Cricketer Of The Week <=> 1st Jan to 7 Jan 2012

[Fenil]

Hall Of Legends

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Sir Len Hutton​

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WG Grace​

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KS Ranjitsinhji​

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Sydney Barnes​

http://www.planetcricket.org/forums/2228933-post26.html|

John Wisden​

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Sid Barnes​

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[Fenil]

Cricketer Of The Week <=> 13 Nov to 19 Nov

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In this thread, I'll post the details about a cricketer every week that you might not be familiar with but has been a great cricketer. You can discuss on the same.

I'll start with England's legendary cricketer, Sir Leonard Hutton.

Sir Leonard Hutton​

Sir Leonard Hutton or Len Hutton as he was popularly known was born in Fulneck in Yorkshire. He was described by Wisden Cricketer's Almanack as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. Hutton learned batting techniques from players like Herbert Sutcliffe, Wilfred Rhodes, Hedley Verity, Brain Sellers and Bill Bowes. His first class debut was in 1934 for Yorkshire team at the age of 17 for 14 championship matches during that season. During this season, he scored 5 half centuries and made his maiden first class century too.

Len Hutton drives Chuck Fleetwood-Smith on his way to 364, England v Australia, 5th Test, The Oval, August 1938
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He made his test match debut in 1937 against New Zealand and was dismissed for a duck in his first innings. This right hand batsman and right arm leg break bowler scored 364 runs in test matches which was the then highest test innings by an Englishman. The record stood for nearly 20 years.. This was in 1938 against Australia. The following year he thrilled the spectators with 196 runs against West Indies in the Lord?s test match. In 1952, he became the first professional cricketer of the twentieth century to captain England in a Test match and under his captaincy England won the Ashes the following year for the first time in 19 years. In the years immediately following the war, he was the mainstay of the Test team's batting.

He has played in 79 test matches, scored 6971 runs at an average of 56.67 with 19 hundreds and 33 half-centuries. In his first class career, he scored 40140 runs at an average of 55.51 with 129 hundreds and 177 fifties. He also took 400 catches and 173 wickets.

Hutton scored 2,145 runs in 1951 with nine centuries, including his 100th in first-class cricket. The South Africans toured England, losing the Test series 3?1. After scoring fifty in the first Test which was won by South Africa, the 100th century almost came during the third Test, as Hutton scored an unbeaten 98 in the second innings to take England to victory. But the innings provoked controversy when Hutton's team-mates seemed to decline easy runs to allow Hutton the opportunity to reach his hundred before the end of the match, jeopardizing England's chances of victory in unsettled weather. The 100th century came a week later against Surrey, and Hutton became the thirteenth player to achieve the landmark. He followed up immediately with 194 not out against Nottinghamshire and 100 in the drawn fourth Test at Headlingley. In the final Test, which England won to take the series, Hutton became the first man in Tests, and only the fourth in all first-class cricket, to be given out obstructing the field: he edged a ball in the air and legitimately knocked it away from his wickets with his bat; in doing so, he prevented a catch being taken and was given out. This remains in 2011 the only such instance in Tests. Hutton ended the Test series with 378 runs at an average of 54.00.

Sir Leonard Hutton in the nets​

In 1956, he was knighted for his utmost services to the cricket sport. Hutton was appointed as a selector of the England test team in 1975. He gave up this role after the 1976 season. Overall, he was a true and a great cricketer and was ranked with some of the finest 20th century English batsmen like Wally Hammond, Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe.

He played his last test against New Zealand, the 2nd of the series played at Eden Park, Auckland between Mar 25-28, 1955 which England won by an innings and 20 runs with Hutton contributing 53 runs.

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A rare copy of Sir Len Hutton's signature​

Sir Len Hutton died in hospital at Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey on September 6, 1990, aged 74 years 75 days.

His family members also took cricket as the career and till now, Hutton's brother in law Frank Dennis, sons Richard Hutton and John Hutton, nephew Simon Dennis and grandsons Ben Hutton and Oliver Hutton had all played first class cricket but apart from son Richard Hutton, none have managed to make it to the national team.



Sources: Wikipedia, cricinfo and other relevant articles from various websites.

 

[Ahmad Shah]

Yeah He Was A Great Cricketer.

 

[AbhishekS]

Great idea, will certainly keep a watch on this thread if you provide regular weekly updates.

 

[Fenil]

Great idea, will certainly keep a watch on this thread if you provide regular weekly updates.

I'm glad that you liked the idea. I'll surely give regular updates. I could have given daily updates too but I think weekly updates is a better idea as people can discuss on the cricketer too.

 

[Ahmad Shah]

I'm glad that you liked the idea. I'll surely give regular updates. I could have given daily updates too but I think weekly updates is a better idea as people can discuss on the cricketer too.

Yeah Thats A Great Idea by Great India

 

[RPHKR]

Awesome idea, Nice writing.
Will read to know more...

 

[BlitzBerg]

I'm subscribing to this thread! Please update it regularly!

 

[Fenil]

I'm subscribing to this thread! Please update it regularly!

Sure, I won't let you disappoint, my friend. In fact, I've already got a list of at least 50 cricketers whom I can write about! So, at least an year of regular updates (minus my exam dates) is almost certain.

 

[sifter132]

Good idea

Len Hutton is a really underrated guy these days. Everyone's falling over themselves to include Sehwag as one of the 'great' openers, but I think Hutton and Hobbs would be my top 2 openers ever (Gavaskar very close of course).

2 things I know about Hutton: 1) one of his arms was shorter than the other after an accident during WW2, and 2) his 202* vs WI in 1950 was one of the greatest innings ever. Here's the scorecard: 4th Test: England v West Indies at The Oval, Aug 12-16, 1950 | Cricket Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo It started raining midway during the England innings, making the pitch a minefield, and Hutton had very little support, but it's said that his innings was a masterpiece. England lost 16 wickets for only around 140 runs on the last day (they had to follow on) just to show how tough the conditions were.

 

[Fenil]

Yes, you are correct, Jason. Sehwag is a good opener in tests but nowhere near to the greats like Hobbs and Hutton and others when it comes to all time list.

 

[Fenil]

Dr. W.G. Grace​

William Gilbert ("W.G.") Grace, born 18 July 1848 at Downend, near Bristol was an English cricketer who is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest players of all time, having a special significance in terms of his importance to the development of the sport.

W.G. Grace plays a shot during a match in 1900​

Grace, a qualified doctor, universally known as "W.G.", he played first-class cricket for a record-equalling 44 seasons, from 1865 to 1908, during which he captained England, Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, the Gentlemen, MCC, the United South of England Eleven and several other teams. He came from a cricketing family in which one of his elder brothers was E.M. Grace and his younger brother was Fred Grace; their joint appearance for England in 1880 was the first time three brothers played together in Test cricket.

England's team in W.G. Grace's final Test at Trent Bridge in 1899​

He played a whopping 870 first class matches scoring 54211 runs with 124 centuries and 251 fifties. Add to that the fact that he played at a time when there were no boundaries or overboundries. So, he had to run every run! He was equally good with the ball and took 2809 wickets in his long first class career. He represented England in 22 test matches in which he score 1098 runs at an average of 32.29. He also scalped 9 wickets during his career.

Grace continued to play first class cricket even 9 years after his last test match 1899 till the age of 60.

WG Grace takes centre stage in his final game, Grove Park v Eltham, July 25, 1914
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Despite his age and bulk, Grace continued to play minor cricket for several years after his retirement from the first-class version. His penultimate match, and the last in which he batted, was for Eltham Cricket Club at Grove Park on 25 July 1914, a week after his 66th birthday. He contributed an undefeated 69 to a total of 155-6 declared, having begun his innings when they were 31-4. Grove Park made 99-8 in reply. "The last match of any class that W.G. played in" was a couple of weeks later for Eltham v Northbrook on 8 August.


In August 1914, soon after the First World War began, Grace wrote a letter to The Sportsman in which he called for the immediate closure of the county cricket season and for all first-class cricketers to set an example and serve their country.

Grace died during the war and MCC decided to commemorate his life and career with a Memorial Biography, published in 1919.

Colonel Frank Crozier, A man who played with Grace described Grace's batting as: "W.G." was a very correct batsman. His left shoulder pointed to the bowler. He held his bat straight and brought it straight through to the ball. His beard hung right over the ball as he stroked it - the ball, I mean, not his beard. He was the most powerful straight-driver I have ever seen. When he drove at a ball I was mighty glad I was behind the stumps.

Grace was an outstanding fielder too. In his prime, he was noted for his outstanding fielding and was a very strong thrower of the ball; he was once credited with throwing the cricket ball 122 yards during an athletics event at Eastbourne.

One of the bats used by WG Grace​

He attributed this skill to his country-bred childhood in which stone throwing at crows was a daily exercise. In later life, Grace commented upon a decline in English fielding standards and blamed it on "the falling numbers of country-bred boys who strengthen their arms by throwing stones at birds in the fields".

A rare copy of signature of WG Grace​

Much of Grace's success as a bowler was due to his magnificent fielding to his own bowling; as soon as he had delivered the ball he covered so much ground to the left that he made himself into an extra mid-off and he took some extraordinary catches in this way.
In his early career, Grace generally fielded at long-leg or cover-point; later he was usually at point. In his prime, he was a fine thrower, a fast runner and a safe catcher.


W.G. Grace died on 23 October 1915, aged 67, after suffering a heart attack. His death "shook the nation almost as much as Winston Churchill's fifty years later". He is buried in the family grave at Beckenham Crematorium and Cemetery, Kent.

 

[Paki007]

good presentation mate Grace really had a grace.He was one of the stars of game in early times

 

[Fenil]

I think he was a bit underutilized with the ball in test cricket which kept him known much only as a batsman. Hardly anyone credits him for his bowling as much as his batting.

 

[RPHKR]

It's great to know about these players, nice presentation makes me read line by line.