, and took 146 wickets at an average of 33.80 with his leg-break bowling. Leary returned to South Africa after his sporting career ended.  Rumours circulated that he may have been homosexual, at a time when this was not widely accepted, particularly in sporting circles, although he had married, and then divorced, an older woman.  Fellow South African cricketer, Eddie Barlow, said that, at the time of Leary's death, he had, "...about five girlfriends on the go..."  In By His Own Hand, writer David Frith states that Leary had a fondness for resting his hand on a colleague's knee during team photographs; also, at the time of his death, three people who knew Leary apparently stated that he was concerned at the nationwide crackdown on juvenile vice, and that he was also worried he may have contracted the AIDS virus.  In 1985, Leary was replaced as coach of Western Province cricket team, and sometime thereafter began taking anti-depressant drugs.  Leary's body was found on Table Mountain near Cape Town on August 23rd, 1988. It was believed he committed suicide two days earlier, on August 21st, by throwing himself off a precipice.  He was 55 years old.

Mark Saxelby

Mark Saxelby was an English cricketer who was born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, on January 4th, 1969.  A tall left-handed batsman, who bowled right-arm medium-pace, Saxelby started his career with his native county, Nottinghamshire, where he enjoyed several successful seasons, often averaging in the mid-thirties as a batsman, although continual shoulder and back injuries gradually curtailed his bowling.  He then moved to Durham, where he scored 181 on his County Championship debut for his new team.  However, patchy form saw him drop down the batting order, and he soon moved into Minor Counties cricket, winning the MCC Trophy whilst playing for Cheshire in 1996. He played one game for Derbyshire in 2000.  After suffering from depression, Mark Saxelby died in the Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham, England, on October 12th, 2000, after ingesting weedkiller.  He was 31 years old.

Willie Llewelyn

William Dillwyn Llewelyn - who was born on April 1st, 1868, in Aberdulais, Glamorgan, Wales - was a Welsh cricketer, who played sixteen first-class matches for Oxford University between 1890 and 1891. An old Etonian, and the son of Sir John Dillwyn-Llewelyn and Caroline Julia Hicks-Beach, he played four further first-class matches, in 1893, for the Gentlemen of England and Marylebone Cricket Club, after his graduation from Oxford.  Llewelyn also became treasurer of Glamorgan County Cricket Club, then a second-class county side, in 1893.  Just a week before he was due to marry the daughter of Lord Dynevor, Llewelyn's body was found in woodland near his home in Penllergare House near Swansea.  He had shot himself in the head the previous day - August 24th, 1893.  Willie Llewelyn was just 25 years old.

Peter Roebuck

Peter Michael Roebuck was an English cricketer, who was born in Oddington, Oxfordshire, England, on March 6th, 1956.  One of six children, his younger brother Paul played 22 first-class matches for Cambridge University, Gloucestershire, and Glamorgan.  Peter played, mostly-notably, for Somerset County Cricket Club between 1974 and 1991, a team he also captained.  Mainly used as an opening batsman, Roebuck played a total of 335 first-class matches for Somerset, scoring 17,558 runs at an average of 37.27 with 33 centuries and a highest score of 221 not out.  He also took 72 wickets at an average of 49.16 with his spin bowling.  In 298 one-day games, he scored 7,244 runs at 29.81, and took 51 wickets at 25,09.  Captaining Somerset for two seasons between 1986 and 1988, Roebuck became a controversial figure when he was instrumental in terminating the contracts of the county's two overseas stars, Joel Garner and Viv Richards.  The ensuing rumpus resulted in star all-rounder Ian Botham leaving the club for Worcestershire.  In 1988, Roebuck was one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year.  Whilst working as a commentator in South Africa in 1999, Roebuck met three young black cricketers, offering to coach them whilst they lived at his home in England.  He warned them beforehand that he would use corporal punishment if they broke his "house rules".  He caned all three 19-year-old men at different times on their clothed buttocks for misbehaviour, and in 2001 was given a suspended jail sentence for common assault.  After a ten-year spell playing Minor Counties cricket for Devon between 1992 and 2002, Roebuck moved to Australia, where he became a respected cricket writer and broadcaster.  He became an Australian citizen, and also owned a house in South Africa.  On November 12th, 2011, Roebuck was visiting South Africa to report on a cricket match, when police arrived at his hotel, desiring to speak to him about an alleged sexual assault on a 26-year-old Zimbabwean man.  Roebuck then returned to his hotel room, where he jumped from his sixth-floor balcony.  He subsequently died from severe head injuries.  He was 55 years old.

David Bairstow

David Leslie Bairstow was an English cricketer, and, briefly, a professional footballer.  Born in Horton, Bradford, Yorkshire, on September 1st, 1951, Bairstow was primarily a wicketkeeper and a middle-order batsman, although he occasionally bowled medium-pace.  Bairstow made his debut for Yorkshire in a County Championship match against Gloucestershire at Park Avenue on June 3rd, 1970, taking an 'A'-level at 6 a.m. that day to enable him to play in the game.  He had a long and successful cricket career, playing for Yorkshire County Cricket Club for 21 seasons until 1990, captaining the side for three of them.  He scored 13,961 first-class runs at an average of  26.44, taking 961 catches and making 138 stumpings behind the timbers, and even chipping in with 9 wickets at an average of 34.22.  Bairstow made his England debut in a One-Day International against Australia in Melbourne in January, 1979.  Later that year, he made his Test debut against India at The Oval.  Overall, he played 21 O.D.I.s and 4 Test Matches for England.  Bairstow also had a short career as a footballer for Bradford City, playing 17 games as a forward and scoring one goal between 1971 and 1973.  He was married twice, first to Gail (whom he nicknamed 'Stormy'), who bore him one son, Andrew, who briefly played first-class cricket for Derbyshire.  Divorcing Gail, he married Janet, who bore him two children: Becky, and Jonny - who went on to play cricket for Yorkshire and England.  Bairstow later had a second career as a cricket commentator, but began to become dejected after his wife developed breast cancer.  Heated confrontations with Yorkshire C.C.C. officials, financial worries, and a drink-driving charge hanging over him, all exacerbated his problems, for which he saw both his own doctor and a consultant psychiatrist. Suffering from depression, he took an overdose of tablets in late 1997.  A few weeks later - on January 5th, 1998 - David Bairstow hanged himself at his home in Marton-cum-Grafton, Yorkshire.  He was 46 years old.