10 for 10

by Chris Waters

  Brian Sellers

  Full name: Arthur Brian Sellers

  Born: 5 March 1907, Keighley, Yorkshire

  Died: 20 February 1981, Eldwick, Bingley, Yorkshire

  Role: Right-hand batsman, occasional right-arm off-spin bowler

  First-class playing career: 1932–1948

  First-class record: Matches 344, Innings 455, Not outs 53, Runs 9,270, Average 23.05, Highest score 204, 100s 4, 50s 45; Wickets 9, Average 75.11, Best bowling 2-10; Catches 273

  What happened next: Sellers became one of the greatest county captains of all time, leading Yorkshire to a further six Championships between 1933 and 1946. He was a Test selector after the war and served as Yorkshire’s chairman from 1959 to 1972. Sellers oversaw a further seven Championships in his time as administrator, thus presiding over the two most successful periods in Yorkshire’s history. However, he blotted his copybook when he became embroiled in the controversial departures of Brian Close and Raymond Illingworth towards the end of his reign.

  Arthur Wood

  Full name: Arthur Wood

  Born: 25 August 1898, Fagley, Bradford, Yorkshire

  Died: 1 April 1973, Middleton, Ilkley, Yorkshire

  Role: Right-hand batsman, wicketkeeper

  First-class playing career: 1927–1948

  Test record: Matches 4, Innings 5, Not outs 1, Runs 80, Average 20.00, Highest score 53, 50s 1; Catches 10, Stumpings 1

  First-class record: Matches 420, Innings 500, Not outs 83, Runs 8,842, Average 21.20, Highest score 123*, 100s 1, 50s 43; Wickets 1, Average 33.00, Best bowling 1-33; Catches 631, Stumpings 255

  What happened next: Wood kept wicket in 225 consecutive Yorkshire matches before Brian Sellers heard him boast of his record at Hove in 1935. “If that’s the case, Arthur, you deserve a rest,” said Sellers, who promptly gave the gloves to Paul Gibb. When Wood walked out to bat against Australia on his Test debut at The Oval in 1938, with the scoreboard showing 770 for six, he famously quipped: “I was always a man for a crisis.” After leaving cricket, Wood devoted increasing time to his hobby of building model galleons.

  Arthur Rhodes

  Full name: Arthur Cecil Rhodes

  Born: 14 October 1906, Headingley, Leeds

  Died: 21 May 1957, Headingley, Leeds

  Role: Right-hand batsman, right-arm fast-medium bowler

  First-class playing career: 1932–1934

  First-class record: Matches 61, Innings 70, Not outs 19, Runs 917, Average 17.98, Highest score 64*, 50s 2; Wickets 107, Average 28.28, Best bowling 6-19, 5wi 5; Catches 45

  What happened next: Having debuted at the start of 1932, Rhodes had left the county game by the end of 1934. He moved into Yorkshire and Lancashire league cricket when the role of Bill Bowes’s pace bowling partner went to Frank Smailes. Bowes thought Rhodes the better bowler but said he paid for trying to do two jobs at once. After playing cricket all day, Rhodes would return to his newsagent’s/stationer’s business in Headingley and stay until midnight, snatching a few hours’ sleep before returning to the ground.

  Hedley Verity

  Full name: Hedley Verity

  Born: 18 May 1905, Leeds, Yorkshire

  Died: 31 July 1943, Caserta, Italy

  Role: Right-hand batsman, left-arm spin bowler

  First-class playing career: 1930–1939

  Test record: Matches 40, Innings 44, Not outs 12, Runs 669, Average 20.90, Highest score 66*, 50s 3; Wickets 144, Average 24.37, Best bowling 8-43; 5wi 5, 10wm 2; Catches 30

  First-class record: Matches 378, Innings 416, Not outs 106, Runs 5, 603, Average 18.07, Highest score 101, 100s 1, 50s 13; Wickets 1,956, Average 14.90, Best bowling 10-10, 5wi 164, 10wm 54; Catches 269

  What happened next: Verity captured at least 150 wickets in each of the remaining seven seasons up to the war, with a best of 216 at 13.18 in 1936. He also claimed over 200 wickets in 1935 and 1937. After joining the Yorkshire-based Green Howards, Verity rose to the rank of captain and was part of the 1st Battalion that took part in the Sicily landings in 1943. He was hit in the chest by shrapnel during a night-time attack at Catania and died 11 days later in a military hospital.

  George Macaulay

  Full name: George Gibson Macaulay

  Born: 7 December 1897, Thirsk, Yorkshire

  Died: 13 December 1940, Sullom Voe, Shetland Islands

  Role: Right-hand batsman, right-arm medium-pace/off-spin bowler

  First-class playing career: 1920–1935

  Test record: Matches 8, Innings 10, Not outs 4, Runs 112, Average 18.66, Highest score 76, 50s 1; Wickets 24, Average 27.58, Best bowling 5-64, 5wi 1; Catches 5

  First-class record: Matches 468, Innings 460, Not outs 125, Runs 6, 055, Average 18.07, Highest score 125*, 100s 3, 50s 21; Wickets 1, 837, Average 17.65, Best bowling 8-21, 5wi 126, 10wm 31; Catches 373

  What happened next: Macaulay returned to Test cricket in 1933 after a seven-year hiatus, playing two games against West Indies. He retired in 1935 due to rheumatism and an injury to his spinning finger. Macaulay played league cricket before the war and took nine for 10 in the 1938 Lancashire League Worsley Cup final for Todmorden against Ramsbottom, capturing the first two wickets and the last seven. A member of the Royal Field Artillery in the First World War, Macaulay was an RAF pilot officer in the Second World War when he died of pneumonia, aged 43.

  Bill Bowes

  Full name: William Eric Bowes

  Born: 25 July 1908, Elland, Yorkshire

  Died: 4 September 1987, Otley, Yorkshire

  Role: Right-hand batsman, right-arm fast-medium bowler

  First-class playing career: 1928–1947

  Test record: Matches 15, Innings 11, Not outs 5, Runs 28, Average 4.66, Highest score 10*; Wickets 68, Average 22.33, Best bowling 6-33, 5wi 6; Catches 2

  First-class record: Matches 372, Innings 326, Not outs 148, Runs 1, 531, Average 8.60, Highest score 43*; Wickets 1, 639, Average 16.76, Best bowling 9-121, 5wi 116, 10wm 27; Catches 138

  What happened next: Bowes played until 1947 but was unable to operate at more than medium pace due to the effects of his time as a prisoner of war. He continued to serve the game in the capacity of cricket correspondent of first the Yorkshire Evening News and then the Yorkshire Evening Post, becoming great friends with the Yorkshire Post’s Jim Kilburn, his inseparable press box companion. Outside cricket, Bowes enjoyed conjuring tricks and was a member of the Magic Circle. He was Yorkshire’s last survivor of the 10 for 10 match.

  The Nottinghamshire Side

  Walter Keeton

  Full name: William Walter Keeton

  Born: 30 April 1905, Shirebrook, Derbyshire

  Died: 10 October 1980, Forest Town, Nottinghamshire

  Role: Right-hand batsman, occasional right-arm medium bowler

  First-class playing career: 1926–1952

  Test record: Matches 2, Innings 4, Not outs 0, Runs 57, Average 14.25, Highest score 25

  First-class record: Matches 397, Innings 657, Not outs 43, Runs 24, 276, Average 39.53, Highest score 312*, 100s 54, 50s 119; Wickets 2, Average 51.50, Best bowling 2-16; Catches 76

  What happened next: Keeton went on to play two Tests, against Australia at Headingley in 1934 and West Indies at The Oval in 1939. Also in 1939, he scored what remains Nottinghamshire’s only triple century: 312 not out against Middlesex at The Oval (Eton were playing Harrow at Lord’s). When he ended his career, Keeton was Nottinghamshire’s second-highest run-scorer behind George Gunn senior (he is now fourth-highest having been overtaken by Joe Hardstaff junior and Tim Robinson). After cricket, Keeton owned a sports outfitter and was a clerk for the National Coal Board.

  Frank Shipston

  Full name: Frank William Shipston

  Born: 29 July 1906, Bulwell, Nottinghamshire

  Died: 6 July 2005, Wollaton, Nottingham

  Role: Right-hand batsman

  First-class playing career: 1925–1933

  First-class record: Matches 49, Innings 72, Not outs 8, Runs 1, 183, Ave
rage 18.48, Highest score 118*, 100s 2, 50s 4; Catches 13

  What happened next: Shipston left first-class cricket in 1933 to become a constable in Nottingham City Police Force. He returned to county cricket in 1956, standing for one season as an umpire, before rejoining Nottinghamshire as coach in 1957. Shipston stayed in the role until 1966 and later worked as a newsagent. In 2000, he became the oldest surviving county cricketer and, at the time of his death, aged 98 years and 342 days, he had for some time been the world’s oldest known first-class cricketer too.

  Willis Walker

  Full name: Willis Walker

  Born: 24 November 1892, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne

  Died: 3 December 1991, Keighley, Yorkshire

  Role: Right-hand batsman, occasional right-arm medium bowler

  First-class playing career: 1913–1937

  First-class record: Matches 406, Innings 624, Not outs 60, Runs 18, 259, Average 32.37, Highest score 165*, 100s 31, 50s 101; Wickets 2, Average 48.50, Best bowling 2-20; Catches 110

  What happened next: Walker lived to an even greater age than Frank Shipston – 99 years and nine days – and shared with him the distinction of having once been the oldest surviving county cricketer. After retirement, Walker continued to manage his sports goods shop in Keighley. The business – later run by his son and grandsons – shut down in 2012 after almost 100 years of operation. Walker’s family cited the effect of internet sales, the advent of sports equipment superstores and the general economic downturn as reasons for the closure.

  Arthur Carr

  Full name: Arthur William Carr

  Born: 21 May 1893, Mickleham, Surrey

  Died: 7 February 1963, West Witton, Yorkshire

  Role: Right-hand batsman, occasional right-arm medium bowler

  First-class playing career: 1910–1935

  Test record: Matches 11, Innings 13, Not outs 1, Runs 237, Average 19.75, Highest score 63, 50s 1; Catches 3

  First-class record: Matches 468, Innings 709, Not outs 42, Runs 21, 051, Average 31.56, Highest score 206, 100s 45, 50s 99; Wickets 31, Average 37.09, Best bowling 3-14; Catches 395, Stumpings 1

  What happened next: Carr was sacked as Nottinghamshire captain in 1934 amid the fallout from Bodyline, which came to a head when he publicly criticised his club for withdrawing Voce from the Australian tour match at Trent Bridge. Carr went to live in Yorkshire and turned to his other main interest – horse racing. For many years, he had horses in training at Middleham, North Yorkshire, and cut himself off from Nottinghamshire cricket, only softening his stance in later life. Carr collapsed and died of a heart attack while shovelling snow at his Yorkshire home.

  Arthur Staples

  Full name: Arthur Staples

  Born: 4 February 1899, Newstead Colliery, Nottinghamshire

  Died: 9 September 1965, Redhill, Nottinghamshire

  Role: Right-hand batsman, right-arm medium bowler

  First-class playing career: 1924–1938

  First-class record: Matches 358, Innings 512, Not outs 59, Runs 12, 762, Average 28.17, Highest score 153*, 100s 12, 50s 70; Wickets 635, Average 29.82, Best bowling 7-20, 5wi 14, 10wm 1; Catches 219

  What happened next: The closest Staples came to playing for England was when he was chosen for the Test trial two weeks after the 10 for 10 game. However, rain ruined the contest at Cardiff Arms Park and only 79 overs were possible. Also in 1932, Staples achieved the bizarre feat of scoring nine runs from a single stroke off Northamptonshire fast bowler Nobby Clark, running five before John Timms conceded four overthrows. Staples retired in 1938 due to sciatica and became landlord of the Shoulder of Mutton pub at Basford, Nottingham.

  Charlie Harris

  Full name: Charles Bowmar Harris

  Born: 6 December 1907, Underwood, Nottinghamshire

  Died: 8 August 1954, Nottingham

  Role: Right-hand batsman, right-arm slow-medium bowler

  First-class playing career: 1928–1951

  First-class record: Matches 362, Innings 601, Not outs 64, Runs 18, 823, Average 35.05, Highest score 239*, 100s 30, 50s 106; Wickets 196, Average 42.82, Best bowling 8-80, 5wi 3; Catches 164

  What happened next: The only Nottinghamshire player in the Headingley match without a first-class hundred, Harris finally achieved his breakthrough innings at the 83rd attempt when he scored 132 against Surrey at Trent Bridge in 1933. Harris played for Yeadon in the Bradford League during the war and returned to Nottinghamshire colours in 1946. Declining health forced his retirement in 1951 and although he joined the umpires’ list in 1954, his health deteriorated further and he resigned after only four games. He died of cancer, aged 46.

  George Vernon Gunn

  Full name: George Vernon Gunn

  Born: 21 July 1905, West Bridgford, Nottingham

  Died: 15 October 1957, Shelton, Shrewsbury, Shropshire

  Role: Right-hand batsman, right-arm leg-spin bowler

  First-class playing career: 1928–1950

  First-class record: Matches 266, Innings 395, Not outs 43, Runs 10, 337, Average 29.36, Highest score 184, 100s 11, 50s 56; Wickets 281, Average 35.67, Best bowling 7-44, 5wi 9, 10wm 1; Catches 114

  What happened next: Gunn’s career experienced a sharp upward curve from 1935, when he managed 1,000 runs for the first time – a feat he repeated for the next four seasons. He opted to stay in league cricket after the war but did make one last appearance for Nottinghamshire in 1950, recording a two-ball duck against Derbyshire after being recalled in an injury crisis, aged 45. Gunn later coached at Wrekin College, Shropshire, and for Worcestershire from 1953 to 1956. He died at the age of 52 due to injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident.

  Ben Lilley

  Full name: Ben Lilley

  Born: 11 February 1894, Kimberley, Nottinghamshire

  Died: 4 August 1950, Forest Fields, Nottinghamshire

  Role: Right-hand batsman, wicketkeeper

  First-class playing career: 1921–1937

  First-class record: Matches 373, Innings 513, Not outs 79, Runs 10, 496, Average 24.18, Highest score 124, 100s 7, 50s 43; Catches 657, Stumpings 133

  What happened next: The only player Verity did not dismiss at Headingley, Lilley played for another five years and consistently averaged in the upper 20s with the bat. The last of his seven first-class hundreds was also his highest – 124 against Warwickshire at Trent Bridge in 1936. His 779 dismissals for the county have been eclipsed only by Thomas Oates, Bruce French and Chris Read. After leaving cricket, Lilley ran the Forest Tavern in Mansfield Road, Nottingham, before dying at the age of 56 after a long illness.

  Harold Larwood

  Full name: Harold Larwood

  Born: 14 November 1904, Nuncargate, Nottinghamshire

  Died: 22 July 1995, Randwick, Sydney, Australia

  Role: Right-hand batsman, right-arm fast bowler

  First-class playing career: 1924–1938

  Test record: Matches 21, Innings 28, Not outs 3, Runs 485, Average 19.40, Highest score 98, 50s 2; Wickets 78, Average 28.35, Best bowling 6-32, 5wi 4, 10wm 1; Catches 15

  First-class record: Matches 361, Innings 438, Not outs 72, Runs 7, 290, Average 19.91, Highest score 102*, 100s 3, 50s 25; Wickets 1, 427, Average 17.51, Best bowling 9-41, 5wi 98, 10wm 20; Catches 234

  What happened next: Larwood was the leading figure in the Bodyline campaign and the leading wicket-taker too, with 33 at 19.51. However, a broken bone in his left foot sustained during the final Test reduced him to only a handful of appearances in 1933, and he was never again the same fearsome proposition. After retiring, Larwood bought a sweet shop in Blackpool and, in 1950, he emigrated to Australia. A public that once reviled him welcomed him warmly, with members of England touring teams guaranteed a similar reception at his home in Sydney.

  Bill Voce

  Full name: William Voce

  Born: 8 August 1909, Annesley Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire

  Died: 6 June 1984, Lenton, Nottinghamshire

  Role: Right-hand batsman,
left-arm fast-medium bowler

  First-class playing career: 1927–1952

  Test record: Matches 27, Innings 38, Not outs 15, Runs 308, Average 13.39, Highest score 66, 50s 1; Wickets 98, Average 27.88, Best bowling 7-70, 5wi 3, 10wm 2; Catches 15

  First-class record: Matches 426, Innings 525, Not outs 130, Runs 7, 590, Average 19.21, Highest score 129, 100s 4, 50s 26; Wickets 1, 558, Average 23.08, Best bowling 8-30, 5wi 84, 10wm 20; Catches 288

  What happened next: Bodyline also cast a long shadow over Voce’s career; he did not represent England again for almost three-and-a-half years. He was England’s best bowler on their next tour of Australia, in 1936-37, with 26 wickets at 21.53, and he also toured there in 1946-47. Voce – who finished with more Test wickets and a better Test average than Larwood – coached at Trent Bridge from 1947 to 1952. He later coached at the MCC Indoor School at Lord’s, where he was still bowling to schoolboys at the age of 70.

  Sam Staples

  Full name: Samuel James Staples