David Larter honoured at Framlingham College

June 27, 2023

THE most famous cricketer to come out of Framlingham College has been honoured at a special ceremony.

David Larter, who went on to play for England between 1962 and 1965, was celebrated by a packed room full of former and current College pupils on Sunday.

Larter, who is now 83 and lives in Wales, was unable to attend, but

among those who did were many of his 1956 and 1957 1st XI team-mates and guests including Suffolk Cricket Ltd Chairman Nick Shrubshall.

Larter’s domestic and international career, both on the College grounds and further afield, was recounted before plans were unveiled to name part of the school’s famous The Back pitch as The David Larter End.

Born in 1940, Larter moved to Suffolk (the home of his RAF-serving father) from Scotland when he was four years old.

During his time at Framlingham College, Larter was known for his spectacular bowling. In his final year, at the age of 17, Larter took 52 wickets at an average of just 9.5 runs each.

In 1957, having left his school career behind him, Larter played for Suffolk in the Minor Counties Championship, taking 14 wickets in four matches at 20.35 runs apiece.

His exploits caught the eye of Northamptonshire, where he made his first-class debut in 1960.

Larter then went on to represent England in ten Tests and take part in two Ashes Tours between 1962 and 1965. His statistics over the six-year period of his first-class career were highly impressive, claiming 666 first-class wickets at an average of 19.53.

Unfortunately for Larter, during the Ashes tour of 1965-66 he incurred a severe ankle injury from which he never fully recovered.

Richard Sayer, a keen cricketer and former pupil and President of The Society of Old Framlinghamians, was so impressed with Larter’s career that he wrote a biography entitled David Larter: Bowling Fast, The Highs and Lows.

Sayer (above left) is pictured with Andrew Wright (above right) who was vice-captain of Framlingham College in 1957 and a team-mater of David Larter.

Sayer said: “David was a good Suffolk boy, modest but exceptionally talented. His career, whilst short, was highly impressive and he is still the only Test cricketer Framlingham College has produced in 160 years.

“David now lives in Wales and sadly was not able to join the celebratory event at Framlingham College, but he is greatly touched by this day and the tributes everyone has paid to him.

“It is a great shame that following his injury David stopped cricket all together, and as a result he has never been in the public eye.

“My intention with the book and with this event is to showcase David for the talent that he was and to demonstrate that we did have a seriously good Suffolk cricketing star in our presence.

“He was a great credit to his education at the College, which I hope will inspire future pupils to reach the pinnacle of Test Cricket.”

Nick Gandy, Director of Sport at Framlingham College, echoed Sayer’s sentiments. He said: “It’s wonderful for our current pupils to have role models such as David to aspire to and evidence how OFs have turned their sporting aspirations into reality.

“It is very important to us as a school that we recognise achievements of Old Framlinghamians and we are exceptionally proud to be able to honour David and celebrate his cricketing career in this collective forum.”

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