Mervyn Kitchen

Mervyn Kitchen was a home-grown, ruddy-faced Somerset lad who came through the junior ranks but had to serve his time in the 2nd XI despite performing well on his few first-team opportunities. A left-hand batsman who loved to play off the front foot, he finally secured a regular place in 1966 when he ended the season at the top of the county batting averages. In 1968 he moved from the middle to the top of the order, again topping the averages with five hundreds. But thereafter his form was spasmodic, and he missed much of 1974 and all of 1975 with injuries. He returned in 1976 before finally surrendering to his crumbling body and retiring in 1979. He was elevated to the first-class umpires list in 1982, standing in 20 Tests and 28 ODIs between 1983 and 2001. He retired from umpiring in 2005.
Martin Williamson (October 2005)