Catalogue for the auction of
Cricket, Wisden Cricketers’ Almanacks,
Football & Sporting Memorabilia
Held on Friday, Saturday & Sunday
22nd, 23rd & 24th March 2024
Lot 446
Estimate: £500/800
Hammer: £450
Charles Phillip Mead. Hampshire & England 1905-1936.Gunn & Moore ‘Autograph’ cricket bat used by Mead in the cricket season of 1934 to make centuries against the Australians at Southampton and Yorkshire at Bournemouth. The bat has the handwritten ink inscription to the face which states ‘With this bat I scored 139 v Australians [and] 123 v Yorkshire and signed and dated Phil Mead 1934’ , to the lower part of the bat is written ‘C.P. Mead. Born March 9th 1887. Hampshire C.C.C’. Also signed to the shoulder of the bat by Mead. Tape to the lower middle of the bat, the rubber handle has perished otherwise in good condition. The top of the bat handle has a stamped ‘left hand’, Mead was left handed. The bat was bought by the vendor at auction in 2013
Phil Mead was one of the greatest technical batsman know. He scored over 55,000 in his career and made a total of 153 centuries. He played only 17 Test matches and he averaged nearly 50. Mead is wrong with the score he made against Yorkshire, he did actually make 120 no and not 123