It Happened on This Day in

OCTOBER

Compiled by Roy D Wilkinson

29th

1877
Wilfred RHODES was born at Kirkheaton. Just over six years after the birth of George Herbert Hirst, Kirkheaton ushered into the world another youngster destined to join him and dominate cricket for three decades. As has been mentioned in the note regarding Hirst (see 7th September) both batted right and bowled left - one fast medium with a devastating swerve (or in-swing, as it is now described) and the other slow with deceptive variation of length, pace and spin. Rhodes’s career was quite astonishing. He played for Yorkshire from 1898 to 1930, scored over 31,000 runs at just over 30, with a highest of 267* versus Leicestershire at Headingley in 1921 among his 46 centuries for the county. With his left-arm spin he took more wickets in first-class cricket than any other player, before or since - 4,187 to be exact (3,598 of them for Yorkshire at 16.01 apiece). He did the double 16 times and twice took over 200 wickets in a season for Yorkshire. In all first-class cricket in the three seasons 1900-02 he took 725 wickets at a cost of 14.07 each taking 5 wickets in an innings 68 times and 10 wickets in a mach 21 times. Yorkshire won the Championship in all three years. Without doubt the finest bowler of his time and a very useful batsman anywhere in the order.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY

MICHAEL VAUGHAN

29 TODAY

26th

1918
Ronald ASPINALL was born at Almondbury, Huddersfield. A right-arm fast bowler of undoubted Test potential his first-class career came to a sad end as a result of a strained Achilles tendon. He first played for Yorkshire in 1946 but it was in 1948 that he really made his mark with 58 wickets at 24.43. Against the Australians at Bramall Lane he bowled Sid Barnes for 0 with the third ball of the match - your present compiler was there and the roar from the capacity crowd (at 11.32 a.m.) that greeted the sight of the off-bail being disturbed remains firmly in the memory. Later in the match he had Donald Bradman caught by Hutton and then immediately bowled Keith Miller for 0. He began the 1949 season with 6 for 54 and 7 for 46 versus Somerset at Headingley and then 5 for 19 and 4 for 21 against them in the very next Championship match at Wells. Twenty-two wickets for 140 runs in four innings - a great start, but his career came to a virtual end at Bramall Lane versus Worcestershire when, after bowling 9 overs he sustained the injury to an ankle and was never the same force again. He played a couple of non-Championship matches in 1950 to end his first-class playing career on a sad note. He went on to play for Durham before becoming a respected first-class umpire

1919
Ted WAINWRIGHT died in Sheffield aged 54

1959
Abe WADDINGTON died in Scarborough aged 66

23rd

1942
Arthur DOLPHIN died in Bradford aged 56

21st

1851
George ULYETT was born at Pitsmoor, Sheffield. A right-hand batsman who loved nothing more than to hit the ball hard and often - and to all parts of the ground. He played 355 matches for Yorkshire from 1873 to 1893, scoring 14,157 runs at 24.11, taking 457 wickets at 17.90 and holding 235 catches - the first real all-rounder Yorkshire had produced. His highest score was made when he carried his bat for 199* versus Derbyshire at Bramall Lane, Sheffield in 1887 (Joe Hunter last man out). He and Louis Hall became the first of a long line of effective, impressive and famous Yorkshire opening batsmen. They put together twelve century opening partnerships on the under-prepared pitches of the time. They became the first ever, in first-class cricket, to put on a century opening partnership in both innings of a match - versus Sussex at Hove in 1885 when they added 128 in the first innings and 108 in the second. An ebullient character he was in sharp contrast on and off the field to his slow-scoring, dour, abstemious opening partner. His best bowling in a match was the 12 for 102 (7 for 50 and 5 for 52) he took versus Lancashire at Huddersfield in 1889. He was one of the five Yorkshiremen to have played in the first ever Test Match - versus Australia at Melbourne in March 1877

1940
Geoffrey BOYCOTT was born at Fitzwilliam. What a coincidence. Two of the greatest Yorkshire opening batsman share the same birthday, although it has to be said that Boycott was more Hall than Ulyett! Details of his career are well known and well documented. Suffice to say that the 32,570 first-class runs he scored for Yorkshire are third only to Herbert Sutcliffe and David Denton. His 103 centuries for the county are exceeded only by Sutcliffe’s 112, Boycott playing 190 fewer innings. His average of 57.85 is, by a distance, the highest of any Yorkshire batsman to have scored over 10,000 runs. In 1971 and 1979 he averaged over 100 in an English season, the only player to do so twice. He was the first player to complete his 100th first-class century in a Test Match on that never to be forgotten day versus Australia at Headingley in August 1977. He played for the county from 1962 to 1986 and was captain for eight turbulent and controversial seasons from 1971 to 1978.

20th

1927
Irving WASHINGTON died at Wombwell aged 47

19th

1869
Ernest SMITH was born in Morley. An Oxford Blue in 1890 and 1891, he became a schoolmaster, an occupation that restricted his appearances in first-class cricket. However he played in 154 matches for Yorkshire from 1888 to 1907, scoring 4,453 runs at 20.6 and taking 248 wickets with his right-arm fast medium at 25.31 apiece, he also held 112 catches. Although he was generally regarded as an attacking batsman with a full range of strokes he is, as far as is known, the only Yorkshire batsman to have gone 60 minutes without making his first run. The match was versus Essex at Leyton in August 1905 and Yorkshire had to draw to make certain of another Championship. Yorkshire followed-on 423 in arrears and were reduced to 212 for 6. Smith batted out the remaining hour without scoring.

18th

1960
Simon John DENNIS was born in Scarborough. A left-arm fast bowler who, in his 89 first-class matches for Yorkshire from 1980 to 1988, took 156 wickets at 28.95. His best performance was to take 5 for 35 versus Somerset at Abbeydale Park, Sheffield in 1981 - including the wicket of Viv Richards for 8. A nephew of Sir Leonard Hutton and Frank Dennis

17th

1890
Roy KILNER was born at Wombwell. One of the most endearing of Yorkshire cricketers, Kilner was liked and respected wherever he appeared. Although he could play the hard and gritty innings that many associate with Yorkshire batting, his sense of humour was never far from the surface and was expressed in many of his innings. A left-hand batsman and unorthodox slow left-arm bowler he played 365 matches (he would have seen the funny side of that number!) and made just over 13,000 runs for an average of 30.13. He took 857 wickets at 17.33 and held 213 catches. His career was badly interrupted by the First World War during which he saw active service in France. 47,256 paid to attend his benefit match in 1925, versus Middlesex at Headingley, and it was said that the total attendance exceeded 71,000. The total Benefit Fund raised £4,106 - by far the highest figure received by any player until surpassed by the Hedley Memorial Fund (£8,233) in 1945. Over 100,000 mourners attended his funeral in Wombwell in April 1928.

16th

1967
Simon Andrew KELLETT was born in Bradford. A stylish right-hand opening batsman he did not fulfil, at first-class level, the undoubted talent that many sound judges thought he possessed. He played from 1989 to 1995 and was capped in 1992. The 86 matches he played for the county brought him 4,204 runs at the respectable average of 30.68. He made two centuries, the highest being 125* versus Derbyshire at Chesterfield in 1991

14th

1877
Sir Archibald Woolaston WHITE was born at Tickhill. A right-hand batsman of modest ability he was captain of the county for the three seasons 1912 to 1914, leading the side to the Championship in his first season, losing only one match - to Middlesex at Lord’s. There is some evidence that, under White’s captaincy, Yorkshire were guilty on more than one occasion of rather slow, stolid batting with Ben Wilson and Edgar Oldroyd the main suspects but White defended the policy saying that ‘…If it is impossible to win a match it might be saved….’ He made his highest score of 55 versus Nottinghamshire at Leeds in one of the two matches he played in 1920. He appeared for Yorkshire in 97 matches, making less than 1,500 runs at 14.57 but he did take 50 catches

11th

1918
John Ronald (Ronnie) BURNET was born at Saltaire. Although eight years older than Billy Sutcliffe (see above) he was appointed to captain the county for 1958 and 1959. These were turbulent times in the Yorkshire dressing room and Burnet was brought in to restore discipline and harmony, both of which had been sadly lacking for some seasons. The departure of Frank Lowson, Bob Appleyard and the dismissal of Johnny Wardle are well documented but the fact is that Burnett, who had captained the 2nd XI from 1953, brought to the side many of the youngsters he had led to the Minor Counties Championship in 1957. They ended the Surrey seven-year domination of the County Championship by winning in spectacular style in 1959. A cricketer of modest standards at first-class level his right-hand batting brought only 889 runs at 12.88. But is it for his courageous, forceful leadership and the 1959 Championship that he will always be remembered.

1935
Frank MITCHELL died in Blackheath aged 63

10th

1926
William Herbert Hobbs (Billy) SUTCLIFFE was born in Pudsey. A right-hand batsman and son of Herbert he was appointed captain of the county in succession to Norman Yardley for the two seasons 1956 and 1957. The highest of his six centuries was 181 versus Kent at Canterbury in 1952 when he added 201 for the fourth wicket with Leonard Hutton but it was Sutcliffe who opened the innings (with Vic Wilson) and Hutton who went in at number five! It remains the highest partnership for any wicket for Yorkshire on the ground. In a career of 177 matches from 1948 to 1957 Sutcliffe scored just over 6,000 runs at 26.

1938
Lord HAWKE died in Edinburgh 78

6th

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

ANTHONY McGRATH

28 TODAY

5th

1935
James Graham BINKS was born in Hull. He was seventh in the short line of nine regular Yorkshire wicket-keepers. Beginning with George Pinder in 1867 through to Richard Blakey in 2003 the nine have ‘kept’ in over 91% of Yorkshire first-class matches and between them have taken 5,223 catches and made 1,489 stumpings - a total of 6,712 victims. Binks is widely regarded as a stumper of the very highest class, having had to take the bowling of Johnny Wardle, Bob Appleyard, Raymond Illingworth, Brian Close, Fred Trueman, Bob Platt and Tony Nicholson - all bowlers of great ability and all capable of sustained and subtle variety. He played in 412 consecutive County Championship matches from his debut to his retirement. He holds the record of most victims in a season by a Yorkshire ’keeper - 107 (96 caught, 11 stumped) in 1960. In his career of 491 matches for Yorkshire from 1955 to 1969 he held 872 catches and made 172 stumpings.

1976
Phil CARRICK and Arthur ROBINSON were awarded their county caps

1988
Stuart FLETCHER and Phil ROBINSON were awarded their county caps

4th

1989
Norman Yardley died in Sheffield aged 74


HAPPY BIRTHDAY

STEVE KIRBY

26 TODAY

2nd

1963
Geoffrey BOYCOTT, John HAMPSHIRE and Tony NICHOLSON were awarded their county caps

1st

1888
Edgar OLDROYD was born in Batley. For much of his career, which spanned the years 1910 to 1931, Oldroyd was a fixture at number 3 in the order. A right-hand batsman, he succeeded David Denton and handed over to Arthur Mitchell, who in turn was replaced by Vic Wilson and then Doug Padgett. A long, almost unbroken, line of effective number 3’s stretching from the mid 1890’s to the mid 1970’s. Oldroyd played in almost 400 matches for the county, making 15,891 runs at 35.23. The 194 versus Worcestershire at Worcester in 1923 was the highest of his 37 centuries.