Wilfred Rhodes

Wilfred Rhodes (born October 29, 1877, North Moor, Kirkheaton, near Huddersfield, Yorkshire; died July 8, 1973, Branksome Park, Bournemouth) was one of the greatest cricketers of the twentieth century. Whilst his career evolved through a great many distinct stages, his record for Yorkshire and England is sufficient to place him as one of the very greatest all-round cricketers of all time. Unusually, he batted right-handed but bowled left arm. Some remarkable achievements of his career include:

Early career - amazing bowling feats in dry summers

In 1897, Yorkshire suffered a severe blow when they could not discipline their champion left-arm spinner Bobby Peel and were forced to sack him. Rhodes, then a teenager, had shown great promise both as a right-handed batsman and a left-arm spin bowler, and Yorkshire took him into their eleven for the first match of 1898.

Related Topics:
1897 - Left-arm spinner - Bobby Peel - Batsman

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It was remarkable how the youngster, with his amazing accuracy and ability to turn the ball, developed over the following few years. In his first season Rhodes took 154 wickets - the third highest aggregate after J.T. Hearne and Tom Richardson, and easily the most by any bowler in his debut season - and was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year. Though he played a few good innings, his ability as a batsman was not yet "discovered" and he went in very late in the order. In 1899, Rhodes' vicious spin, seen generally as being more vicious than Peel's, was deadly on the wet pitches of May and after the thunderstorms that occasionally punctuated the very hot and dry weather of the summer, and he was again among the leading wicket-takers. He played in his first Tests that year, (his first test match, on June 3, was W. G. Grace's last) but the skilful Australian batting, led by Victor Trumper meant he met with little success.

Related Topics:
J.T. Hearne - Tom Richardson - Wisden Cricketer of the Year - 1899 - Tests - June 3 - W. G. Grace - Victor Trumper

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It was in 1900, when Yorkshire won the first of three consecutive County Championships, that Rhodes' amazing skill and accuracy really came to the fore. Helped early and late in the season by soft pitches, the real highlights of Rhodes' season came on the hard pitches in the middle of the season, when his skill against batsmen such as Fry and Jessop gave Yorkshire some superb victories. Yorkshire's batting strength and depth, even with some batsmen below their best, was sufficient to allow them to remain unbeaten. For the season, Rhodes took an amazing 261 wickets, and on occasions showed he had ability as a batsman, as in a brilliant victory over a strong Sussex batting side on an excellent wicket at Sheffield. In 1901, Rhodes' ability to take advantage of the slightest help afforded him by the pitch, together with the amazing all-round cricket and unique "swerve" of George Hirst (also born in Kirkheaton), took Yorkshire to the most conclusive win in County Championship history. They were over forty percent ahead of second-placed Middlesex, and suffered only one, amazing defeat at the hands of lowly Somerset after Rhodes and Schofield Haigh had given Yorkshire a big first innings lead after an early collapse. Rhodes took 251 wickets for just over 15 runs each and Hirst 183 for less than 17 each: an amazing feat in probably the most batsman-friendly summer before covered pitches. Against the MCC, Rhodes hit a maiden century, and his batting average was 26 - amazing for someone who went in second-last!

Related Topics:
Fry - Jessop - George Hirst - Schofield Haigh - MCC

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