Former Kent keeper Nicholls dies aged 64

David Nicholls, the former Kent wicketkeeper, has died aged 64.

He came from a long line of Kent wicketkeepers but had the misfortune that his career coincided with one of the greatest of them, Alan Knott. Nevertheless, he got plenty of chances when Knott was on Test duty and never let his county down.

Norfolk born but Gravesend educated, Nicholls, a solid and aggressive left-hand batsman, made his county debut in 1960 aged only 16, and over the next 21 seasons he played more than 200 times for Kent. He was at his happiest taking the attack to quick bowlers but struggled more against spin.

His early career promised much. He made 211 against Derbyshire in 1963 but never quite had the opportunity to do more until Knott became an England regular at the end of the 1960s. In 1971 he had his best summer, scoring exactly 1000 runs, but towards the end of the decade he lost his place to Paul Downton, retiring after a benefit season in 1980.

In 202 first-class matches, all but one for Kent, he scored 7072 runs at 22 and claimed 326 catches alongside 13 stumpings.

Derek Ufton, the former Kent president, said: "It was a pleasure to have David around the place. I was captain of the second team when he joined the staff. He made his debut and then quickly progressed through to the first-team.

"His career highlight was the 211 he scored against Derbyshire. It was a great innings from a talented player. He will be sadly missed by so many."