Ole Mortensen

Ole Mortensen
Personal information
Full name Ole Henrik Mortensen
Born (1958-01-29) 29 January 1958
Vejle, Jutland, Denmark
Nickname Stan (after the British soccer legend Stan Mortensen) and Bloodaxe
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Batting style Right-handed
Bowling style Right-arm fast-medium
Role Bowler, coach
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
19831994 Derbyshire County Cricket Club
First-class debut 28 May 1983 Derbyshire v Nottinghamshire
Last First-class 27 June 1994 Derbyshire v New Zealanders XI
List A debut 5 June 1983 Derbyshire v Warwickshire
Last List A 31 July 1994 Derbyshire v Warwickshire
Career statistics
Competition FC List A ICC T
Matches 157 200 26
Runs scored 709 145 329
Batting average 8.97 5.57 25.30
100s/50s 0/1 0/0 0/2
Top score 74* 11 59*
Balls bowled 23883 9918 1606
Wickets 434 219 63
Bowling average 23.88 25.56 10.41
5 wickets in innings 16 2 1
10 wickets in match 1 n/a n/a
Best bowling 6/27 6/14 7/19
Catches/stumpings 47/ 26/ 5/
Source: CricketArchive, 22 July 2009

Ole Henrik Mortensen (born 29 January 1958 in Vejle, Jutland) is a former Danish cricketer, probably the best his country has produced.[1] A fast-medium right-arm bowler, in a first-class career with Derbyshire that ran from 1983 to 1994 he took 434 wickets at a good average of 23.88.

He was 25 when he went to England to play cricket in 1983. He immediately established himself in the Derbyshire side and took 66 wickets at 24.31. Wisden that year described him as "accurate, hostile and, above all, a bowler of unquenchable spirit".[2] It was his most successful season, and also included his best innings and match figures, when in his seventh first-class match he took 6 for 27 and 5 for 62 to help Derbyshire beat Yorkshire by 22 runs at Sheffield.[3] In 1988 injury restricted him to 12 matches, but he topped the national first-class bowling averages with 34 wickets at 13.64. He was especially economical in one-day cricket, and in 1990, when Derbyshire won the Refuge Assurance League 40-over competition, he was the most economical bowler in the whole competition. In 1985 his first contract with Derbyshire expired. Carlsberg the Danish brewers attempted to sign him on behalf of Northamptonshire (where they had their UK base) and offering to double their countryman's wage. "Stan", as his team-mates knew him, decided to stay at Derby because he "felt that we were going places under Kim Barnett's leadership and sincerely believed we were going to win some trophies".[1]

He was a genuine tail-ender. The only time he exceeded 40 he made 74 not out against Yorkshire at Chesterfield in 1987, putting on 151 for the ninth wicket with Reg Sharma (who made his only first-class century).

For Denmark, Mortensen appeared in four ICC Trophy tournaments (1979, 1986, 1990 and 1994), claiming 63 wickets at a mere 10.41 apiece, including a return of 7-19 in a one-sided match against Israel (who were bowled out for 45) in Nairobi in 1994.

Mortensen earned the nickname "Stan" while playing for Derbyshire, a reference to the famous England football player of the 1940s and 1950s, Stan Mortensen. He earned another nickname "Eric Bloodaxe" for his ability to swear in Danish. This cricketing Viking was caricatured in 1994 by Pete Sellman.[1]

Ole Stan Mortensen played for Ellerslie Cricket Club - Auckland - New Zealand 1983-1984. During that season Ellerslie won One Day-tournament played at Eden Park.

During the English off-season Ole Stan Mortensen played for Brighton Cricket Club - Melbourne, Australia - in Sub-District Cricket 1984-93. He took 401 wickets at average 13,0.

He represented Victoria against South Australia in a Christmas game which is an honour and probably his greatest achievement was to win the "R. M. Hatch Trophy" twice in 1986-87 and again in 1992-93. This trophy is awarded to the outstanding player in Sub-District cricket.

Danish national coach in cricket 1995-2000. German national coach 2002-2005. Norwegian national coach 2006-2010.

Coaching Copenhagen Cricket Club (KB), Glostrup Cricket Club (Danish championship 2005 and 2007).

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Oliver, Scott (June 7, 2012). "Ole Mortensen, the Dane who played for Derbyshire (Derbyshire's great Dane)". Cricinfo Magazine. ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  2. Wisden 1984, p. 340.
  3. Wisden 1984, p. 608.
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