Brian Close
Role | All-rounder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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National side |
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Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1949–1970 | Yorkshire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1950–1967 | Marylebone Cricket Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1971–1977 | Somerset | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: ESPNcricinfo, 24 February 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Dennis Brian Close,
Throughout his cricket career, which lasted from 1948 until the 1977 season, Close was one of the most charismatic and well-known cricketers. He scored almost 35,000
Close was known as a cricketing gambler; he was prepared to take risks and to court controversy throughout his career. He was serving a "confined to barracks" punishment during his
Early years
Close was born into a
At Aireborough Grammar School, Close excelled both academically and athletically. The school went unbeaten in the six cricketing summers while Close was there,[6] and the school's sport's master arranged for him to receive coaching from George Hirst, a former England international who coached Yorkshire.[7] Close dominated junior level cricket in the area; he joined Rawdon Cricket Club in 1942, when he was eleven years of age, and was almost immediately selected to play for both the under-18 side and the second team.[8] Close was also proficient at football, and at the age of fourteen, he was signed as an amateur by Leeds United. A natural inside forward, he became the first Leeds player to feature as a youth international, when in October 1948, he played with England against Scotland at Pittodrie Park in Aberdeen.[9]
After passing his
Yorkshire and England
Debut season
In February 1949, Close underwent a medical examination with the British Army, but due to an injury he had suffered playing football, his call-up was delayed by a few months, allowing him to continue into pre-season training with Yorkshire.[11] His performance in pre-season was such that he was given a trial for the county in the two first-class matches against Cambridge and Oxford Universities. He made his debut on 11 May 1949, alongside Fred Trueman and Frank Lowson – all three went on to play for England.[12] Close impressed the Yorkshire hierarchy enough for his trial to be extended into the County Championship season;[7] Bill Bowes, one of Yorkshire's coaches, declared that he was the "natural successor to the veteran all-rounder Frank Smailes".[12] Close continued to perform well, particularly his bowling; in his fifth first-class game, against Essex, Close took five for 58 in Essex's first innings, then top-scored with an undefeated 88 runs in the Yorkshire innings.[13] His performances for Yorkshire earned him a place in the North v South match, which was also being used as a trial for selection for the upcoming Test matches against New Zealand. Close scored two runs, and did not take a wicket; The Times described his batting as a "disappointing feature" of the match, but noted that despite not taking any wickets, "he bowled his off-breaks round the wicket well enough."[14]
Close continued to do well for Yorkshire and was selected to play for the Players against the Gentlemen, at Lord's in July. Unofficially, this prestigious match also served as a Test match trial,[15] and Close scored 65 runs, the most amongst the Players, in what was described as a "most commendable performance" by The Times.[16] During the match, Close got caught out by cricket's antiquated social etiquette. When he reached his half-century he was congratulated by the Gentlemen's wicket-keeper, Billy Griffith, who said: "Well played, Brian", to which Close responded: "Thank you, Billy". Ten days later, he was called to see Brian Sellers, a member of the Yorkshire committee, who reprimanded Close for his effrontery in not addressing an amateur player as "Mister".[17] Despite this rebuke, the Yorkshire committee secured the assistance of the Member of Parliament for Bradford Central, Maurice Webb, who successfully requested that Close be allowed to complete the 1949 season for Yorkshire, before commencing his National Service.[11][18]
Close was then selected to play for England in the third Test match at
Tour to Australia in 1950
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/1950-51MCC.jpg/220px-1950-51MCC.jpg)
Close began his National Service on 6 October 1949, in the
Close returned to fitness in time for the 1950 English cricket season,[28] though little of it was first-class: he appeared for Yorkshire once, and made three first-class appearances for the Combined Services cricket team.[29] He was playing plenty of other cricket; he played in inter-services matches during the week, and obtained weekend passes to play league cricket for Leeds on Saturdays and charity matches on Sundays. Between playing football and cricket, he had little time for anything else, so much so according to Close, he was never given a job in the army, as he would have no time in which to do it.[30] His performances attracted the attention of the England cricket captain, Brown, who wanted Close to be included in the English party to tour Australia for the 1950–51 Ashes series. Brown consulted Close's county coach, former England bowler Bill Bowes, who pleaded with Brown not to select Close, arguing that such early promotion would damage him as a player.[31] Brown ignored Bowes and selected Close.
Close's call-up to the Australian touring party attracted considerable press interest, and a press conference was called at Catterick to give the press a chance to question him. However, his moment of glory also gave rise to controversy, when one pressman found out that Close was "confined to barracks" for disciplinary reasons at the time his call-up was announced: he had absented himself from an army cricket match.[32] The pressman promised to stay silent, but a week later a clerk on the camp newspaper telephoned the Daily Express with the news. However, Close still toured; his National Service was suspended so that he could do so,[33] as touring sportsmen were considered to be ambassadors for the United Kingdom.[7]
Close was the youngest player on the tour, and had little in common with the rest of the party; by the end, he was not even on talking terms with most of them.[citation needed] After a reasonable start, making a century on his First Class debut in Australia, Close faltered, and then became injured, with a badly pulled groin muscle. He was selected to play in the second Test, which England lost by 28 runs. After Australia were dismissed for 194, England had collapsed to 54 for 4 when Close came in to bat, with only eight deliveries to go before the lunch interval on the second day. Misjudging the bounce on the Melbourne wicket, which was somewhat different from the bounce of English wickets, he swept a ball from Jack Iverson only to get a top edge to Sam Loxton, fielding behind square leg. E. W. Swanton called it the worst shot he had seen played by a first-class batsman.[34] The dressing room was silent when he returned. Brown, when advised that Close was a bit down and needed consolation, replied "Let the blighter stew. He deserves it."[35]
Later in Tasmania, Close was ordered to play despite doctor's advice to rest, and as he tried to nurse his injury he acquired a reputation for malingering and insubordination. He was made to play in six of the next seven games. When England won a Test match in Australia for the first time in 13 years in the final Test, Close was not present. Nowadays, someone in Close's position would be carefully man-managed, and looked after by captain and team manager. But times were different then, and the Yorkshire stalwarts were proved right: he had been picked too early, and would never be a regular Test player.[36]
Consolidation, 1951 to 1958
The years between 1951 and 1958 were a period of career consolidation for Close, who achieved 1,000 runs in a season five times.[37] Immediately after the tour to Australia Close had a good season in 1951, playing for the Combined Services, including a century against the touring South Africans. At the end of his National Service in October 1951, he signed for Arsenal, and tried briefly to combine playing football with his cricket for Yorkshire. This proved impossible; although Close received permission from Yorkshire captain Norman Yardley to leave the first match of the 1952 cricket season early, to play football for Arsenal, this leave was rescinded by the match manager. Close arrived late at Arsenal and was sacked.[33]
Close enjoyed a good 1952 season at Yorkshire, achieving another double, but played no Test cricket. He played football, for Bradford City this time, and in doing so picked up a serious knee injury which ended his professional footballing career. It also threatened to end his cricket career—Close played only two first-class matches in the 1953 cricket season.[33]
In 1954 Close scored his first first-class century for Yorkshire, an undefeated 123 against the touring
Meanwhile, in this period, Yorkshire had not won a single County Championship. At the beginning of 1958 a new captain, Ronnie Burnet, was appointed. Burnet was 40 years old, without first-class cricket experience, and seemed an unlikely choice to restore to Yorkshire's fortunes.[citation needed] It was believed by the Yorkshire committee that Burnet would inject some discipline into the Yorkshire team, but initially the appointment caused problems. Several senior players left the club; Johnny Wardle, Yorkshire's top bowler and Close's preferred choice of captain, was sacked for disciplinary reasons.[33]
Yorkshire as county champions
Burnet, aided by Close, was successful in 1959, when Yorkshire at last won the county championship. At the end of that season, as Close later heard, Burnet was told that, having just won the championship, he could have another season as captain, but, if he did, Close would then take over.[citation needed] If Burnet resigned immediately, Vic Wilson could take over as captain in preference to Close. Burnet chose to step down straight-away. Once Wilson took over, with Close as the senior professional Yorkshire enjoyed a period of almost unbroken success, winning the county championship again in 1960, taking second place in 1961, and winning again in 1962.
More controversy
During this period Close was called up for his seventh Test in 1961, against Australia.[38] This match, which at one point England appeared certain to win, turned to disaster, with Close bearing the main blame for England's defeat.
England were chasing a total of 256 runs to win the match, with just under four hours left to play. Scoring rapidly, they reached 150 for 1 wicket. Then
Captaincy
Yorkshire captaincy
At the end of 1962, Wilson retired, and the Yorkshire committee appointed Close captain. According to Bowes: "almost overnight it seemed that Brian Close matured". He wrote, "Close's field placings were as intelligent and antagonistic as any seen in the county for 25 years".[36]
Close's attitude, in his own words, was that "I've always believed that the team is more important than the individual",[citation needed] and that credo stood Yorkshire in good stead. Ray Illingworth noted that when he left Yorkshire to play for Leicestershire, the players there were surprised that, while Yorkshire were perennial Championship winners, the batting averages of their leading batsmen tended to languish in the 20s.[citation needed] The answer was that Close had honed them to play the innings required at the right time: when quick runs were required, players did not play for their averages, they played for quick runs.[citation needed]
Close was recalled to the England Test squad in 1963, and played his first full series of five matches, against the
Close had been dismissed going for runs to win the game, and his courage earned him many plaudits. [citation needed] His shirtless torso, black and blue with bruises where he had been hit, made the front pages of the newspapers the next day. Len Hutton wrote him a congratulatory letter on his innings, and he returned to county cricket the hero. Overall, he made over 300 runs in the series, but was not selected for the next series.
Close also had immediate success as Yorkshire captain, winning the County Championship in 1963. His successes saw him named as one of the five
He first met his wife Vivien, an air stewardess with
England captaincy
After the fourth Test of their five-Test series against the West Indies in 1966, England were 3–0 down and had lost the series. Needing someone to come in to revitalise the squad, the England selectors turned to the successful Yorkshire captain, Brian Close. Close knew why he had been selected, and also why many of his men had been. At the pre-match dinner he said, "I shouldn't be here if we hadn't made such a mess of the series. What's more, neither would a few of you. You are here because you are all fighters, and we are going to keep the pressure on and keep it on for five days."[
There was no overseas tour in 1966/67, so the next game Close captained was the first Test at Headingley against India in 1967.[43] Of the 16 Tests India had previously played in England, England had won 12 and drawn 4, and there were no expectations that there would be anything other than an England victory in the three-match series. But they still needed to be beaten, and England, under Close, won each game convincingly.
Pakistan toured England in the second half of the summer of 1967.[44] The first match of that three-Test series was a rain-affected draw. The second Test was won comfortably by England by 10 wickets. It seemed certain that Close would be selected to captain England in their 1967/68 tour to the West Indies.[citation needed]
Then on 16, 17 and 18 August, Yorkshire, captained by Close, played
Brian Sellers, chairman of Yorkshire and the one who had berated Close in 1949 for saying "Thank you, Billy", then made matters worse for Close by sending an apology to the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).[citation needed] In 1967 England touring sides were still MCC sides rather than "England" sides, and the MCC took the opportunity to overrule the selectors who picked Close as captain. Close, whose "temperament had been shown lacking",[citation needed] did not go to the West Indies. On the Wednesday before the third and final Test against Pakistan, he was told he had been stripped of the captaincy; the replacement captain was Colin Cowdrey.[citation needed]
The third Test against Pakistan[46] was Close's final Test as captain. He led England to a comprehensive 8-wicket victory, winning the series 2–0. His record as captain was played 7, won 6, drawn 1, the best record of any Englishman who captained in more than two Tests.[citation needed]
Last years at Yorkshire
In 1969 Close played only 18 county championship games as he was plagued by a calf injury, although he did lead Yorkshire to victory in the
Close, however, always opposed one-day cricket, believing that it lessens players' abilities.[citation needed] Mike Procter notes that when Gloucestershire played Yorkshire in the John Player 40-over League in 1970, with Yorkshire three wickets down and needing six an over, word came from Close in the dressing room: "No chance of winning this one, lads — just get some batting practice."[citation needed]
Yorkshire had a policy of not offering contracts to its players,[
Close wrote a letter to Lister apologising, and gave a copy to a Yorkshire committeeman. But the letter was never presented to the committee as a whole, which voted to sack him as the first agenda item at their next meeting. In November 1970 Close was summoned to see Sellers, and given the choice of either resigning or being sacked. To begin with, he chose to resign. Later that day, and after speaking to his legal adviser, he retracted this, leaving Yorkshire to sack him. The reason, according to Yorkshire, was Close's dislike for the new 40-over one-day cricket league that was first played in 1969 (Close thought it led to bad habits and negative play), and because Close had supposedly not brought on the younger players.[citation needed]
Later life and career
Somerset
After being sacked by Yorkshire, the 39-year-old Close received offers from many other counties, including Lancashire, Glamorgan, Middlesex and Leicestershire. But he turned all these down, preferring to accept a non-captain's role at Somerset.[citation needed]
The rest from the captaincy did Close good; he went through the 1971 season without injury, and scored 1,389 runs, including a century in his first game for Somerset,
In 1972/73 Close led a two-match tour of the "International Wanderers" to Rhodesia. The next two winters he captained the Derrick Robins' XI tours to apartheid South Africa. Robins' tours were the closest thing the South Africa team had to Test cricket at that time, and for his efforts in the first of the tours to South Africa, Close was named as one of the four South African Cricket Annual Cricketers of the Year in 1974.[49]
During his time at Somerset Viv Richards and Ian Botham joined the county squad, and Close's leadership and discipline helped them become great cricketers. Botham said of Close, "There was a genuine enthusiasm for cricket which rubbed off on all those playing alongside him. You couldn't help but get excited by the game."[citation needed]
Final Test innings
In 1976, the 45-year-old Brian Close was called up for the first three Tests in England's five-
After that, both Close and Edrich were dropped for the fourth Test. The interval between Close's first and last Test matches was 27 years, the second-longest after Wilfred Rhodes. Only one man, Zimbabwean John Traicos, has since played a Test match at a greater age.[citation needed]
End of first-class career
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Azeem_Rafiq_and_Brian_Close.jpg/220px-Azeem_Rafiq_and_Brian_Close.jpg)
By the time he retired from county cricket at the end of the 1977 season, Close had achieved folk hero status in Somerset. He went on to play for Todmorden in the Lancashire League. Close also had a stint as an England selector between 1979 and 1981 and in 1984 he was elected to the Yorkshire committee. He became chairman of the cricket sub-committee, which led him into more controversy and conflict with the captain, Geoffrey Boycott.[citation needed] He was President of Yorkshire in 2008/9.[2]
After his retirement from Somerset, Close continued to play at the Scarborough Festival against the touring international teams, first for T.N. Pearce's XI in 1978 and then for his own XI from 1982 to 1986. In 1986, aged 55, and playing his last-ever first-class innings, Close needed 10 runs to achieve a career-total 35,000 runs. With his score on 4 he glanced a ball down leg-side to the wicket-keeper and walked. Afterwards, the New Zealanders said that if they'd known how near he was to the landmark, they would have let him stay,[citation needed] but Close would have none of it – he was out, and that was that. When asked why he gave himself out he said: "It's an honourable game and that's the way I was brought up."[53] Close's 786 first-class matches leave him 10th on the all-time list. Only four outfielders have taken more catches. [citation needed]
Close continued to turn out to help train Yorkshire youngsters, appearing for Yorkshire Colts XI in his seventies, sometimes captaining games and taking the short leg position without a helmet, a position he had taken so many times in the past. According to Imran Khan, Close once stood his ground when fielding at short leg when a batsman played a pull shot, the ball hit him on the forehead, rebounded and was caught at cover. Khan commented: "We are not all bullet-headed Yorkshiremen, however, and I don't recommend copying Close."[54]
In later years Close played an unnamed member of the crowd in a cricket match alongside Ray Illingworth, in an episode of the TV drama Heartbeat called “Stumped”. Dickie Bird played the umpire in that episode and Martin Bicknell also appeared.
Close died of lung cancer on 13 September 2015, aged 84.[55]
Notes and references
Notes
- ^ "Brian Close". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
- ^ a b "List Of Yorkshire County Cricket Club Presidents". Yorkshire County Cricket Club. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
- ^ Hill 2003, pp. 12–14.
- ^ Waters 2014, pp. 16–18.
- ^ Hill 2003, p. 14.
- ^ Hill 2003, p. 17.
- ^ a b c d "Cricketer of the Year 1964: Brian Close". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. 1964. Retrieved 25 February 2020 – via ESPNcricinfo.
- ^ Hill 2003, pp. 18–19.
- ^ Hill 2003, p. 22.
- ^ Hill 2003, pp. 15.
- ^ a b Close & Mosey 1979, p. 13.
- ^ a b Hodgson, Derek (14 September 2015). "Cricket's Tough Guy". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
- ^ "Yorkshire v Essex at Leeds, 25–27 May 1949". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- ^ "Test Trial at Edgbaston". The Times. No. 51398. London. 3 June 1949. p. 6 – via Gale.
- ^ "A Historic Fixture". The Times. No. 51432. London. 13 July 1949. p. 6 – via Gale.
- ^ "The Gentlemen Recover". The Times. No. 51434. London. 15 July 1949. p. 8 – via Gale.
- ^ Hill 2003, p. 7.
- ^ Hill 2003, p. 23.
- ^ "England's Test Team". The Times. No. 51436. London. 18 July 1949. p. 4 – via Gale.
- ^ "Test matches: Youngest players". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- ^ a b Close & Mosey 1979, p. 11.
- ^ Gollapudi, Nagraj; Close, Brian (15 September 2015). "I have no idea where the courage came from". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- ISBN 978-1-4729-2454-4– via Cricinfo.
- ^ Close & Mosey 1979, p. 12.
- ^ Close & Mosey 1979, p. 15.
- ^ Hill 2003, pp. 23–24.
- ^ Close & Mosey 1979, p. 16.
- ^ a b Hill 2003, p. 24.
- ^ "First-class matches played by Brian Close (786)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 April 2020 – via Yorkshire CCC.
- ^ Hill 2003, pp. 24–25.
- ^ Hill 2003, p. 1.
- ^ Hill 2003, p. 28.
- ^ a b c d e Ward, John (2003). "A profile of Brian Close". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 21 August 2009.
- ISBN 0002162369.
- ^ Hill 2003, p. 38.
- ^ a b c Hill, Alan (4 August 2009). "Life of Brian". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 February 2011.
- ^ "First-class Batting and Fielding in Each Season by Brian Close". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 21 August 2009.
- ^ "4th Test: England v Australia at Manchester, 27 July-1 August 1961". Cricinfo. Retrieved 28 May 2008.
- ^ "West Indies in England, 1963". Cricinfo. Retrieved 28 May 2008.
- ^ "2nd Test: England v West Indies at Lord's, 20–25 June 1963". Cricinfo. Retrieved 28 May 2008.
- ^ Smith, Leslie (13 May 2007). "Beyond the call". Wisden. Retrieved 17 February 2011.
- ^ "5th Test: England v West Indies at Kennington Oval, 18–22 August 1966". Cricinfo. Retrieved 28 May 2008.
- ^ "India in England, 1967". Cricinfo. Retrieved 28 May 2008.
- ^ "Pakistan In England, 1967". Cricinfo. Retrieved 28 May 2008.
- ^ "Warwickshire v Yorkshire at Birmingham, 16–18 August 1967". Cricinfo. Retrieved 28 May 2008.
- ^ "3rd Test: England v Pakistan at Kennington Oval, 24–28 August 1967". Cricinfo. Retrieved 28 May 2008.
- ^ "Leicestershire v Somerset at Leicester, 1–4 May 1971". Cricinfo. Retrieved 28 May 2008.
- ^ "Somerset v Yorkshire at Taunton, 19–22 June 1971". Cricinfo. Retrieved 28 May 2008.
- ^ "South African Cricket Annual Cricketers of the Year". CricketArchive. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
- ^ "West Indies in England, 1976". Cricinfo. Retrieved 28 May 2008.
- ^ "3rd Test: England v West Indies at Manchester, 8–13 July 1976". Cricinfo. Retrieved 28 May 2008.
- ^ "Wisden Almanack 1977". Wisden. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
- ^ Williamson, Martin (2 August 2007). "Ripe old age". Cricinfo. Retrieved 28 May 2008.
- ISBN 978-0-600-56349-5
- ^ "Brian Close: Former England and Yorkshire captain dies, aged 84". BBC News. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
References
- Close, Brian; Mosey, Don (1979) [1978]. I Don't Bruise Easily. London: Futura Publications. ISBN 0-7088-1529-4.
- ISBN 0-413-77297-7.
- Waters, Chris (2014). 10 for 10: Hedley Verity and the Story of Cricket's Greatest Bowling Feat. London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-4729-0890-2.
Further reading
Printed sources
- Mike Procter and Cricket by Mike Procter ISBN 0-7207-1326-9
Websites
- Charity-golf.com (Accessed 26 February 2005)
- Thisisbradford.co.uk (Accessed 26 February 2005)
"Cricket At The Crossroads" (2011) by Guy Fraser-Sampson is partly based on interviews with Brian Close
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/34px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png)