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:

Last days as a player

In 1925, Rhodes was required so little as a bowler that he only took 57 wickets, but, despite the decline of all Yorkshire's other bowlers the following year, Rhodes, incredibly at the age of forty-eight, bowled so well that he headed the first-class averages with several remarkable performances, notably 14 for 77 against Somerset at Dewsbury and 7 for 116 against Lancashire on a pitch that defeated all other bowlers. With his batting continuing at its former level, Rhodes was recalled for the last Test at the Oval, and bowled so well that he took six wickets for 79 runs and gave England the Ashes for the first time since 1912.

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In 1927, a sign of Rhodes' age was seen with his aggregate of runs halving - he did not reach fifty in the Championship - and his bowling falling from an aveage of 13 to one of 20. However, his amazing accuracy - which only grew by age - still made him deadly on helpful wickets despite loss of spin, and in 1928 Rhodes was once again Yorkshire's leading bowler. Early the following year Rhodes took an amazing 9 for 39 on a sticky Leyton wicket, during which he took his 4000th first-class wicket - a feat now impossible to equal. He also achieved the amazing analysis of 35 over, 29 maidens, 11 runs, no wickets at Trent Bridge in July that year - in a game left without a first innings result after three full days. In that game Rhodes showed a glimpse of his old skill as a batsman and helped Percy Holmes play the longest innings in County Championship history. That winter, Rhodes played in several "Tests" (then called by the more appropriate title of Representative Matches because the team was equivalent to modern "England A") in the West Indies and became the oldest Test player ever at over fifty-two years (being 52 years and 165 days at the end of the last match on April 12, 1930).

Related Topics:
Trent Bridge - April 12 - 1930

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