Sir Donald George Bradman,, nicknamed "The Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 has been claimed by Brett Hutchins to be the greatest achievement by a sportsman in a major sport.
Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers,, also known as Sir Gary or Sir Garry Sobers, is a former cricketer who played for the West Indies between 1954 and 1974. A highly skilled bowler, an aggressive batsman and an excellent fielder, he is widely considered to be cricket's greatest ever all-rounder and one of the greatest cricketers of all time.
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.
Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards is an Antiguan retired cricketer who represented the West Indies cricket team between 1974 and 1991. Batting generally at number three in a dominant West Indies side, Richards is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time. Richards helped win his team both the 1975 Cricket World Cup and the 1979 Cricket World Cup.
Walter Reginald Hammond was an English first-class cricketer who played for Gloucestershire in a career that lasted from 1920 to 1951. Beginning as a professional, he later became an amateur and was appointed captain of England. Primarily a middle-order batsman, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack described him in his obituary as one of the four best batsmen in the history of cricket. He was considered to be the best English batsman of the 1930s by commentators and those with whom he played; they also said that he was one of the best slip fielders ever. Hammond was an effective fast-medium pace bowler and contemporaries believed that if he had been less reluctant to bowl, he could have achieved even more with the ball than he did.
Syed Zaheer Abbas Kirmani PP,, popularly known as Zaheer Abbas, is a former Pakistani cricketer. He is among few professional cricketers who used to wear spectacles. In 1982/1983, he became the first batsman to score three consecutive centuries in one-day internationals. Sometimes known as 'the Asian Bradman', Zaheer Abbas is regarded as one of the finest batsmen in the history of cricket World. In August 2020, he was inducted to the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
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. Named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1932, he is regarded as one of the most effective slow left-arm bowlers to have played cricket. Never someone who spun the ball sharply, he achieved success through the accuracy of his bowling. On pitches which made batting difficult, particularly ones affected by rain, he could be almost impossible to bat against.
Robert Graeme Pollock is a former cricketer for South Africa, Transvaal and Eastern Province. A member of a famous cricketing family, Pollock is widely regarded as one of South Africa's greatest ever cricketers, and as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. Despite Pollock's international career being cut short at the age of 26 by the sporting boycott of South Africa, and all but one of his 23 Test matches being against England and Australia, the leading cricket nations of the day, he broke a number of records. His completed career Test match batting average of 60.97 remains the third best behind Sir Don Bradman and Adam Voges.
Mulvantrai Himmatlal "Vinoo" Mankad was an Indian cricketer who appeared in 44 Test matches for India between 1946 and 1959. He was best known for his world record setting opening partnership of 413 runs with Pankaj Roy in 1956, a record that stood for 52 years, and for running out a batsman "backing up" at the non-striker's end. Mankadding in cricket is named after him. In June 2021, he was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
Mark Ravin Ramprakash is an English former cricketer and cricket coach.
The Australian cricket team in England in 1948 is famous for being the only Test match side to play an entire tour of England without losing a match. This feat earned them the nickname of "The Invincibles", and they are regarded as one of the greatest cricket teams of all time. According to the Australian federal government, the team "is one of Australia's most cherished sporting legends". The team was captained by Don Bradman, who was making his fourth and final tour of England.
William Harold PonsfordMBE was an Australian cricketer. Usually playing as an opening batsman, he formed a successful and long-lived partnership opening the batting for Victoria and Australia with Bill Woodfull, his friend and state and national captain. Ponsford is the only player to twice break the world record for the highest individual score in first-class cricket; Ponsford and Brian Lara are the only cricketers to twice score 400 runs in an innings. Ponsford holds the Australian record for a partnership in Test cricket, set in 1934 in combination with Don Bradman —the man who broke many of Ponsford's other individual records. In fact, he along with Bradman set the record for the highest partnership ever for any wicket in Test cricket history when playing on away soil
Archibald Jackson, occasionally known as Archibald Alexander Jackson, was an Australian international cricketer who played eight Test matches as a specialist batsman between 1929 and 1931. A teenage prodigy, he played first grade cricket at only 15 years of age and was selected for New South Wales at 17. In 1929, aged 19, Jackson made his Test debut against England, scoring 164 runs in the first innings to become the youngest player to score a Test century.
Douglas Thomas Ring was an Australian cricketer who played for Victoria and for Australia in 13 Test matches between 1948 and 1953. In 129 first-class cricket matches, he took 426 wickets bowling leg spin, and he had a top score of 145 runs, which was the only century of his career.
Australia won the 1930 Ashes series against England, winning two of the matches and losing one, with the other two tests drawn. The Australian tourists were captained by Bill Woodfull, while the home side were led by Percy Chapman, who was dropped in favour of Bob Wyatt in the final Test.
Bill Brown was a member of Donald Bradman's famous Australian cricket team, which toured England in 1948. Bradman's men went through their 34 matches without defeat; this unprecedented feat by a Test side touring England earned them the sobriquet The Invincibles.
Somerset County Cricket Club competed in four domestic competitions during the 2009 English cricket season: the first division of the County Championship, the Friends Provident Trophy, the first division of the NatWest Pro40 League and the Twenty20 Cup. Through their performance in the Twenty20 Cup, the team qualified for the Champions League Twenty20. They enjoyed a successful season, but fell short of winning any competitions, prompting Director of Cricket Brian Rose to say "We've had enough of being cricket's nearly men."
