Somerset County Cricket Club in 1948

County cricket had sojourned during the Second World War, and only returned in 1946. Most of the players had seen war service in some form or another, and very few of them had played much cricket of any form, which resulted in a temporary drop in quality. As most of the players were the same as those from before the war, it also meant that the average age of a county cricketer was higher than usual.^[3] The social change that was occurring all around Great Britain also had an effect on county cricket, and at Somerset it resulted in their professional players gathering together to ask for better playing conditions and greater pay. Despite these changes, and the relative weakness of amateur players in comparison to the professionals, Somerset, as like many other counties, insisted on naming amateurs as captains.^[3] In 1946, Bunty Longrigg, who had captained Somerset before the war had resumed his duties, but he retired at the end of the season as was replaced by Jack Meyer for 1947. Meyer had reluctantly agreed to captain the side in the absence of any other candidates, but stepped down at the end of his single season, citing his fading eyesight and lumbago.^[4]

As a result of Meyer's resignation, the Somerset committee was once more required to recruit a captain for the following season. Still limiting themselves by requiring an amateur to take on the role—Somerset would not appoint a professional captain until 1956—^[6] the committee found that there was no player "of a suitable pedigree who could make himself available for the whole summer."^[7] So, with no single candidate suitable, the Somerset committee announced that the club would be captained by three players; first by Mandy Mitchell-Innes and then by Jake Seamer during their respective periods of leave from the Sudan Political Service. Once both of these had returned to their duties, George Woodhouse would take over.^[5] In his history of Somerset County Cricket Club, Peter Roebuck describes the situation as a "remarkable state of affairs",^[5] while David Foot suggests that the true number of captains was closer to seven.^[7]

The following players made at least one appearance for Somerset in first-class matches. Age given is at the start of Somerset's first match of the season (5 May 1948).

Key

• † denotes that the player appeared as a wicket-keeper for Somerset in 1948
• Apps denotes the number of appearances made by the player for Somerset in 1948
• Ref denotes the reference for the player details

Name	Nationality	Birth date	Batting style	Bowling style	Apps	Ref
Les Angell	England	(1922-06-29)29 June 1922 (aged 25)	Right-handed	—	2	[8]
John Barnwell	England	(1914-06-23)23 June 1914 (aged 33)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium	1	[9]
Paddy Bucklan	England	(1916-09-24)24 September 1916 (aged 31)	Left-handed	Left-arm fast-medium	1	[10]
Bertie Buse	England	(1910-08-05)5 August 1910 (aged 37)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium	28	[11]
Fred Castle	England	(1909-04-08)8 April 1909 (aged 39)	Right-handed	Right-arm leg break	5	[12]
Miles Coope	England	(1916-11-28)28 November 1916 (aged 31)	Right-handed	Right-arm leg break	29	[13]
Harold Gimblett	England	(1914-10-19)19 October 1914 (aged 33)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium	23	[14]
Peter Graham	England	(1920-12-27)27 December 1920 (aged 27)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast	6	[15]
Horace Hazell	England	(1909-09-30)30 September 1909 (aged 38)	Left-handed	Left-arm orthodox spin	29	[16]
Eric Hill	England	(1923-07-09)9 July 1923 (aged 24)	Right-handed	—	22	[17]
Trevor Jones	England	(1920-04-09)9 April 1920 (aged 28)	Right-handed	Right-arm leg break	2	[18]
George Langdale	England	(1916-03-11)11 March 1916 (aged 32)	Left-handed	Right-arm off break	4	[19]
Johnny Lawrence	England	(1911-03-29)29 March 1911 (aged 37)	Right-handed	Right-arm leg break and googly	24	[20]
Wally Luckes †	England	(1901-01-01)1 January 1901 (aged 47)	Right-handed	—	27	[21]
Jack Meyer	England	(1905-03-15)15 March 1905 (aged 43)	Right-handed	Right-arm slow-medium	2	[22]
Mandy Mitchell-Innes (captain)	England	(1914-09-07)7 September 1914 (aged 33)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium	5	[23]
Jim Redman	England	(1926-03-01)1 March 1926 (aged 22)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast-medium	2	[24]
Stuart Rogers	England	(1923-03-18)18 March 1923 (aged 25)	Right-handed	—	7	[25]
Jake Seamer (captain)	England	(1913-06-23)23 June 1913 (aged 34)	Right-handed	Right-arm leg break and googly	11	[26]
Harold Stephenson †	England	(1920-07-18)18 July 1920 (aged 27)	Right-handed	—	8	[27]
Michael Sutton	England	(1921-03-29)29 March 1921 (aged 27)	Right-handed	Right-arm off break	1	[28]
Maurice Tremlett	England	(1923-07-05)5 July 1923 (aged 24)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast-medium	28	[29]
Tony Vickery	England	(1925-08-26)26 August 1925 (aged 22)	Right-handed	—	3	[30]
Micky Walford	England	(1915-11-27)27 November 1915 (aged 32)	Right-handed	Left-arm orthodox spin	4	[31]
Hugh Watts	England	(1922-03-04)4 March 1922 (aged 26)	Left-handed	Right-arm leg break	10	[32]
Arthur Wellard	England	(1902-04-08)8 April 1902 (aged 46)	Right-handed	Right-arm off break, Right-arm fast-medium	21	[33]
George Woodhouse (captain)	England	(1924-02-15)15 February 1924 (aged 24)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium	14	[34]
Compiled from County Championship batting statistics,[1] and three other matches, against Glamorgan,[35] Oxford University,[36] and the Australians.[37]

Note: Pld = Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, LWF = Lost but won on 1st innings, DW1 = Won on 1st innings in drawn match played under 1-day rules, DL1 = Lost on 1st innings in drawn match played under 1-day rules, DWF = Won on 1st innings in drawn match, DLF = Lost on 1st innings in drawn match, ND = No Decision on 1st innings, Pts = Points, (C) = Champions.