John Manners (cricketer)

John Manners
Manners during the 1940s
Birth name	John Errol Manners
Born	(1914-09-25)25 September 1914[1] Exeter, Devon, England
Died	7 March 2020(2020-03-07) (aged 105) Newbury, Berkshire, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1932–1958
Rank	Lieutenant commander
Commands held	HMS Eskimo HMS Fame HMS Viceroy
Battles/wars	Second World War
Awards	Distinguished Service Cross Medal of Ushakov
Spouse(s)	Mary Manners (m. 1940–1995: her death)
Relations	Errol Manners (father)
Cricket information
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm medium
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1936–1948	Hampshire
1953	Marylebone Cricket Club
Career statistics
Competition First-class Matches 21 Runs scored 1,162 Batting average 31.40 100s/50s 4/3 Top score 147 Balls bowled 24 Wickets 0 Bowling average – 5 wickets in innings 0 10 wickets in match 0 Best bowling – Catches/stumpings 9/–
Source: John Manners at ESPNcricinfo

John Errol Manners DSC (25 September 1914 – 7 March 2020) was an English first-class cricketer and Royal Navy officer. The son of Admiral Sir Errol Manners, his naval career spanned from 1932 to 1958. He served in the Second World War and held several commands, earning the Distinguished Service Cross for his role in the sinking of the German submarine U-1274 in April 1945 while commanding the destroyer HMS Viceroy.

As a first-class cricketer, Manners was a hard-hitting right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium pace bowler.^[2] He began his playing career with Hampshire in 1936, but found his availability limited due to his commitments as a naval officer. With his career further interrupted by the war, Manners returned to first-class cricket in 1947 after securing a shore-based position at Sandhurst. He played county cricket for Hampshire in 1947 and 1948, but played most of his first-class cricket after the war for the Combined Services cricket team. He scored over 1,000 runs in his first-class career, which included four centuries.

Following his retirement from the navy, Manners worked for 18 years as the bursar at Dauntsey's School in Wiltshire. He was also a photographer who contributed to Country Life, and he had an interest in traditional country crafts, on which he wrote several books. In September 2018 he became the longest-lived first-class cricketer, surpassing the previous record of 103 years and 344 days held by Jim Hutchinson.