More on C. Aubrey Smith plus Johnny Briggs

Posted by Tony Hutton

It is not very often that any of our contributors go back as far as the nineteenth century, but John Winn did so recently with his interesting blog on Wisden Almanack of 1890, quickly followed by Brian Sanderson's story of Bobby Peel, who was very much a contemporary of Johnny Briggs. Cricket is full of reminiscences and happily many connections suddenly appear. John mentioned in passing the appearance of the former Hollywood cinema star C. Aubrey Smith for England in South Africa during 1889. This rang a bell with me as I was sure I had recently read something about this gentleman in a South African cricket publication.

Charles Aubrey Smith (Sussex and England)

After a bit of digging I eventually came up with the story which involved two games between South Africa and England in 1889, which were apparently given official Test Match status many years after the event. Aubrey Smith captained England in the first match, thus becoming the youngest man at the age of 25 to captain his country. In addition, because he did not play in the second match, he is also the only man to play just one Test Match as captain. Quite a late addition to the long list of 'one Test wonders'.

The first match was played in Port Elizabeth and England won a low scoring affair by eight wickets. South Africa were bowled out for 84 and 129 whereas England made 148 and 67-2. The second match, in which Smith was absent, was played at Newlands, Cape Town and was even more one sided. England made 292 and then proceeded to bowl the home side out for a meagre 47 and 43 to win easily by an innings.

The star of the show in a big way was Lancashire's slow left arm bowler Johnny Briggs, who took 7-17 in the first innings and 8-11 in the second. Briggs had been born in Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire which produced a whole host of cricketers over the years. His father was a league professional and Johnny started as a substitute professional at Hornsea, East Yorkshire at the age of only 13. When his father moved to Widnes, Johnny Briggs was soon picked up by Lancashire where he became a top class spinner for the county and for England.

Johnny Briggs (Lancashire and England)

He toured Australia six times, only equalled by Colin Cowdrey and took a hat trick in the Sydney Test of 1892. He was also the first player to take one hundred Test wickets. Only a small man, at 5 foot 5 inches, he regularly took 100 wickets in a season for Lancashire. He developed heart trouble after being hit by a ball and later developed a mental illness which resulted in his early death at the age of only 39.

Now to return to C. Aubrey Smith, whose career as a cricketer was only very brief. He was a quick bowler who appeared for Cambridge University and Sussex before the turn of the nineteenth century and was mainly a quick bowler with a strange curving run up (something like John Price in more recent times). He would start from deep mid off and earned the nickname of  'Round the corner Smith'.

He first appeared on the London stage in 1895 and also in some early British silent films. However his real fame as an actor came when he established himself in Hollywood, where he founded a cricket club for British exiles in 1932. He was not a great success in silent films but once the 'talkies' took over he became the epitome of the stiff upper lipped English gentleman throughout the late 1930s and the 1940s. He was essentially the leader of the British community in Hollywood and was knighted by George VI in 1944 for his contribution to Anglo-American relations. He died at the age of 85 in 1948.

Bobby Peel myth

By Brian Sanderson

Looking through a Wisden magazine for July 1982, I noticed an
article on Bobby Peel's final match for Yorkshire.

On the 18 August 1897 Yorkshire were playing Middlesex
at Bramall Lane . In the A.A.Thomson book "Hirst and Rhodes"
George Hirst supplied the details that on the final day Peel
was drunk and Hirst tried to keep him in the hotel but Bobby went
to the match and bowled at the sight screen instead of the
wicket and was told by Hawke to leave the field and never
to play for Yorkshire again.

What actually happened was that Yorkshire declared at 182 for 6 with
Middlesex beginning their second innings after lunch.
For Yorkshire ,the opening bowlers, unchanged for half
an hour,were F.S.Jackson and Peel .Eight bowlers in all
were tried ,and Peel's analysis was (7-1-15-0 ). Nevertheless
,Bobby did not bowl well ,and he was seen to slip and
fall, once when we was bowling and once while
fielding. There was nothing in the press reports to say
that he was sent off the field. Later Hawke held a meeting
with some committee members to express his dissatisfaction
with Peel. The outcome was the suspense of Peel for
the rest of the season.

Peel's version was that before going to the ground he had
drunk two small glasses of gin and water and at lunch
he had taken nothing. As for slipping, Bobby blamed
this not on the gin but on the condition of his left shoe
which he showed the reporter calling attention to the
fact that three of the spikes were bent.
Neither Hawke nor any member of the committee ,
he declared, had uttered a word of complaint to him
and the first inkling he received was when the secretary
paid him his wages and told him he would not be required
for the remainder of the season. His play had caused
dissatisfaction, and when Bobby demanded an explanation
he received the answer "you have had a glass too much"

Such was Peel's side of the story, but it was ignored,
and his suspension was permanent.

Cricketers of the past - Kent 1960

Posted by Tony Hutton

The Kent county cricket side of 1960 could be said to rely fairly heavily on two Test cricketers, Colin Cowdrey the captain and Peter Richardson, who had joined from Worcestershire. The remainder of the side, apart from the leading bowlers Fred Ridgway and David Halfyard, were not really household names and it would be some years before the likes of Underwood and Knott appeared and helped turn them into a championship winning side in 1970.

On the left of the back row is Peter Richardson, a left handed opening batsman who had a long career with Worcestershire from 1949 to 1958, where he formed an excellent opening partnership with Don Kenyon. He had already appeared for England before the move and scored a century in the famous 1956 Ashes Test at Old Trafford where Jim Laker took 19 wickets. He went on to play 34 Tests for England including five centuries. He played for Kent from 1959 to 1965.

Next to him is a relative unknown, Bob Wilkinson, who made only 23 appearances for Kent between 1959 and 1963. A right hand bat and medium pace bowler he was a regular in the 2nd XI, but did make a couple of fifties at first team level. He was a Londoner and his great uncle was Bobby Abel, the famous Surrey batsman.

Then we have Peter Jones, who was a left hand bat and slow left arm bowler who played for Kent from 1953 to 1967.  He made his first team debut at the age of 18 against Yorkshire, but did not gain a regular place until seven years later in 1960. His best season was 1961 when he scored 1262 runs and took 77 wickets.

Colin Page was an off break bowler who played 200 matches between 1950 and 1963. He took 500 wickets before becoming Coach and then Manager of the club. Next to him on the back row is the larger than life figure of David Halfyard. His story could fill a book, never mind a brief mention in a blog. His career started with Surrey 2nd XI in 1954-55, but at that time there were few vacancies for bowlers in the all conquering first team.

Halfyard joined Kent in 1956 and became the mainstay of their bowling attack, taking a hundred wickets every season from 1958 to 1961. In 1962 he had already reached 98 wickets before being involved in a horrendous road accident which left him with a broken leg and other injuries which looked to have ended his cricketing career. However he did not give up and played league cricket for Greenock in Scotland for two years in 1966 and 1967 and at the same time qualified as a first class umpire.

While umpiring a game at Trent Bridge he had a go at bowling in the nets where he was noticed by the Notts committee and eventually signed on for a further three seasons of first class cricket. Finally in the 1970s he began playing Minor Counties cricket for Durham, Northumberland and finally Cornwall where he stayed from 1974-82. He then carried on playing league cricket and umpiring for the rest of his remarkable life.

Alan Dixon was an off break bowler and useful batsman who first played at the age of 16 in 1950. He went on to play until the championship season of 1970. He scored over 9,000 runs, including three centuries and took 935 wickets before becoming cricket coach at Tonbridge School.

Tony Catt was a wicket keeper who played with Kent from 1954 to 1964. Initially he deputised for Godfrey Evans when away on Test duties, along with Charlton footballer Derek Ufton. Evans retired in 1959 and Catt made more regular appearances until the arrival of Alan Knott in 1964 prompted his retirement.

First left on the front row is yet another Charlton footballer, Stuart Leary, a South African who scored lots of goals in First Division football and plenty of runs for Kent between 1951 and 1977. He scored 16,500 runs, including 18 centuries and took 146 wickets with his occasional leg breaks.

Fred Ridgway was Kent's best bowler in the immediate post war years and although not very tall he built a reputation as a hard working and consistent opening bowler which brought him five England caps on the tour of India in 1951-52. He suffered quite a lot with injuries and 1961 was his final season, with a total of over 1,000 wickets.

Colin Cowdrey was a legendary batsman for Oxford University, Kent and England for many years. He captained the county from 1957-1972, but of course missed many games due to his regular appearances for England, which totalled 114 in all, including a record six tours of Australia.

Leslie Ames, the team manager, also had a record breaking career as a batsman wicket keeper with Kent and England. He is the only wicket keeper to make a hundred centuries and was well known for his partnership with spinner Titch Freeman. So many batsmen were out stumped Ames bowled Freeman. In fact his 64 stumpings in the 1934 season will no doubt remain an all time record.

Arthur Phebey was a long serving opening batsman who played from 1946-1964. He played 327 games and scored thirteen centuries. Finally Bob Wilson was a left hand middle order batsman who played from 1952 to 1967. He was very consistent scoring over a thousand runs in thirteen consecutive seasons. His best year was 1964 when he made over 2,000 runs.

Oval 1961

By Brian Sanderson. 

Another  Test match scorecard I purchased was England

v Australia on 17 August 1961.It has been signed by Geoff

Pullar, Ted Dexter, David Allen and John Murray by English

players and Bob Simpson and Alan Davidson by Australian

players.

This  was  the fifth test match and the Australians had already 

won the Ashes but if England drew the match they could draw

the rubber. They won the toss and England were three wickets 

down , for 20 runs . By lunch they were 67 for 4 with May and

Barrington batting. Peter May, the England captain ,occupied 

the crease for over three hours for an excellent 71 and hit 

eleven fours.

By evening England finished on 210 for 8 having averaged only

35 runs an hour. Next morning they reached 256 but the Australian

passed it in four hours and twenty minutes some two and half 

hours less time. Norman O'Neill spent three hours and twenty 

minutes for an excellent 117 .A sheer joy to watch .By the end 

of the Second day they had scored 290 for 4.

Despite two breaks for rain Booth batted stylish for his 71.

The other major ran maker was Peter Burge who scored 181

in six hours and fifty minutes .Australian held a lead of 238

.

Rain on Monday reduced the play to three hours Subba Row 

required a runner as he had a groin injury but still was able 

to score 137 which enabled England to get to 370 for 8

by the end of Tuesday so drawing the series.

During the five days no bowler was no balled on either side.

Twelve months previously the problem of the throw and drag 

confronting the cricketing world. An interesting fact on this 

test match there was no Yorkshire players. Trueman had been

dropped for Flavell and Ray Illingworth place was taken by 

David Allen. Brian Close only played one match and that was

at Old Trafford where Benaud took six wickets in the second 

innings so winning the match and it was the first victory 

for Australia there since 1902. Along time between drinks.

What did Wisden say in 1890?

posted by John Winn

The year 1890 was a pivotal one in the development of English cricket and this is reflected in that year's John Wisden's Cricketers Almanack. Much of it is devoted to 'The Reforms of 1889' and a report on 'The Question of County Classification' and that season's fixtures are the first for the County Championship as an official competition. The season began on May 5th when Surrey played Hampshire at Kennington Oval and ended in mid September at Hastings when The South of England faced The Australians.

As the above photo suggests it is a compact volume extending to just over 350 pages and in the quaint style of the times the first section uses Roman numerals, i to li, and the second section runs from 1 to 301. Advertisements are mainly confined to the beginning and end of the book and not surprisingly are mainly for cricket related products, bats including 'Browning's Patent Triangular Bat, a bargain at 10 shillings, (50 pence) gloves, leg guards, horse powered lawn mowers, self-registering iron turnstiles etc. Non cricketing wares include billiard tables, tooth powder, boxing gloves and fur coats.

The 1889 reforms had been agreed at a meeting of MCC in May of that year. They included increasing the number of balls per over from four to five and changes to declaration regulations. The editor had written to many famous cricketers asking their opinion of the reforms and in general they had been well received. A further meeting, this time of The County Cricket Council, had been held at Lord's on December 9th 1889, Lord Harris in the chair with 18 counties represented. It was this meeting which decreed that eight counties, Gloucestershire, Kent, Lancashire, Middlesex, Notts, Surrey, Sussex and Yorkshire should contest the first championship. It was won by Surrey.

The editor of the Almanack at this time was Charles F Pardon and his preface was dated December 20th 1889 but sadly he died a few months later on 18th April 1890, aged 40. The editorship was taken over by his brother Sydney who held the post for 35 years. The 1890 edition lists 'Deaths in 1889' with just just 11 names included. The comprehensive obituary section did not appear until 1892. Perhaps the most interesting of the 1890 list is Mr CA Absolom of Cambridge University and Kent who was killed accidentally in Port of Spain on July 30th 1889 , aged 43. He played one test match, on the 1878/9 tour of Australia. In 1868 while playing for Cambridge he became the first man to be given out for obstructing the field. After cricket he travelled extensively in North and Central America and it was while he was working as ship's purser on the SS Muriel that he met his untimely death in an accident while cargo was being loaded. 

Under Sydney's guidance Wisden grew so that by 1924 it stretched to over 1000 pages, 1536 in 2020. A hardback version became available in 1896. In 1890 portraits of 'Nine Great Batsmen' appeared following the success of 'Six Great Bowlers' in 1889. Each county of course receives comprehensive coverage plus MCC matches, Public School Cricket, The Universities, Second Class Counties and Minor Counties. International cricket is confined to The Philadelphians in England and The English Team in South Africa. The Philadelphians had toured in 1884 but the '89 team were considered 'far superior'. The English team in South Africa under the captaincy of a man later to be a Hollywood actor, C. Aubrey Smith played two matches given the status of test matches. while all the other games were against sides comprising at least fifteen players the most intriguing of which took place at King Williamstown against Twenty-Two Cape Mounted Rifles. The Englishmen won comfortably and as far as is known nobody got shot.

The price of Wisden 1890 was one shilling,( five pence). A skilled manual worker at that time might have earned thirty shillings a week but an agricultural labourer only half that. A copy in decent condition today would cost several hundred pounds.

Cricketers of the past - Hampshire 1973

Posted by Tony Hutton

About two months ago John Winn wrote a blog about Hampshire's first ever County Championship win,  under the captaincy of Colin Ingleby-McKenzie, in season 1961. Twelve years after this they won the championship again in 1973 and I was lucky enough to be on holiday in Hampshire to see them clinch the title during a match with Gloucestershire at Dean Park, Bournemouth. This time the captain was Richard Gilliat, an Oxford blue who had the requisite number of initials (three) to become Hampshire captain in the middle of a long post war line which took in E.D.R. Eager, A.C.D. Ingleby-McKenzie, N.E.J. Pocock and M.J.C. Nicholas.

Nevertheless Gilliat was a very useful middle order batsman and played a crucial part in the victory which clinched the title. The two chief weapons in his armoury were the two opening batsman, Gordon Greenidge of the West Indies and Barry Richards of South Africa. The rest of the squad could perhaps be classified as journeymen professionals, with perhaps Sainsbury and Jesty the two who stood out above the rest.

In the vital game at Bournemouth, Hampshire bowled Gloucester all out for 204 thanks to Mike Taylor's 7-53. They then got a first innings lead of just over a hundred (Greenidge 96). On the last day Sadiq Mohammed dominated proceedings with a splendid 170 which allowed Gloucester to declare and set Hampshire to score 190 to win in the final session. They got there for the loss of only five wickets, in 33 overs, thanks again mainly to Greenidge with 65 and a captain's innings of 48 from Gilliat, together with Jesty's 33 not out.

Hampshire 1973 - Back row Lewis, O'Sullivan, Taylor, Mottram, Herman, Greenidge, Murtagh, Jesty.

Front row Turner, Sainsbury, Gilliat (capt), Richards and Stephenson.

Richard Lewis was a middle order batsman who played for the county for nine seasons. He was in and out of the side and never really established himself despite two centuries and thirteen fifties. He subsequently played Minor Counties cricket with Dorset for a further ten seasons. David O'Sullivan was a New Zealander who only played with Hampshire for three seasons. He was a slow left arm bowler and went on to play eleven Tests for New Zealand and had a long career with Central Districts in his home country.

Mike Taylor came to Hampshire from Nottinghamshire where he played from 1964 -1972. A medium pace bowler he started well at his new county with 64 wickets in the championship season of 1973. He was a regular until 1980, making two first class centuries and being part of the Sunday League winning side before retiring to become Assistant Secretary and Marketing Manager at the time of the move to the Rose Bowl. His twin brother, Derek Taylor, kept wicket for Somerset.

Tom Mottram a tall opening bowler was a Lancastrian, who only stayed with Hampshire from 1971-1976. He played a notable part in the championship win, taking 57 wickets, but then become more of a one day specialist. Bob Herman, was the son of another Hampshire bowler Lofty Herman. He too was an opening bowler who had six years with Middlesex, before joining Hampshire in 1972-1977. After a couple of seasons with Dorset he became a first class umpire for four years.

Gordon Greenidge was born in Barbados but went to school in England and joined Hampshire in 1970 where he stayed until 1987, A prolific run scorer he played over a hundred Tests for West Indies as well as 128 one day internationals. He made over 37,000 runs and scored 92 centuries. Andy Murtagh is an Irishman and the uncle of Tim Murtagh of Middlesex and Ireland. He was a middle order batsman and medium pace bowler who had just five seasons with Hampshire before becoming a school master at Malvern College. On retirement he became an author and has written several cricketing biographies.

Trevor Jesty was an excellent all round cricketer who was unlucky to play only ten one day internationals for England. He had a long career with Hampshire from 1966-1984 before having brief spells with both Surrey and Lancashire. He then became a first class umpire for twenty years before retirement in 2013.

On the left of the front row is David Turner who was a splendid left hand batsman and a brilliant fielder. He played 426 games for Hampshire between 1966 and 1988, scoring over 19,000 runs. His highest score was 184 not out against Gloucester in 1987, when he put on 311 for the third wicket with Gordon Greenidge. Next to him is Peter Sainsbury, a true Hampshire legend who served the county well from 1954 to 1976. He was a right hand bat and slow left arm bowler and the only player to appear in both Hampshire championship winning sides. He played 618 matches, scored over 20,000 runs, took 1,316 wickets and 617 catches as a specialist close to the wicket fielder.

Captain Richard Gilliat was a left hand bat who had three seasons at Oxford University before becoming a regular with Hampshire. He had an outstanding season in 1969 scoring the fastest century of the season and his highest score of 223 not out against Warwickshire. He took over as captain from Roy Marshall in 1971 until 1978. After retirement he returned to Charterhouse School as a teacher.

Barry Richards, as with Mike Procter of Gloucester, was lost to international cricket due to the South African situation. However he prospered at county level, until losing interest in the game when it became apparent he would never be able to play at the highest level. He scored many runs for Hampshire in his stay from 1968-1978 as well as for Natal in South Africa and for South Australia. In all he scored over 28,000 runs, including 80 centuries.

Finally we have wicket keeper Bob Stephenson who came to Hampshire from his native Derby after two seasons with Derbyshire. He arrived in 1969 and stayed until 1980. In his younger days he was an inside forward who played for Derby County and Rochdale, but he really made his mark as a cricketer.

Not only a wicket keeper, but a useful batsman who made one first class century in 1976. He was made captain on Gilliat's retirement in 1979 for one season only and retired the following year when Hampshire finished bottom of the table.

Roy Kilner's match

By Brian Sanderson

 Carrying on with my recent scorecard purchases . This one is 

at Brighton on the 27 August till the 30 August  and was Yorkshire

last Championship match for 1927 and it would turn out to be Roy

Kilner's last Championship match.

Sussex wo the toss and batted with Edward Bowley and Maurice 

Tate opening the batting against Robinson and Macauley.

Bowley who played for Sussex from 1912 to 1934 in a total

of 458 matches . In this match he reached 2000 runs for the 

season before been caught by Holmes of Kilner for 37 after

batting for an hour and three quarters. Yorkshire bowlers 

bowled 134 .5 overs for Sussex to score   221.

Another interesting Sussex player was Rev.F.B.R.Browne.

who played 49 matches from 1919 to 1932. He was a fast 

medium bowler who bowled off the wrong foot and earned his

soubriquet 'Tishy'after a crossed legged racehorse of the time.

Yorkshire batted for six hours to gain a lead of 81.Kilner 

reached his highest score of the season with 91 not out 

in three hours and three quarters and six 4's.

Sussex were all out at ten minutes to four for 120 .Kilner

was very largely responsible for the quick finish ,his bowling

analysis being remarkable 

21-14- 21-5 

Later that evening Yorkshire won by nine wickets

Yorkshire moved on to Scarborough and finished third in

the Championship.. 

Roy Kilner caught a bug in India in 1928 and he died on

the 6 April 1928  and 100000 people lined the streets of 

Wombwell for his funeral.

Cricketers of the past - Gloucestershire 1968

Posted by Tony Hutton

The county of Gloucestershire has produced many fine cricketers of note over a long period of time, but sad to say they have never yet won the county championship. One of their most successful periods came in the 1970s soon after this team picture was taken. One of the main reasons for this was the advent of South African all rounder Mike Procter, still just 21 years old in 1968. Captain for just this one season was double international Arthur Milton, who played soccer for Arsenal and England. Sadly he never earned the big money of today's super stars and after retirement became a postman in Bristol.

Starting at the left of the back row is Mike Bissex, an all rounder who batted right handed but bowled slow left arm. He stayed with the county from 1961 to 1972 without really hitting the heights, but was a good team man who scored 6,500 runs and took 237 wicket in over 200 first class games.

Next to him is one of many long serving Gloucester professionals, the well know wicket keeper and Test Match umpire Barry Meyer. He played for the county from 1957-1971 taking over 700 catches and over 100 stumpings. He was also an accomplished soccer player, mainly with Bristol Rovers for whom he scored a memorable goal in a 4-0 F.A. Cup win over Manchester United in 1956,

David Shepherd became even better known as an umpire in Test cricket throughout the world than he was as a cricketer. However, although not starting till he was 25 he too had a long playing career as a middle order batsman from 1965-79. He scored over 10,000 runs, including 12 centuries. He was a very popular man wherever cricket was played around the world.

Mike Procter sadly only played in seven Test matches before South Africa were banned from international cricket due to apartheid. In other times he would have become one of the great all rounders of Test cricket with his attacking batting and extremely rapid fast bowling. His unusual action with a chest on delivery, appearing to bowl off the wrong foot, upset many batsmen over the years and he had the unusual distinction of two all lbw hat tricks. He played for Gloucestershire from 1965-1981 and with equal success for Natal during the English winters from 1965 to 1989. He became an international referee after retirement, not without controversy on occasions.

Next to Procter is the burly figure of David Green, an extremely able opening batsman who started his first class career with Oxford University and with Lancashire, where he played from 1959-1967. He then joined Gloucester for a successful period of six years, during which he unusually scored 2000 runs in a season without making a century. He than became a journalist writing on cricket and rugby union for the Daily Telegraph.

Last man on the back row is local born off spinner David Allen, another long servant of the club from 1953 to 1972. He played for some time with two other off spinners in the team in John Mortimore and Bomber Wells and made 39 Test appearances for England, where he often performed quite well with the bat.

On the left of the front row is opening bat Ron Nicholls, yet another long serving performer who made over 23,000 runs for the county, including 18 hundreds. With David Young he made the county's highest ever partnership of 395 against Oxford University in 1962, making his highest career score of 217 in the process.

John Mortimore's off spinning career with Gloucester stretched from 1950 to 1975. He was captain from 1965-1967 and played in just nine Tests for England, often overshadowed by team mate David Allen. He was no doubt the better batsman of the two and did the double of a thousand runs and a hundred wickets in a season on three occasions in 1959, 1963 and 1964.

Arthur Milton, the double international, was handed the captaincy at the age of 39 after making over 2000 runs, with seven centuries in 1967. However after that one season he returned to the ranks and carried on playing until 1974, having started way back in 1948. He played just six Tests in 1958 and 1959 and emulated the feat of W.G. Grace by scoring a century on debut. He had joined Arsenal aged 17 in 1945, but his debut for them did not come until 1951, after National Service. His one cap came against Austria in 1951 before winning league championship honours and then briefly joining Bristol City before concentrating on his cricket.

David Smith and Tony Brown the final two players on the front row had parallel careers from the 1950s to the 1970s. They both opened the bowling together for many years and were real stalwarts of the team. Smith did make five Test appearances on a tour of Indian in 1961/62 when the leading fast bowlers did not make the trip. His best season was 1960 when he took 143 wickets.

Tony Brown, who sadly died in May of this year, had captained the team for a while from 1969-1976, but perhaps became better known as an administrator after retirement when he was secretary of Gloucester and then Somerset, during their period of turmoil, before joining the ECB. He was then later both Chairman and President of Gloucestershire.

What would he have thought of The 100?.

posted by John Winn

In my last posting I made reference to the cricket writer EM Wellings and preceded his name with the adjective 'acerbic' but whilst this I believe to be apt, one would not be short of synonyms if variety was sought. Indeed I might be accused of letting him off lightly for Ian Wooldridge described him as a man whose 'pen was dipped in vitriol'. By way of balance let's say he was a man who did not mince his words.

Older readers and in particular devotees of Wisden may well recognise the name EM Wellings as the man who for nearly 30 years edited the almanack's section on Public School Cricket and here too he took no prisoners. This was not however  his sole contribution to cricket writing for from 1938 to 1973 he was cricket correspondent of The London Evening News. In this position he accompanied England sides on overseas tours and book titles like No Ashes for England, The Ashes Thrown Away and Dexter v Benaud reveal where his preference lay. Some of his books are still available.

Evelyn Maitland 'Lyn' Wellings was born in Egypt in 1906. Coming to England he went to school at Cheltenham College and then to Oxford where he gained his blue for both cricket and golf. At this early stage in life the seeds of cussedness began to bear fruit in the man and his absence from the Oxford side in 1930, he played ed in 1929 and 1931, has been attributed to his poor relationship with skipper Kingsley. Whatever the reason there is little doubt that Wellings was at a talented cricketer, a a good batsman and spin bowler. He was good enough to play for Surrey and in 1933 at Eastbourne he scored 125 for Leveson-Gowers XI v Cambridge University and took five wickets in the  match.

After a short spell as a school teacher he entered journalism with The Daily Mirror before moving to the Evening News, covering more than 200 test matches in his forthright style. In his obituary Wisden lists those topics most likely to get his dander up and these included one day cricket, overseas players in county cricket, South Africa's excommunication, and just about anything to do with the TCCB. His retirement to Spain did not stop Wellings writing on cricket and on returning to live in Hampshire  the articles he contributed from his home in Basingstoke showed the Spanish sun had not mellowed him. Wisden concludes with a story which illustrates how cantankerous Lyn could be. When a junior member of his paper's staff failed to turn up at The Oval to deal with his reports on the day's play he let them pile up on his desk and then posted them. 'A lesser journalist would have been fired instantly. A greater one would have behaved differently'. Wisden 1993.

When I remarked to my wife that I was going to write about Wellings I gave her a brief outline of his prejudices. Her reply was 'What would he have thought of The 100?'

Run chase at Bristol

By  Brian Sanderson

Brian Sellers back as skipper in the absence of Norman Yardley 

and Len Hutton who were playing for England against Australia

at Lords .He won the toss and batted with Ted Lester and Harry

Halliday opening the openers.

Lester in this innings had to content with jut scoring 19 whilst

Halliday went on to score his first century for the county in just

over two hours forty five minutes. At the other end Vic Wilson 

helped him to put on second wicket stand of 187. Halliday went 

on to score his highest score of the season with 130. By the

end of the day Yorkshire were 312 for 7 .

There was weekend rain which prompted a declaration by Yorkshire.

Kilburn in his press report said that Yorkshire bowling was 

lamentable and at worst never looked as though they were on 

the road to improvement. Though Glos were bowled out for 

171 with Johnny Wardle taking four wickets.

In the evening hours Ted Lester went on to score 102  and Wilson

stayed for his share of a second century partnership in this match

and lead by the end of the day with 302 .Fine batting had 

compensated for fallible bowling and redemption remains possible

wrote Kilburn.

Yorkshire quest for quick runs in the next morning was pathetic 

failure wrote Kilburn. They added 50 in an hour.  Yorkshire set 

a target of 389 in four and half hours. Barnett's magnificence swept

the Yorkshire bowling from the field and left it a mere technicality

in the general scene. He made 141 with 13 fours and a six -his final

gesture. He was dropped twice in the out field at 55 and 131.

Kilburn wrote had not Gloucestershire not won after the inspiration

they would have sinned against cricket and the ghost of  Grace would

never have walked their field again. But Emmett ,Allen, Crapp and 

Scott followed where their lord had led, and all was completed 

ship-shape and Bristol fashion ,with surely the main brace suitably 

spliced . 

Gloucester won by six wickets and 45 minutes to spare.

North v South

By Brian Sanderson

One of the recent scorecards I purchased was a North v South

match at Scarborough starting on the 6 September. I wrote 

recently of another North  v South Match at Harrogate at the 

end of August.

Hutton and Washbrook opened the innings for the North. 

Hutton was second in  the Yorkshire averages with 71.31

and had recently scored his 11th century of the season.

However on this Saturday he was caught by Evans off

Alec Bedser for 17 However .Washbrook went on to score

129 out of 233 in three and a half hours. Yardley , the North;s

captain , scored 126 hitting three sixes and fifteen fours .In

this season he scored 1906 runs at average of 44.32 which

was his career high for runs scored in a season.

North's total was 397 and the photograph above is of the North

side.

The South side include some players I have not heard of

Opening bowler was Anthony Mallett who only played 33

matches for Kent from 1946-53.

Denys Robert Wilcox, Essex off break bowler who was 

coming to end of his career He had played in Egypt before

the War .See recent blog about cricket in Egypt during the

Second World War.

When the South batted on the Monday in sunshine Laurie

Fishlock , the Surrey opening batsman, scored 120 hitting

two sixes and fifteen fours in two hours and forty minutes.

He was a noted soccer player for Crystal Palace ,Millwall,

Aldershot, Southampton and Gillingham and also obtained

an amateur cap for England.

The next century maker was Martin Donnelly , The New 

Zealand test player who scored 113 which included fourteen

fours in three hours and five minutes.

Next century maker was Freddie Brown with a unbeaten 104

including two sixes and sixteen fours in sixty eight minutes.

He rose to a tremendous crescendo with  4,6,4,6,4,1 off the 

last over by Wardle.  Hi figures for the innings were 

52-8-236-3 which must be his worse bowling figures in his 

career. His last wicket was Wilcox stumped by Yardley as 

Brennan was ill.. This was his only stumping in his career.

By this time the score was 570 for 6 declared. 

Hutton in the second innings scored 92 out of a total of 

174 for two. There was a total of 1141 runs scored and 

only 18 batsmen dismissed.

In the 1947 season Denis Compton broke the 41 years old 

world record aggregate record 3518 in a season , set up 

by Tom Haywood. He did it in 49 innings and scored 17 

centuries.

Cricket at the Circle

By Brian Sanderson

Jim Kilburn wrote on the Wednesday 31 July 1946 that Hull has

suffered much during the past six years .Press box and stands 

have been blasted away. The admittance cost was 1/6  and 1

 shilling for children and no pass outs.

The crowd of10000 endured .in addition to the more 

permanent discomforts ,the temporary irritations of  frequent

showers 

Northants batted first had reached 125 for 2 at three o'clock

with Brooks 79.Then  fell the heaviest of the day's showers 

and when play began again Brooks was out at once at leg before.

Northants were then bowled for 183 with Bowes top wicket 

taker with four wickets.

Yorkshire were left 90 minutes for Hutton and Gibb to bat the

day out. Norman Yardley was not playing in this match as he 

was getting married on 31 July .On the second day there were 

13000 spectators scattered on the grass and perched precariously 

on fencing .Yorkshire batting was utilitarian to the last degree.

Hutton batted six and forty five minutes for his season high

 score of 171 not out .Leyland spent 100 minute his 41 runs.

 

Smailes an hour over 34, each of these is a devastator of 

bowling. Yorkshire scoring 344 for five wickets.

When Northants began their second innings a dramatic half an 

hour cost them the first four wickets for 20 runs and all these 

fell to Coxon. William Barron, a Durham born forcing left 

handed sco red 61 not out by the end of the day out of a total 

of 112 for six.Hutton taking the final wicket with his leg spin.

Yorkshire achieved their victory over Northants by an innings 

and 23 runs. Just four wickets to fall and Bowes bowled Barron

for 66. Coxon finished with 5 for 23 and bowled with pace and

liveliness.

On the back of the scorecard is details about the "The Circle"

Evening League which included sides like Hull Savings Bank,

Coal Exporters ,Hull Rovers and Old Hullensians.

Cricketers of the past - Glamorgan 1969

Posted by Tony Hutton

Glamorgan won the County Championship for the first time way back in 1948 under the captaincy of the redoubtable Wilfred Wooller. Twenty one years later they won it again under the captaincy of Tony Lewis. This time they came from behind with a late burst of three victories which brought them home in fine style in a season when they only used thirteen players in championship games. They were the eleven in the photograph plus D.W. Lewis and Ossie Wheatley, the former captain, who had almost retired from the game. Glamorgan remained unbeaten throughout the season, although they had a close call in the very first match with Yorkshire, when the last pair batted out for a draw.

On the left hand end of the back row is wicket keeper Eifion Jones, younger brother of batsman Alan Jones. After a long apprenticeship as deputy for D.L. Evans, Jones became  a regular in the late 1960s and remained until 1982. He made his highest score of 146 not out in 1968 sharing in a partnership of 230 with his brother. He holds the record number of dismissals for Glamorgan with 933 and played a major part in the 1969 end of season run in, winning the game against Middlesex with two sixes in the penultimate over and then running out the final batsman in the last match to decide the championship.

Bryan Davies was a West Indian from Trinidad who played in four Test Matches against Australia in 1964-65 before joining Glamorgan for two seasons in 1969. He scored over 1,000 runs in both seasons.

Next in line is left arm bowler Malcolm Nash, who will always be remembered as the bowler who was hit for six sixes in an over by Garry Sobers in 1968. However in a long county career from 1966 to 1983 he was a consistent wicket taker and ended with 993 first class wickets as well as being a useful tail end batsman.

Next we have Lawrence Williams a right arm opening bowler and left hand bat who played from 1969 to 1977. His best first class performance was 7-60 and he was perhaps better known for his consistent performances in Sunday League cricket. Roger Davis was a right hand bat and off break bowler who specialised as a short leg fielder, holding 33 catches during the championship season. He was involved in one of Sobers' six sixes when he caught the ball but fell back over the boundary. In 1971 he suffered a severe head injury when fielding close in and was lucky to survive when his heart stopped beating.

At the right hand end of the back row we have the majestic Majid Jahangir Khan, famous Test batsman from Pakistan. He came to England to study and play for Cambridge University and came to Glamorgan due to his father's friendship with Wilf Wooller at Cambridge before the war. He played for the county from 1968 to 1976 and was captain for his last four seasons.

At the left of the front row is Tony Cordle from Barbados. A fine all rounder he gave excellent service to the county from 1963 to 1980 before becoming the county coach from 1980-1983, then emigrating to Canada. He was a lively quick bowler with best figures of 9-49 against Leicester in 1969.

Peter Walker, who sadly died in April of this year, was a splendid all round cricketer and outstanding close fielder. Born in Bristol but brought up in South Africa he gave sterling service both as a player and later, after a career in broadcasting, as Cricket Development manager for Wales. He did the double in 1961 and played in three Test in 1960, scoring over 17,000 runs and taking over 800 wickets, as well as almost 700 catches for Glamorgan.

Tony Lewis was a double blue at Cambridge at both cricket and rugby union. A consistently high scoring batsman, he first played for Glamorgan as a 17 year old in 1955 and rose to become county captain from 1967-1972. He also captained England on their tour to India in 1972-73. He later found fame as a journalist and broadcaster, before becoming MCC President from 1990-2000. 

The last two players both had remarkable careers in county cricket. Don Shepherd, who bowled medium pace off cutters, took more wickets than anyone else who did not play Test cricket and Alan Jones scored more runs than anyone else who did not play in Tests. Controversy surrounded Alan Jones one appearance for England against the Rest of the World XI in 1970, which was not regarded as an official Test. Only this week after fifty years was he eventually awarded an England cap.

Left hander Alan Jones scored 36,000 runs for Glamorgan, including 56 centuries in a career which stretched from 1957-1983. Don Shepherd played from 1950-1972 taking 2,218 wickets. In 1956 he took 177 wickets, something unimaginable in today's curtailed programme.  He was a Wisden player of the year in 1970 and probably got most satisfaction from beating Australia twice, taken nine wickets in 1964 and captaining Glamorgan to victory in 1968.

First match in 1946 for Yorkshire

By Brian Sanderson

Though a couple of bombs landed on Fenner's ,one at the

tennis court end and the second at the other corner ,the years

of war had not made many changes in the view from the 

Press box wrote Jim Kilburn. After the bombs had demolished

the tennis pavilion ,shattered the glass in the cricket pavilion

and lifted one of the sight screens out of the ground ,it was 

discovered that the turf had been sprayed with bomb splinters.

The groundsmen used a powerful magnet swept the turf clean.

The admission was free and there was a big crowd.

Cambridge batted first and struggled against Arthur Booth

.He played for the County second eleven against Lancashire

at Middlesbrough at Whitsuntide ,1923, In the first innings 

he took 5 for 16 in a total of 75.Cambridge shown to more 

advantage in the field Mills, with his leg breaks and googlies

worried most of the batsmen ,but Smailes drove powerfully 

to top score with 56 out of 291.

In the second innings Cambridge had a poor morning and were 

24 for 3.In the afternoon Bodkin and Lacy-Scott put on a stand

of 87.With the new ball Bowes and Smailes broke the 

partnership and the match finished on the second day at five 

twenty with Yorkshire winning by innings and 74 runs.

Bowes after been in a Prison of War camp returned with match

figures of 31 -15-23-3

The next Cambridge match was against Trundlers. There was 

a quote in the Yorkshire Post stating they would like to see

cricket and football played by youth instead of watching it.

Where have we heard that recently?

Cricketers of the past - Essex 1985

Posted by Tony Hutton

Essex county cricket club enjoyed a golden period in their history during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Winning county championships and one day trophies became a regular event and much of this was due to the captaincy of Keith Fletcher. His county success was not really matched by his time as both England captain and coach, but he was obviously a major figure in the history of Essex cricket.

The squad seen here at the end of the 1985 season typifies the all round team effort needed to achieve victory in both one day competitions, with a mixture of players who were successful at Test level and those of somewhat lesser abilities who all contributed.

On the left of the back row is South African Ken McEwan, who could well have been a Test player if it were not for the apartheid ruling which banned South Africa from international cricket. He was an outstanding batsman who played for the county from 1974-1985, scoring prodigiously including 74 centuries. A Wisden player of the year in 1978.

David East, no relation to Essex spin bowler Ray East, was a wicket keeper batsman who played between 1981-1991. He often scored valuable runs and became the county's chief executive between 2000 and 2012, before taking up a similar position with the Emirates cricket board in the U.A.E.

Alan Lilley, was another wicket keeper batsman whose career ran parallel with that of David East. The tallest figure on the back row is Derek Pringle, now an experienced cricket journalist. He was a talented all rounder, who played as many as thirty Tests for England, with his fast medium bowling proving somewhat better than his batting at that level. He was with Essex from 1982 to 1992 and became something of a cult figure towards the end of his Test career, particularly at Headingley, possibly because of his rather un-athletic appearance.

Neil Foster, together with J.K. Lever, was probably Essex's main seam bowler, being very accurate and very persistent. Attributes which earned him 29 Test appearances and no end of wickets at county level.

He shared in five county championships and was a Wisden player of 1988.

Chris Gladwin was an opening bat for the most part on the fringes of the side between 1981 and 1987. 

He then had a season with Derbyshire in 1989, despite being no relation of more famous namesake Cliff Gladwin, before ending his career with Suffolk in the Minor Counties.

Paul Prichard is the last man on the back row. An opening batsman who shared many big partnerships with Graham Gooch including the county's highest ever of 403 against Leicester in 1990. He captained the county from 1995-1998 and then did valuable work at the P.C.A. as well as playing for Berkshire in the Minor Counties before becoming coach of Dorset.

First left on the front row is Scotsman Brian Hardie from Stenhousemuir. Perhaps something of an unsung hero he was a consistent batsman during a twenty year career from 1970-1990, during which time he scored over 18,000 runs. Next to him is Stuart Turner, a very able all rounder in all forms of cricket. He played for Essex for twenty years, scoring over 9,000 runs and taking 820 wickets at first class level and lots more in one day games. His most notable achievement during eight years with Cambridgeshire was taking 10-11 against Cumberland in 1987.

Graham Gooch obviously needs no introduction after an incredible career with both Essex and England.

He had twenty four years as a player with the county and twenty years with England, where his top score was an incredible 333 against India at Lord's. Despite making a pair in his first Test he became one of the outstanding figures of world cricket and has carried on the good work in his coaching career ever since.

Keith Fletcher did not have the appearance of a born leader but his technical know how and 'cheeky chappy' approach obviously earned him great success at county level. It took him a long time to live down his first Test appearance at Headingley in 1968, where he was given the bird in a big way after replacing home favourite Phil Sharpe and then dropping several slip catches. May well have been underrated by the powers that be, but his reputation at Essex remains untarnished.

John Lever was a wholehearted left arm pace bowler who spent twenty seasons with the county and was a regular wicket taker throughout that time. While never really a regular at England level he did play in 21 Tests. David Acfield was an off break bowler as well as being an Olympic swordsman in 1968 and 1972 Games. A very consistent performer, he too had a twenty year career in county cricket.

Finally Keith Pont was an all rounder, a very useful seam bowler and a good enough bat to make seven first class centuries. He played for Essex from 1970 to 1986, and was another on the fringe of the side for much of the time, but a valuable player at all times.

War of the Roses

By Brian Sanderson

The above scorecard is 94 years old and was filled in by somebody

who was there on the Monday 2 August 1926.The Old Trafford 

crowd reveled in the sunshine for once as Lancashire's total of 

509 for nine declared ,scored in the best part of two days , was

the highest Roses total.

In the ninety minutes before lunch on the first day ,Makepeace 

and Hallows took the score to 74 for no wicket.The first wicket

fell ten runs later when Hallows was leg before to Robinson.

Makepeace and Ernest Tyldesley added 169 for the second 

wicket before Makepeace ,attempting a hugh drive ,was 

bowled by Rhodes for 126. Batting for four hours and fifty

minutes.

Tyldesley., photographed above, his career spanned from 1909 to 

1936. In the years between he scored more runs for the 

county at the better average than any other batsman -

34222 at 45.20. In 1926 , in a remarkable sequence he 

scored 1477 runs in 13 innings between 26 June and 6 

August. Frank Watson , a persevering batsman of the true

Lancashire breed ,missed a century by only eight runs.

The only Yorkshire bowler to gain any reward was 

Wilfred Rhodes , who took  seven for 116, his last four

wickets costing just 21 runs.

For the rest of the second day ,Holmes and Sutcliffe played some 

beautiful cricket and at the close of the day were 183 for no wicket.

On the morning of the last day ,the Yorkshire openers were within

one run of a making a 200 partnership when the immaculate

 Sutcliffe was out leg before to Richard Tyldesley.

The next batsman, Oldroyd, had scored 12 when he was hit 

 on the back of the head by a short ball by Mc Donald .

He was carried from the field unconscious

but was even additionally unlucky in that he hit his stumps as he fell.

Holmes was next to go for a magnificent 143 , in five and

 a half hours.

Yorkshire defended stoutly as Green, the Lancashire captain rang 

the bowling changes but were eventually bowled for 352.

The aggregate attendance of the match was 70998. Yorkshire

players  were paid £11 for home matches and £15 for away 

matches. In the winter they were paid £ 2 per week , in the 

playing season £1 for a win.  Footballers were on £8 per week.

Some Rugby League stars were on £17 a match .

Cricket in Doncaster

By Brian Sanderson

I was very lucky in been able to purchase this rare scorecard of

Yorkshire playing a friendly fixture against Doncaster Town

on 17 April 1926. Yorkshire had a full side out captained by 

Major Lupton.

Winning the toss Yorkshire batted on an intermittent showery 

day. Sutcliffe and Holmes against the bowling of Worthington 

and Blount. Sutcliffe  had made five boundaries and at the same

time reached his half century when he returned the next ball

in a surprisingly simple fashion to Walker ,who caught him out.

Holmes was applauded  when he came out for 59 with a 

catch by Gledhill.

Having declared with the score at 135 for four wickets.

Yorkshire set about their task in business like fashion but 

Worthington made a splendid stand to reach the half century.

The match was declared drawn the Town finishing with

123 for six wickets.

Should Cowdrey be Captain part 2

posted by John Winn

In January 1962 The Reverend David Shepherd was visited by that most acerbic of cricket wriers EM Wellings of the Evening News. The purpose of Wellings' visit was to urge Shepherd to go to Australia the following winter as captain of England. Word spread of Wellings' initiative and Shepherd came under pressure to make himself available and in May he announced that he would play for Sussex that summer and be available for the Australian tour. Thus a third candidate joined the mix of those wishing to captain their country, Dexter, Cowdrey and Shepherd and there were those that suggested that the last of these should captain the side against Pakistan side for the last two tests. That there were those who wanted a man who had not played first class cricket for two years and had last appeared in an England sweater five years ago  to be given a shot at the captaincy underlines that in such people's eyes neither Dexter nor Cowdrey were up to the job.

The crunch came in July when Cowdrey was forced to withdraw from captaining The Gentlemen at Lord's and Dexter took over with Shepherd in his side. If batting form was the chief indicator then Shepherd stole the show with a century on the first day, an innings good  enough to convince the popular press that he would be in charge in Australia. Dexter hit 55 and next day it was announced that he had accepted the invitation to be captain. The hare that Wellings had set running had come to rest.

There followed a relatively stable period with Dexter leading the England XI until 1964 when he announced that he would not be available to tour South Africa as Lord Ted fancied a seat in The House of Commons and he stood as the Conservative candidate in Cardiff South East where the Labour Candidate was Jim Callaghan. Over 22000 voted for Dexter but this was almost 8000 fewer than put their X against the future PM's name. He now joined the tour but as vice-captain to MJK Smith. For the second time in three years Cowdrey opted out of an overseas tour and that you might have thought would be the end of his opportunities to skipper England.

Not a bit of it for although MJK was reasonably successful in three overseas tours he was dumped after a heavy defeat at Old Trafford in 1966 by West Indies and almost as night follows day replaced by Cowdrey. Three tests later, one draw two defeats, and he too was sacked and lost his place in the side. Replaced by Brian Close and after another winter's rest, England were without a tour, Cowdrey forced his way back in to the national side for the second and third tests against Pakistan who followed India in a two series summer. When Close fell foul of MCC following allegations of time wasting in a championship match the selectors preference was to recall Mike Smith but that came to nothing and for the fourth time they turned to Cowdrey. His appointment was not universally acclaimed, especially in the north but he came through a difficult tour well both as captain and batsman. 

Australia were the visitors in 1968 and older readers may remember how the series was squared when at The Oval Cowdrey organised a mopping up operation after heavy rain and Underwood bowled England to victory. 9see picture below)

In May 1969  it was confirmed that Cowdrey would be captain of England for that summer's two series against West Indies and New Zealand but on the day of the announcement he snapped an Achilles tendon playing for Kent in a televised match. This time he was replaced by Leicestershire skipper Ray Illingworth who confounded expectations by scoring runs consistently and confirmed what everybody in Yorkshire knew, that he was a shrewd tactician. Cowdrey returned from his injury but was only vice captain when the Ashes were recovered in 70-71 by Illingworth's team. And that was it, 27 tests as captain spread over ten years and only four defeats. It is perhaps this last statistic which, while surprising in its way, highlights one of the most consistent criticisms of Colin Cowdrey's captaincy, namely that he was too defensive. Even when presented with a golden opportunity by Gary Sobers who in 1969 at Bridgetown set England 215 to win in a little over three words it took strong words from Graveney and Barrington before Cowdrey was convinced they should go for victory. 

Throughout Peel's autobiography there are constant references to Cowdrey's good manners and concern for those in his charge but balancing this it is clear that he did not like the nasty side. When players had to be told that they had been dropped they sometimes had to refer to the scorecard to discover the news. Championship cricket also showed his defensive side, when it came to declarations he was no Ingleby Mackenzie.  He did however do much to revive Kent's fortunes and it was under his captaincy that they won the championship in 1970 for the first time since 1913. 

 

The umpire raises his finger to confirm the dismissal of John Inverarity at The Oval in 1968 and skipper Cowdrey at first slip raises his arms in triumph. Just six minutes remained. That evening the selectors met to pick the side to tour South Africa that forthcoming winter. They did not pick Basil D'Oliveira and the rest is history. 

Rare image

By Brian Sanderson

The photograph above I purchased on ebay and is the first image

I have seen of William Edward Blackburn who played for Yorkshire

in 1919 and 1920.

He was born in Sawley which is near Clitheroe on the 24

 November 1888 which was then in West Riding.

.He had played for Bowling Old Lane in 1906

and then Keighley and Skipton before moving to 

Liverpool.

During the War ,he rose to captain in the Royal Artillery and was 

wounded three times .He appeared ten times for Yorkshire first 

team. His most successful match was against Gloucester when 

he took three wickets in the first innings and five for thirty 

nine in the second innings .During the 1919 season the matches were 

limited to two days .On the first day it did not finish until 

7.30 pm . 

He  died on the 3 June 1941 in Heaton Blackburn.

Should Cowdrey be Captain? part 1.

posted by John Winn

During the early part of lockdown I reread MCC, the autobiography of Colin Cowdrey which stirred my interest in this enigmatic cricketer and more recently I bought a copy of The Last Roman, a biography of Cowdrey by Mark Peel. The question that I have used as the title for this posting is a recurring issue in  the second of these two books and in MCC's obituary in the 2001 Wisden the rights and wrongs of Cowdrey's captaincy of England are described as 'the saga that dominated English cricket through the 1960s'

When Len Hutton stepped down from first class cricket in 1955 the selectors, probably with some relief, returned to the template for captaincy that had been the norm before appointing Hutton in 1952 as the first professional captain, namely amateur, public school, Oxbridge. Peter May three years older than Cowdrey and with more tests under his belt, ticked all these boxes and was duly appointed. There were those who, at the time, thought the honour came too soon and had not David Shepherd begun training for the ministry he might have been preferred. But May it was and until illness forced his retirement in 1962 when fit he was the automatic choice.

Cowdrey, amateur, Tonbridge, Oxford, also had the right cv and his opportunity* came in the West Indies in 1959/60 when May, who probably should not have toured had a reoccurrence of his illness and Cowdrey stepped into the breach for ten tests in which England were unbeaten. Despite this successful run there was never any question that if and when fit May would return although by this time another candidate had entered right, Ted Dexter, amateur, Radley, Cambridge.

Having taken 1960 off May returned to cricket in the following summer, ready for an Ashes series. An ankle injury prevented him  from playing in the first test but when he he returned to the side at Lord's, Cowdrey, who had been bailed out by Subba Row and Dexter at Edgbaston continued as captain. Defeat followed and May resumed as skipper for Trueman's match at Headingley where the Yorkshire bowler took 11 wickets in the match and the series was levelled. Defeat at Old Trafford, in circumstances too painful to recount, meant that the Ashes stayed with Benaud's men and three weeks later May played his last test.

At this point Cowdrey, who had had a disappointing series, for 'family reasons' made himself unavailable for the tour of India and Pakistan. The selectors cannot have taken long to appoint 'Lord Ted' as his successor. Peel, writes that 'Dexter's leadership in India and Pakistan had not won universal acclaim' although Wisden says 'Dexter...did well' and this ambivalence seems to have transferred itself to the selectors who used the 1962 series against Pakistan to assess the qualities
of the two men. More next time

Cowdrey, middle row second from the right. aged 13 in the Tonbridge XI,

* Cowdrey had actually captained England in two tests in 1959 when May was ill but the series had already been won and he had initially been left out of the side to allow the selectors to experiment. When May withdrew he was recalled as skipper for the last two tests. The West Indies was a much sterner test. 

Cricketers of the Past - Durham 1992

Posted by Tony Hutton

Durham County cricket club achieved their much anticipated first class status in 1992. Their new ground at Chester-le-Street's Riverside was not ready for two more years, so they had an itinerant existence during that first season travelling around the county from Durham University to Stockton-on-Tees, Darlington, Hartlepool, Chester-le-Street (Ropery Lane) and Gateshead Fell.

Fortunately for me, after the initial shock, I was made redundant on the 1st January that year and was thus able to follow them round the county in addition to my normal pursuit of following Yorkshire. Durham had previously played in the Minor Counties competition with a side made up of local league players. However, for this new venture they had recruited from far and wide to find an experienced base of former county players.

Most of the squad for 1992 appear in this picture, which was taken at Lord's, although there are one or two faces missing such as Phil Bainbridge who came from Gloucester and local lads, batsman Jimmy Daley and reserve wicket keeper Andy Fothergill.

Starting on the left of the back row we have the lady physio with Steve McEwan next to her. McEwan was a pace bowler who had spent six seasons at his home county of Worcester and was good enough to have obtained his county cap. However he spent only one season at Durham, as he was unable to impress at first team level.

Next is one of the local teenagers, of whom there were great hopes, Paul Henderson. He had played in the Minor Counties at the age of 17 but he played only a handful of first team games before leaving by the age of 20. Fourth from the left is John Glendenen, an opening bat who had played a few times for Yorkshire seconds. He too only stayed for two seasons, but played quite a few good innings including both a first class and a one day century. He later played Minor Counties for Cumberland.

Fifth from the left is left arm seam bowler Simon Brown, who came back home to Durham after four years at Northamptonshire, He became very much the mainstay of the county's bowling attack during their first few years of county cricket and was good enough to make one appearance for England in 1996. He took over 500 wickets in all for the county before retiring in 2002 after a few injuries, possibly caused by over bowling.

Next to Brown is another opening batsman Stewart Hutton who stayed around until 1998. He was a dependable left hander and played in sixty six first class games scoring over three thousand runs, with a highest score of 172 not out. He still shares the first wicket partnership record of 334 with Mike Roseberry against Oxford University in 1996.

Phil Berry was an off break bowler who spent four seasons with his native Yorkshire. He spent three years at Durham without ever really becoming a regular, although he did have one famous performance to remember against Middlesex at Lord's in that first season. After taking career best figures of 7-113

including the wickets of Mike Gatting and Desmond Haynes, he top scored with 76.

The last player on the back row is Mark Briers who came from Minor Counties with Bedfordshire. Again very much a fringe player for two seasons he became an outstanding cricket and racquets coach at Cheltenham College. He also played for Cornwall and Herefordshire in the Minor Counties.

End of the line is long serving scorer Brian Hunt, who scored for over 40 years before retiring.

On the front row we have wicket keeper Chris Scott, who came to Durham after ten years as understudy to Bruce French at Notts. He stayed for five seasons before becoming a much respected coach at Cambridge University. Next to him is Simon Hughes who came for two seasons after a long career with Middlesex. He became a cricket writer and media pundit.

The unmistakable figure of Ian Botham, who saw out the last of his phenomenal career with Durham. He started with thirteen years at Somerset, followed by five years at Worcester as well as a remarkable twelve years with England. Until recently was a Sky Sports summariser. He is now the Durham club President.

David Graveney, slow left arm bowler from Gloucestershire, was captain of Durham for the first two seasons. Was for a time chairman of England's selectors. He is the son of Ken Graveney, formerly with Gloucester and nephew of Tom Graveney, Gloucester, Worcester and England.

Paul Parker had played with distinction for Cambridge University and Sussex, where he was captain for four seasons. A fine batsman and outstanding cover fielder he too was nearing the end of his career when he came to Durham for two seasons. Another one cap wonder for England in 1981.

Dean Jones, the Australian Test batsman had a wonderful career record before coming to Durham, where he did well in his one season. Often a controversial character he returned to England to spend two seasons with Derbyshire in 1996-7.

Finally at the end of the front row is yet another veteran, a real character in Wayne 'Ned' Larkins. He came to Durham after a long, successful career with Northants. When in form he always scored his runs quickly and with a smile on his face.

Old Trafford 1953

By Brian Sanderson

1953 was a eventful year with the first climb of Everest and the
Queen's Coronation. Cricket was looking for Len Hutton, the
first professional English captain, to win the Ashes.

The first two tests had been drawn at Nottingham and Lords.

Before the match started there was worry about Hutton;s health.

It was not until 10.00 AM on the first morning he declared himself

fit. Trueman was twelfth man and the bowling attack had only 

three specialist  bowlers Bedser , Wardle and Laker. Whilst the

Australian bowling attack was Miller, Lindwall ,Archer,in his

first test against England  and Davidson.

Lindsey Hassett won the toss again and batted first. and did 

not start until 2.50 pm  due to rain. Soon Laker was injured 

so reducing the bowling attack even more. The end of the 

first day Australia were 151 for 3.

Despite heavy rain in the early hours of the morning ,play 

was possible at 11.55 am  but the weather was so bad that

cricket was limited to ninety minutes in four separate attempts.

Australia continued to 221 for three.

On the third day play started at 12.00 and Hole was soon out

for 66 after being in a stand of 173 with Neil Harvey. Next to 

go was Harvey for 122 batting for four hours and a quarter.

Australia lost their last seven wickets for 97 and finished

on 318.

England finished at the end of the day at 126 for 4 with Hutton

scoring 66 which would turn out to be the top score of the 

innings of 276

There was no play on Monday and play started on Tuesday at 

2.50pm. When the Australians batted they were soon in bother

by losing eight wickets for 35 with Johnny Wardle taking 

4 for 7 in five ovrs. They could not master the turning ball

and so England emerged for the third time with an honourable 

draw.

Headingley match was another draw and then on to the Oval.

A story for another day.