The tall, mop-haired Graham Roope was a forcing middle-order right-handed batsman who was a stalwart of the Surrey side for many seasons and represented England in 21 Tests in the 1970s without ever quite establishing himself at the highest level. His medium-paced bowling could, in the early years at least, be effective enough for him to be classed as an all-rounder.
He was also a brilliant slip fielder whose close catching reminded Surrey followers of the standard set by Stuart Surridge and Tony Lock in the championship-winning sides of the 1950s. Roope took 602 catches in his first-class career, including 35 in Tests. Away from cricket he demonstrated his agility as a goalkeeper with the amateur side, Corinthian Casuals.
When on song he was an attractive, free-scoring batsman whose flowing drives were a joy to watch, though in Tests, where he was often playing for his place, he tended to be more inhibited. He made his debut for England in two matches in India during the 1972-73 tour, opening the innings on both occasions. He played against Pakistan on the same tour, but without success, and it was not until the following summer that he justified his selection with two fifties against New Zealand at Lord’s.
He made five more Test fifties, the highest and most valuable being his 77 against Australia’s Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson at the Oval when he helped England to save a match in which they had been 431 runs behind on the first innings. He had scores of 50 and 68 in the series against New Zealand in 1977-78.
His Test record was modest, 860 runs at 30.71, though he never let England down in the field. He also played in eight one-day internationals with a top score of 44.
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Graham Roope was born in Fareham, Hampshire, in 1946. He attended Bradfield College, and represented the Public Schools against the Combined Services at Lord’s in 1963 and 1964. He played Minor Counties cricket for Berkshire before joining Surrey, taking some time to establish himself in the side before winning his county cap in 1969.
One of his best seasons was 1971 when he was a vital member of the Surrey team which won their first county championship title for 13 years. He made more than 1,600 runs at an average of 44.35, including a career-best score of 171 against Yorkshire at the Oval, hit two centuries in the match against Leicestershire and held 59 catches. In 1973 he caused a minor stir by using a blue-coloured bat in a Sunday League match but he was not allowed to use it in the Test.
In 1974 his two for 30 from 11 overs with his medium pacers in the Benson & Hedges final against Leicestershire at Lord’s helped Surrey to their first one-day title. In 1977 he was batting at the other end when John Edrich, his Surrey teammate, hit his 100th hundred, against Derbyshire at the Oval, and when Geoff Boycott made his century of centuries in the Leeds Test against Australia.
After leaving Surrey in 1982 Roope returned for Berkshire for a few seasons and represented the Minor Counties in a first-class match when he was pushing 40. He also played for Griqualand West in the Currie Cup in South Africa. His first-class record was 19,116 runs at 36.90, with 26 centuries, and 225 wickets at 27.25. He later worked as a commentator.
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Graham Roope, cricketer, was born on July 12, 1946. He died on November 26, 2006, aged 60