Willie Bates (19 November 1855 –8 January 1900), [1] known as Billy Bates,was an English cricketer. Skilled with both bat and ball,Bates scored over 10,000 first-class runs,took more than 870 wickets and was always reliable in the field. A snappy dresser,Bates was also known as "The Duke".
Born to a humble family in Lascelles Hall,Huddersfield,Yorkshire,Bates became a professional cricketer for Rochdale in 1873 and made his first-class debut for Yorkshire four years later,taking four for 69 in Middlesex's first innings to begin a ten-year career in the first-class game. He played fifteen Test matches for England between 1881–82 and 1886–87,all of them in Australia.
At the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1882/83,Bates excelled by scoring 55 in England's only innings before taking 7 for 28 (including a hat-trick) to force Australia to follow on. He then claimed 7 for 74 in the second innings to help his team to the first-ever innings victory in Test cricket. [2] Bates set several individual records in this game as his hat-trick was the first for England in Test cricket,and his return of 7 for 28,and his match tally of 14 wickets,were then the best-ever by a Test match bowler. In addition,no Test bowler had previously taken 10 or more wickets and scored a half-century in the same match.
In domestic cricket,Bates topped 100 first-class wickets only once,when he took 121 in 1881,but he passed 80 on another 4 occasions. His best bowling of 8 for 21 was achieved in 1879 for Yorkshire against Surrey at The Oval. [3] As a batsman he passed 1,000 runs in 5 seasons and scored 10 centuries,including 3 in 1884. He made his highest first-class score of 144 not out in 1882 for Under 30 against Over 30 at Lord's,where he also returned an economical second-innings analysis of 22–15–17–3. [4]
The end of Bates' career came suddenly. On a tour of Australia with G.F. Vernon's XI in 1887–88,he was bowling in the nets in Melbourne when he was hit in the eye by a ball struck by a teammate. [5] His eyesight was sufficiently impaired that he was never able to play first-class cricket again,although he did appear in club cricket in the early 1890s and was still able to coach.
His enforced retirement caused him great depression,and on the voyage home from Australia he attempted suicide. At the end of December 1899 he caught a chill whilst attending the funeral of fellow Yorkshire player John Thewlis. His condition quickly deteriorated and he died a few days later in Huddersfield,aged just 44. [6]
An interesting feature of Bates' Test career was that all 15 of his matches were played outside England,which is still the Test record for most matches in a complete career without ever playing at home. [7]
His son William Bates had a long first-class career with Yorkshire and Glamorgan.
Sir John Berry Hobbs was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches between 1908 and 1930. Known as "The Master",he is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century-maker in first-class cricket,with 61,760 runs and 199 centuries. A right-handed batsman and an occasional right-arm medium pace bowler,Hobbs also excelled as a fielder,particularly in the position of cover point. Hobbs was named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century alongside Sir Donald Bradman,Sir Garfield Sobers,Shane Warne,and Sir Viv Richards.
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Hedley Verity was a professional cricketer who played for Yorkshire and England between 1930 and 1939. A slow left-arm orthodox bowler,he took 1,956 wickets in first-class cricket at an average of 14.90 and 144 wickets in 40 Tests at an average of 24.37.
George Alfred Lohmann was an English cricketer,regarded as one of the greatest bowlers of all time. Statistically,he holds the lowest lifetime Test bowling average among bowlers with more than fifteen wickets and he has the second highest peak rating for a bowler in the ICC ratings. He also holds the record for the lowest strike rate in all Test history.
Norman Walter Dransfield Yardley was an English cricketer who played for Cambridge University,Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England,as a right-handed batsman and occasional bowler. An amateur,he captained Yorkshire from 1948 to 1955 and England on fourteen occasions between 1947 and 1950,winning four Tests,losing seven and drawing three. Yardley was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1948,and in his obituary in Wisden Cricketers' Almanack he was described as Yorkshire's finest amateur since Stanley Jackson.
Frederick Robert Spofforth,also known as "The Demon Bowler",was an Australian cricket team pace bowler of the nineteenth century. He was the first bowler to take 50 Test wickets,and the first to take a Test hat-trick,in 1879. He played in Test matches for Australia between 1877 and 1887,and then settled in England where he played for Derbyshire. In 2009,he was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.
Robert Peel was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire between 1883 and 1897. Primarily a left-arm spin bowler,Peel was also an effective left-handed batsman who played in the middle order. Between 1884 and 1896,he was regularly selected to represent England,playing 20 Test matches in which he took 101 wickets. Over the course of his career,he scored 12,191 runs and took 1,775 wickets in first-class cricket. A match-winning bowler,particularly when conditions favoured his style,Peel generally opened the attack,an orthodox tactic for a spinner at the time,and was highly regarded by critics.
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Wilfred Rhodes was an English professional cricketer who played 58 Test matches for England between 1899 and 1930. In Tests,Rhodes took 127 wickets and scored 2,325 runs,becoming the first Englishman to complete the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in Test matches. He holds the world records both for the most appearances made in first-class cricket,and for the most wickets taken (4,204). He completed the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in an English cricket season a record 16 times. Rhodes played for Yorkshire and England into his fifties,and in his final Test in 1930 was,at 52 years and 165 days,the oldest player who has appeared in a Test match.
George Herbert Hirst was a professional English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1891 and 1921,with a further appearance in 1929. One of the best all-rounders of his time,Hirst was a left arm medium-fast bowler and right-handed batsman. He played in 24 Test matches for England between 1897 and 1909,touring Australia twice. He completed the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in an English cricket season 14 times,the second most of any cricketer after his contemporary and team-mate Wilfred Rhodes. One of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year for 1901,Hirst scored 36,356 runs and took 2,742 wickets in first-class cricket. In Tests,he made 790 runs and captured 59 wickets.
George Ulyett was an English cricketer,noted particularly for his very aggressive batsmanship. A well-liked man,Ulyett was popularly known as "Happy Jack",once musing memorably that Yorkshire played him only for his good behaviour and his whistling. A fine all round sportsman,Ulyett played football in the 1882–83 and 1883–84 seasons as goalkeeper for Sheffield Wednesday.
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Ryan Jay Sidebottom is a former England international cricketer who played domestic cricket for Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire and retired in 2017,after taking more than 1,000 career wickets. He is the only player in the last 15 years to win 5 county championships and also won the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 with England.
Joe Ambler was an English professional first-class cricketer who made eight appearances in county cricket during the 1880s,playing for both Yorkshire and Somerset. A right-handed batsman and right-arm fast-medium paced bowler,Ambler also kept wicket on occasion.
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Adil Usman Rashid is an English cricketer who plays for England in One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket,and previously played for the Test team. In domestic cricket,he represents Yorkshire,and has played in multiple Twenty20 leagues,he was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs.2 Crore,in the 2023 Indian Premier League auction. He is regarded as one of the best English spinners of all-time.
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