Herbert Sutcliffe

Herbert Sutcliffe (born November 24, 1894, Summerbridge, Harrogate, Yorkshire, England; died January 22 1978, Cross Hills, Yorkshire, England) was arguably the greatest opening batsman in cricket history and undoubtedly one of the greatest players of any type the game has known. His Test batting average of 60.73 is the fourth highest of any player, and only Don Bradman's is more than a fraction higher. Uniquely, his average never dropped below 60 throughout his entire Test career — Javed Miandad is the only other man whose average never dropped below 50 in a career of at least 20 innings. Sutcliffe's first-class career batting average of 51.95 (according to Wisden, though Cricinfo claim 52.02) is bettered among batsmen who finished their careers with over 30,000 runs only by Hammond.

Related Topics:
November 24 - 1894 - Summerbridge - Harrogate - Yorkshire - England - January 22 - 1978 - Cross Hills - Batsman - Cricket - Test - Don Bradman - Javed Miandad - First-class - Cricinfo - Hammond

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In his brief prime from 1928 to 1932, Sutcliffe could in fact compare statistically with Bradman, and given his skill on treacherous pitches, one could argue his batting in this period to be the finest in cricket history.

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His range of strokes was very limited for the time and primarily focused on leg-side play such as hooks and pulls, but Sutcliffe was able, owing to his simple but always effective footwork, to nullify the best bowling on a treacherous wicket with seeming ease. When he wanted, he could hit almost violently, as when he met spin on an exceeding treacherous pitch at Kettering with an innings of 113, including ten sixes (then a record in county cricket). Sutcliffe also possessed the most remarkable self-belief: he could believe that no bowler was capable of dismissing him (not unrealistic at times) and this gave him a remarkable capacity to fight in the most difficult conditions.

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