| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Ricardo McDonald Ellcock | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1965-06-17)17 June 1965 (age 60) Redmans Village,St Thomas, Barbados | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Ricky | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right armfast | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1982–1988 | Worcestershire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1983/84–1984/85 | Barbados | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1989–1991 | Middlesex | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:CricketArchive,1 December 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ricardo ("Ricky")McDonald Ellcock (born 17 June 1965) is aBarbados-born former Englishcricketer who playedfirst-class andList A cricket between the early 1980s and the early 1990s. His career was seriously hampered by injury,[1] and despite being picked to tour withEngland in 1989–90 he was forced into retirement shortly afterward.
After his cricket career finished, Ellcock became a commercial pilot, and was the first black captain withVirgin Atlantic.
Ellcock was educated atCombermere School in Barbados,Malvern College in England, British Aerospace Flying College Scotland and theUniversity of Westminster in London (MSc Air Transport Planning and Management).[1] After a couple of seasons of Second XI cricket, and immediately after taking 11 wickets in one such game againstWarwickshire II,[2] Ellcock made his full Worcestershire debut in aCounty Championship match against future employersMiddlesex atWorcester at the end of 1982, still only 17 years old. He took three lower-order wickets and scored 0 in his only innings.[3] His next match was againstScotland in theBenson & Hedges Cup atMannofield Park, the first List A game to be played at theAberdeen venue.[4] Ellcock took one wicket and did not bat.[5]
He played quite often in 1983, and ended the season with 25 first-class wicketsat 37.24 and nine List A wickets at 17.88; the latter figure included 4/43 in aJohn Player Special League fixture againstKent,[6] a career best that he equalled six years later for Middlesex. In the English winter of 1983–84 he played for his nativeBarbados, as he did again (albeit very briefly) in 1984–85.
In 1984 Ellcock picked up 29 first-class wickets, his highest in any one season, but his struggles with fitness meant that he never again approached that figure for Worcestershire. Worcestershire won theCounty Championship in 1988, but Ellcock only played four County Championship matches (one of which Worcestershire won) that year.[7] After several such seasons of struggle Ellcock moved to Middlesex for the 1989 season. Although he did not play until June, he managed his most productive summer: 32 first-class wickets at under 20 runs apiece, and 16 wickets at 23 in theone-day game. He matched his List A best with 4/43 versusNottinghamshire in July in theNatWest Trophy,[8] and a week later recorded his only five-wicket haul when he claimed 5/35 againstYorkshire in the Championship.[9]
The England selectors were sufficiently impressed by Ellcock's form to call him up for the winter tour againstWest Indies. However, his tour had barely begun before it was over: he pulled up after just a few balls in the nets,[10] and when he was diagnosed with astress fracture of his back he was forced to go home without having played a single match on tour.[1]
Ellcock missed the entire 1990 season, but returned to play a few matches for Middlesex in 1991. Despite evidence of a possibility of improving, such as match figures of 6–110 againstSomerset,[11] he was unable to make a success of his comeback and retired in mid-season.
Ellcock became apilot and was the first black pilot and first black captain withVirgin Atlantic.[1]
Ricky Ellcock wrote and published his autobiography “Balls to Fly” in November 2023
His brotherDale Ellcock had a short career with Barbados.