Hamish More: Former Heriot’s and Scotland cricketer dies at age of 81

Hamish More, the former Heriot’s cricket captain who played 45 times for Scotland and more than 1,300 matches in his career, has died. He was 81.

Hamish More started his cricketing career at George Heriot's School in Edinburgh

During a playing career which spanned five decades, he scored 1,947 runs for Scotland in his 45 appearances from 1966 to 1980.

Although he retired from league cricket aged 53, he continued playing midweek and Sunday matches for various sides well into his 70s.

In all, he estimated that he played more than 1,300 matches during his career, which included over 350 games for the MCC, and scored 40 centuries at senior club level or higher.

Hamish More

Twenty-four of them were for Heriot’s, whom he captained for 13 seasons.

The club said in a statement: “Heriot’s Cricket Club is hugely saddened by the loss of one of its finest ever servants in Hamish K. More.

“His cricketing prowess contributed hugely to the success of both club and country. He was an outstanding Nail and his presence will be greatly missed at Goldenacre.”

Cricket Scotland said in a statement: “Everyone at Cricket Scotland sends their condolences to the family and friends of Hamish More who died this weekend. A big personality in Scottish Cricket, he'll be missed by many.”

An all-rounder, able to bat, bowl and keep wicket, he took up the game at George Heriot’s School and graduated to their former pupils side and the East of Scotland representative team when he left school.

More was scintillating club form in 1964 and 1965 – including a then East of Scotland League record of 149 not out against the Grange.

After a period playing in Somerset, he won his first full Scotland cap in 1966, scoring 50 against Cambridge University.

“I had to score 13 centuries before my first cap and the reason for that was that I kept telling the selectors they couldn’t pick their nose,” he later surmised.

During the next ten years he played more games (42 out of a possible 44) and scored more runs than any other Scotland player of the era.

Family tragedy pushed More to step back from representative cricket in 1976.

“My wife, Marie, was diagnosed with terminal cancer and, as I had to look after her and two children under the age of six, I couldn’t practise, although I continued to play on Saturdays,” he explained in an interview last year.

“As my batting form had taken a downturn, I decided that I couldn’t do justice to myself or the team by carrying on as an opening batsman, so informed the selectors of that and stopped playing international cricket.

“Four years later, when my children were older, I resumed practice and made a brief return aged 40, playing three games for Scotland in 1980, during their first year competing in the Benson & Hedges Cup.”

More played alongside Fred Truman and Sir Garry Sobers, and against Ian Botham and Viv Richards.

He also had a spell as a selector of the Scotland national team in the late 1980s.

George Goddard, his team-mate in both cricket and rugby from schooldays through their club careers, spoke about him in an interview with The Scotsman last year.

“At his peak, he was our best batsman, there is no doubt about it,” says Goddard, who captained Scotland between 1974 and 1980. “He was a colourful character, and very sure of his own ability, but he wasn’t a poseur at the crease – he was a really solid opening batsman. He perhaps rubbed a few people up the wrong way at times, but there was no doubt about his ability.”

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