Answer: Colin Cowdrey
Michael Colin Cowdrey (1932-2000) was born in Ootacamund, India, where his family ran a tea plantation. His 7,624 Test runs for England between 1954 and 1975 put him in tenth place in the list of top-scoring England Test batsmen, as of 2023. These included 22 centuries, with a top score of 182, against Pakistan in 1962. Outside his international career, he played for Kent County Cricket Club from 1950-76. In the Queen's 1997 Birthday Honours he was awarded a life peerage, becoming Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge.
From Quiz: Keep On Running
Answer: Headingley
Yorkshire County Cricket Club's main home ground is Headingley Stadium located in Headingley, Leeds. The ground is on the same site as Headingley Rugby Stadium where Rugby League side Leeds Rhinos play. First class cricket was first staged at Headingley in 1890 and the first Test match played there took place in 1899.
From Quiz: The Grand Yorkshire Cricket Quiz
Answer: 1870
This is the date given on the club's own website, although others give 1871 as the year. Dr Henry Mills Grace (father of W.G.) was the prime mover in establishing the club. Their first county game was on 2 June 1870, against Surrey, which they won.
From Quiz: Gloucestershire County Cricket Club
Answer: David Lloyd
David Lloyd played just 9 test matches for England and scored 552 runs with a double century (214 not out) as his highest score. But 'Bumble' was known as a good coach, having coached his county Lancashire successfully. He was coach for the English cricket team from 1996 to 1999. He is very popular worldwide as a jolly commentator and is a regular with Sky Sports. He also worked with ESPN-Star was commentated in the first T-20 world cup in South Africa.
From Quiz: English Cricketers
Answer: Hugh Morris
Hugh Morris scored 19,785 first class runs, including 52 centuries for Glamorgan - the last of these in his final game for the County, which equalled Alan Jones' record (of 52 centuries for Glamorgan).
From Quiz: Oh Glammy Glammy !
Answer: Peter May
England won 20 of Peter May's 41 Tests as captain, 8 of Colin Cowdrey's 27 Tests, 9 of Ted Dexter's 30, and only five of David Gower's 32.
From Quiz: Elegant English Batsmen
Answer: Brian Close
Brian Close followed Brian Langford as captain, then came Brian Rose and a team that kept fans on the edge of their seats as they came so close to winning those elusive trophies in 1978 and then romped to victory in 1979. Vic Marks and Ian Botham were later captains of the team.
From Quiz: Somerset CCC: 1970s and 80s
Answer: 61
South African born, Smith played over 400 matches for Hampshire, and over 60 tests for England. In addition to his 61 centuries, he made 151 fifties, and scored over 25 000 first class runs.
From Quiz: English County Cricket
Answer: Mushtaq Ahmed
Mushtaq Ahmed has become the first bowler this century (last time was Andy Caddick and Courtney Walsh) to take 100 First Class wickets.
From Quiz: Sussex - International Players
Answer: 1744
The code of 1744, was compiled by the "noblemen and gentlemen" of the London Club, which played at the Artillery Ground in Finsbury. Before this, individual "articles of agreement" were usually drawn up for major matches. Features that survive from the 1744 code include the length of the pitch (22 yards), the toss for choice of innings, and most of the ways of dismissing a batsman. The laws were revised in 1755 and 1774. The first l.b.w. law is found in the 1774 code: this code also fixed the present weight of the ball (5½ to 5¾ ounces), and the maximum width of the bat (4¼ inches). The Marylebone Cricket Club, formed in 1787, seems to have been immediately recognized as an authority, and issued its first laws in 1788.
From Quiz: Early Days Of English Cricket
Answer: Pneumonia
He served in the Western desert during the war. In the 1947 Test matches, he was only outscored by Denis Compton. He was also a leading Baseball and Soccer player.
From Quiz: 1947: Cricket's Glorious Summer
Answer: Ian Bell
Ian Bell was born in 1982 in Coventry, West Midlands, and played county cricket for Warwickshire between 1999 and 2020. He made his England test debut in 2004 against the West Indies, scoring 70 in his first innings. In his 118 Test matches he scored 22 centuries, which as of 2023 put him fourth equal in the total of England Test centurions. One of these was a double century: 235 not out, against India at the Oval in 2011. He retired from professional cricket in 2020.
From Quiz: Keep On Running
Answer: William Gilbert
Even people with little interest in sport have heard of W.G. Grace. He played until the age of 50 and was as well known for his gamesmanship as his play. It is said that when he was given out early in a match, he refused to leave the field saying, 'They've come to see me bat, not you umpire. Play on.'
From Quiz: Gloucestershire County Cricket Club
Answer: Fred Trueman
Fred Trueman or 'Fiery Fred' was one of the greatest fast bowlers to have played for England. In his test career spanning from 1952 to 1965, Trueman will always be in the record books for being the first bowler to take 300 wickets. In his 67 tests, he took 307 wickets at an average of 21.57 and had taken 17 five-wicket hauls. He had an astounding bag of 2304 wickets in his first class career. He was one of the first great fast bowlers to intimidate the batsmen with his looks and personality. He worked as a commentator post-retirement and died in 2006, succumbing to cancer.
From Quiz: English Cricketers
Answer: Don Shepherd
Don Shepherd was, of course, much better known as a bowler, taking 2,218 wickets in a first class career which spanned 23 seasons. One of the 5 Wisden Cricketer's of the Year in 1970, "Shep" somewhat surprisingly never earned a Test Cap for England.
From Quiz: Oh Glammy Glammy !
Answer: Ted Dexter
Dexter scored 52 on debut against New Zealand in 1958 and had a highest Test score of 205 against Pakistan. His career average of 47.89 was the best of these four fine players. He was Chairman of Selectors for England from 1989 to 1993.
From Quiz: Elegant English Batsmen
Answer: Allan Border
Viv Richards, Martin Crowe, Sunil Gavaskar, Joel Garner, Steve Waugh and Greg Chappell all played for Somerset.
From Quiz: Somerset CCC: 1970s and 80s
Answer: Tony Greig
Tony Greig was an 'all-rounder' and unusual, in that he could bowl both medium fast and off-breaks. He scored over 3000 test runs and took 141 wickets in his 58 test matches.
From Quiz: Sussex - International Players
Answer: Hambledon
Of course, Hambledon wasn't exactly what we would now call a village club, nor were the "All England" sides the equivalent of modern Test teams, but Hambledon was undoubtedly a great club for a while. David Underdown's book "Start of Play" gives an excellent account of the club and of the changing society in which it rose and fell.
From Quiz: Early Days Of English Cricket
Answer: Somerset
Somerset experienced a poor season, dropping from 4th in 1946, to 13th in 1947. They were, however, the only county to beat Lancashire, who came third.
From Quiz: 1947: Cricket's Glorious Summer
Answer: Mike Atherton
Mike Atherton was born in 1968 in Failsworth, Lancashire, and played for his home county from 1987-2001. He played his first Test for England in 1989, in the last match of the Ashes series against Australia, and his last in 2001 at the end of another Ashes series. He played in a total of 115 Test matches, and his total of 7,728 runs included 16 centuries. His highest Test score was 185 not out, against South Africa in 1995. Since retiring as a player in 2001 he became a cricket commentator on television and radio, as well as a successful writer on the sport.
From Quiz: Keep On Running
Answer: Surrey
Yorkshire's first match with first-class status was played against Surrey County Cricket Club at The Oval in London. The match was a three day game taking place between 4-6th June 1863 and ended in a draw.
From Quiz: The Grand Yorkshire Cricket Quiz
Answer: Jim Laker
Jim Laker played for England from 1948 to 1959 and in 46 tests took 193 wickets at an excellent average of 21.24. He took 5 wickets in an innings 9 times and 10 wickets in a match 3 times. He is known for his amazing bowling performance in the 1956 Old Trafford test against Australia, when he took all the ten wickets in the innings. In the first innings, he took 9/37 and in the second innings his tally read 10/53. With a match aggregate of 19 wickets, his bowling performance will be remembered forever. Post-retirement, Laker worked as a commentator for BBC. He died in 1986.
From Quiz: English Cricketers
Answer: Steve Barwick
In his latter years, Steve Barwick became known as more of a one day specialist bowler, playing a key part in the Sunday League triumph of 1993. Released from the staff in 1996, he went on to play for the Wales Minor Counties team until 2001. His highest ever score was 48 not out !
From Quiz: Oh Glammy Glammy !
Answer: Colin Cowdrey
Colin Cowdrey scored 22 Test centuries and finished his career with an average of 44.06.
From Quiz: Elegant English Batsmen
Answer: 1986
Robert Timothy Robinson, better known as Tim, was born in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire in 1958. He played 425 first class matches in his career at Nottinghamshire, including 29 tests for England. Known also for his longevity, he retired at age 41 at the end of the 1999 season, having made 27 571 first class runs.
From Quiz: English County Cricket
Answer: Duleepsinhji
Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji played 12 tests for England and averaged 49.95 with the bat. In 1930, he also scored 333 in a day for Sussex against Northants. This total was supassed by Murray Goodwin in the final match of the 2003 season when his score of 335 not out (made over two days) helped Sussex gain the necessary 3 batting bonus points to secure the Championship Title.
From Quiz: Sussex - International Players
Answer: Lord's
Thomas Lord, a property developer from Yorkshire, opened his first ground where Dorset Square (off Gloucester Place) now stands in 2003. He moved to North Bank in 1811, and from there to the present site in 1814. The Marylebone Cricket Club was closely associated with the ground from the outset: it finally acquired the freehold in the 1860s.
From Quiz: Early Days Of English Cricket
Answer: Compton
Although a right-hand batsman, bowling left-arm Compton took 622 first-class wickets for Middlesex, and 25 wickets for England. He was a magnificent fielder, but his running between the wickets caused much anguish to his batting partners.
From Quiz: 1947: Cricket's Glorious Summer
Answer: Wicket keeper
His real name is Robert Charles Russell, and he was an eccentric and individual wicket keeper. He was forced into retirement in 2004 by a back injury, and later returned to Gloucestershire as part of the coaching team. Jack Russell is also well known for his paintings.
From Quiz: Gloucestershire County Cricket Club
Answer: Derek Taylor
Derek John Somerset Taylor, the Somerset wicket keeper, has a twin brother who played for Nottinghamshire and Hampshire. They were not, however, born in Somerset but in Amersham, Buckinghamshire.
From Quiz: Somerset CCC: 1970s and 80s
Answer: 372
A huge partnership for any wicket, the two dispatched the ball to all parts of the Northampton ground on their way to a (then) record opening stand.
From Quiz: English County Cricket
Answer: Mendis
Gehan Dixon Mendis was born in Colombo in Sri Lanka.
From Quiz: Sussex - International Players
Answer: Gentlemen v Players
The Gentlemen were amateurs, the Players were professionals. From 1829 onwards, the game was played at Lord's annually, usually in July. Gentlemen v Players matches were also played at other venues, including the Oval and notably (in later years), at the Scarborough Festival. The last game was at Scarborough in 1962: after that the distinction between professionals and amateurs was abandoned. The Oxford v Cambridge match (first played in 1827), and the Eton v Harrow match (first played in 1805 with Lord Byron in the Harrow team), can still be seen every year at Lord's, though the latter is now a one-day limited-overs affair. North v South matches at Lord's and elsewhere were major fixtures in the mid-nineteenth century, but declined in favour as regular county cricket gained ground.
From Quiz: Early Days Of English Cricket
Answer: Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Pietersen was born in 1980 in Pietermaritzberg, South Africa, and began his cricket career in that country, before moving to England in 2000. He played for four years for Nottinghamshire, after which qualifying period he became eligible for selection for the England Test team.
He represented his adopted country for 11 years, between 2004 and 2014, playing in a total of 104 Test matches. He scored a total of 8,181 Test runs, including 23 centuries, and a top score of 227. His resignation as captain followed a series of disagreements with the then England coach Peter Moores, who was sacked from his post at the same time. Pietersen made his last appearance for an English county side in 2017 (Surrey), and retired full-time as a player in 2018.
From Quiz: Keep On Running
Answer: Roses matches
Matches involving Yorkshire and Lancashire are known as 'roses matches' after the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England between the rival houses of York and Lancaster for the English throne which took place in the 15th century. The first roses match took place in 1867 and saw Yorkshire win by 5 wickets at Station Road Cricket Ground in Whalley near Blackburn in Lancashire.
From Quiz: The Grand Yorkshire Cricket Quiz
Answer: Ian Botham
Ian Botham, known as 'Guy the Gorilla', is one of the greatest all-rounders in the game of cricket. In his career spanning from July 1977 to June 1992, he played 102 tests for England, scoring 5200 runs with a batting average of 33.54, with 14 centuries and 22 half-centuries. He took a massive 383 wickets, at an average of 28.40, with 27 five wicket hauls and 4 ten-wicket hauls. And to add to this, he has taken 120 catches, making him without doubt one of the all-time great all rounders. Known for his on and off field exploits, this controversial cricketer is known for his charity walks and as a commentator on Sky Sports.
From Quiz: English Cricketers
Answer: Alan Butcher
Despite being a consistent performer for many years as an opening batsman with Surrey, Alan Butcher only gained a solitary Test cap, against India at his home pitch, The Oval, in 1979. He moved to Glamorgan in 1987, taking over as captain in 1989, retiring in 1992 to become a coach with Essex.
From Quiz: Oh Glammy Glammy !
Answer: 322
This is the current record for the highest individual innings for a Somerset player in first class cricket. He scored this in the first innings and did not bat in the second. The match was drawn.
From Quiz: Somerset CCC: 1970s and 80s
Answer: Yorkshire
The score was made in 1996 against a Yorkshire attack including Darren Gough at the Northampton ground.
From Quiz: English County Cricket