Donald Vincent Brennan (10 February 1920 –9 January 1985) [1] was an English cricketer,who played in two Tests in 1951. For his county Yorkshire he was their regular wicket-keeper between 1947 and 1953,taking a total of 380 dismissals in those seven seasons. A poor batsman,he averaged 10.52 in first-class cricket with only a single fifty in 232 appearances. Cricket correspondent,Colin Bateman,noted after Brennan had replaced Godfrey Evans in the England cricket team,that "there can be few higher tributes to his 'keeping skills than that". [2]
Born in Eccleshill,Bradford,Yorkshire,Brennan played Bradford League cricket for his home town before his break into first-class cricket in 1947. [3] Brennan played two second XI matches in 1946,but first team opportunities were blocked by Paul Gibb,Arthur Wood and Kenneth Fiddling. However,all three had left the club by the start of the 1947 season,leaving Brennan and Harry Crick in competition for the keeper spot.
Brennan made his first-class debut,aged 27,against the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in Yorkshire's opening fixture of the season,but Crick was selected for five of the six Championship matches in May,thereafter Brennan was a regular,finishing the season with twenty three appearances to Crick's five outings. [4] Brennan was awarded his cap in his maiden season. [5]
He was Yorkshire's only ever-present in the 1948 County season,scoring 104 runs at 4.95 and taking 43 dismissals. [6] He was also a regular in both the 1949 and 1950 seasons,despite Jack Firth,Yorkshire's second choice keeper,averaging more with the bat in his limited opportunities. [7]
Brennan's batting progressed in 1951,his average increasing twofold to 15.81 from 7.80 of the previous season. [8] The improvement came at the right time as he was selected by England,to replace Godfrey Evans,for the fourth Test with South Africa. [9] Brennan made his debut on his home ground,Headingley,alongside fellow debutants Frank Lowson and Peter May. Brennan conceded just one bye in South Africa large first innings total of 538,in England's innings he scored 16 in three-quarters of an hour,before being bowled by Tufty Mann. [10]
Brennan's second Test came three weeks later at The Oval,he took his one Test dismissal in the first innings,with a stumping off the bowling of Jim Laker. However,in his only innings,he was dismissed for a duck. [11]
He was chosen for the MCC's tour of India and Pakistan that winter,however Dick Spooner was selected as keeper for all five Tests. On the tour he scored the only fifty of his first-class career,notching up 67 not out against Maharashtra. [12]
Brennan played two more seasons of county cricket,in 1952 he scored 242 runs at 11 with 62 dismissals. In 1953,he scored 379 runs at 14.03,and took 51 dismissals. [8]
Brennan retired at the end of that season to pursue business commitments with his family textile business. [9] Also after retiring he served on the Yorkshire committee. [9] In 1964,he played a single match for the MCC against Yorkshire. [13]
Sir Leonard Hutton was an English cricketer. He played as an opening batsman for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1934 to 1955 and for England in 79 Test matches between 1937 and 1955. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack described him as "one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket". He set a record in 1938 for the highest individual innings in a Test match in only his sixth Test appearance,scoring 364 runs against Australia,a milestone that stood for nearly 20 years. Following the Second World War,he was the mainstay of England's batting. In 1952,he became the first professional cricketer of the 20th century to captain England in Tests;under his captaincy England won the Ashes the following year for the first time in 19 years.
In cricket,a dismissal occurs when a batter's innings is brought to an end by the opposing team. Other terms used are the batter being out,the batting side losing a wicket,and the fielding side taking a wicket. The ball becomes dead,and the dismissed batter must leave the field of play for the rest of their team's innings,to be replaced by a team-mate. A team's innings ends if ten of the eleven team members are dismissed. Players bat in pairs so,when only one batter remains who can be not out,it is not possible for the team to bat any longer. This is known as dismissing or bowling out the batting team,who are said to be all out.
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.
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.
Christopher Mark Wells Read is an English former cricketer who was the captain of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. He played for the England cricket team in 15 Tests and 36 ODIs. He was a wicket-keeper.
Thomas Godfrey Evans was an English cricketer who played for Kent and England. Described by Wisden as 'arguably the best wicket-keeper the game has ever seen',Evans collected 219 dismissals in 91 Test match appearances between 1946 and 1959 and a total of 1066 in all first-class matches. En route he was the first wicket keeper to reach 200 Test dismissals and the first Englishman to reach both 1000 runs and 100 dismissals and 2000 runs and 200 dismissals in Test cricket. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1951.
Ronald Arthur Saggers was an Australian cricketer who played for New South Wales. He played briefly for the Australian team,playing six Tests between 1948 and 1950. In his Test cricket career he made 24 dismissals and scored 30 runs at an average of 10.00.
Donald Tallon was an Australian cricketer who played 21 Test matches as a wicket-keeper between 1946 and 1953. He was widely regarded by his contemporaries as Australia's finest ever wicket-keeper and one of the best in Test history,with an understated style,an ability to anticipate the flight,length and spin of the ball and an efficient stumping technique. Tallon toured England as part of Don Bradman's Invincibles of 1948 and was recognised as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1949 for his performances during that season. During his Test career,Tallon made 58 dismissals comprising 50 catches and 8 stumpings.
Robert William Taylor MBE is an English former cricketer who played as wicket-keeper for Derbyshire between 1961 and 1984 and for England between 1971 and 1984. He made 57 Test,and 639 first-class cricket appearances in total,taking 1,473 catches. The 2,069 victims across his entire career is the most of any wicket-keeper in first-class history. He is considered one of the world's most accomplished wicket-keepers. He made his first-class debut for Minor Counties against South Africa in 1960,having made his Staffordshire debut in 1958. He became Derbyshire's first choice wicket-keeper when George Dawkes sustained a career-ending injury. His final First Class appearance was at the Scarborough Festival in 1988. He remained first choice until his retirement except for a short period in 1964 when Laurie Johnson was tried as a batsman-wicketkeeper.
James Graham Binks is a former English cricketer who played as a wicket-keeper for Yorkshire. Although he was regarded by many as the best wicket-keeper of his generation,his limited batting ability restricted him to just two Test match appearances for England,both on the 1963-64 tour to India. Ironically,because of injuries to other players,he opened the batting in three of his four Test innings.
Roy Kilner was an English professional cricketer who played nine Test matches for England between 1924 and 1926. An all-rounder,he played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1911 and 1927. In all first-class matches,he scored 14,707 runs at an average of 30.01 and took 1,003 wickets at an average of 18.45. Kilner scored 1,000 runs in a season ten times and took 100 wickets in a season five times. On four occasions,he completed the double:scoring 1,000 runs and taking 100 wickets in the same season,recognised as a sign of a quality all-rounder.
Arthur Dolphin was an English first-class cricketer,who kept wicket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1905 and 1927. He is part of a tradition of Yorkshire wicket-keepers,stretching from Ned Stephenson,George Pinder,Joe Hunter and David Hunter before him,to Arthur Wood,Jimmy Binks,David Bairstow plus Richard Blakey to the present day. The successor to David Hunter as Yorkshire's wicket-keeper he served the county for twenty two years.
George Benjamin Street was an English cricketer who played in one Test in 1923. For his domestic side Sussex he was their regular wicket-keeper from 1912,when he succeeded Harry Butt,until his death.
Arthur Wood was a Yorkshire and England cricketer,who played as the wicket-keeper in four Tests from 1938 to 1939.
Paul Antony Gibb was an English cricketer,who played in eight Tests for England from 1938 to 1946. He played first-class cricket for Cambridge University,Yorkshire and Essex,as a right-handed opening or middle order batsman and also kept wicket in many matches.
Richard Thompson Spooner was an English cricketer who played for Warwickshire and England.
Roy Booth was an English first-class cricketer,who played for both Yorkshire and Worcestershire. He was born at Marsden,West Riding of Yorkshire.
Harry Crick was an English first-class cricketer,who played eleven matches for Yorkshire between 1937 and 1947.
George Rodney Cass was an English cricketer:a wicket-keeper who played first-class cricket for Essex and Worcestershire in England,and for Tasmania in Australia,in the 1960s and 1970s. He was capped by Worcestershire in 1970. He was born at Overton,Wakefield,Yorkshire,and educated at Dewsbury Technical College.
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