Roly Jenkins

Roly Jenkins (24 November 1918^[1] – 22 July 1995) was an English cricketer from the period immediately after World War II, almost exclusively for Worcestershire County Cricket Club as a leg spinner. Along with Doug Wright and Eric Hollies, Jenkins was a star of the last generation of English leg-spinners before a more defensive mindset, followed by failed rule changes like a standard 75 yards (68.6 m) boundary^[2] and then the advent of one-day cricket, all but killed off home grown wrist spinners.

Cricket writer, Colin Bateman, noted, "true to the leg-spinner's image, Roly Jenkins was one of the game's great characters and entertainers whose performances ebbed and flowed with how the mood took him. In an era when wrist-spinners flourished, Roly was one of the bigger spinners of the ball, if not always the most accurate".^[1]

Life and career

Roland Oliver Jenkins was born in

Although he did not do much in the Tests, Jenkins' vicious spin was deadly against slower-footed batsmen on hard South African pitches. Initially an orthodox leg break bowler, around this time Jenkins shifted to a grip akin to a seam bowler, which allowed him such a firm and close grip on the ball. This spin was so strong that it compensated for his lack of a top-spinner, and the fact that his googly was extremely easy to pick.^[3] Although he had neither the quick pace of Wright, or the artfulness of Hollies, Jenkins' spin and flight were so pronounced he surpassed both in the dry summer of 1949. Despite not playing a Test match, he took more wickets that season than any other bowler, and claimed a hat-trick in each innings against Surrey.^[4] This did not affect his batting: indeed, Jenkins reached 1,000 runs for the third successive year and was named one of the Cricketers of the Year by Wisden.

The following year saw Jenkins play in two Tests against the

In his

Along with Derbyshire wicket-keepers Bob Taylor and George Dawkes, Jenkins is one of only three players who have reached ten thousand career runs while making only one century (against Nottinghamshire in 1948).^[12] Tony Lock reached that figure with a highest score of 89.

Throughout his career, Jenkins was noted for his obsessive perfectionism: he would typically begin practising bowling at seven o'clock in the morning, and he was known for always bowling in his cap (though he batted without one).^[3] In later years he was a popular and much admired umpire at Ombersley Cricket Club, where he frequently offered helpful advice to bowlers from both teams.

Jenkins died in July 1995, in Worcester, at the age of 76.^[3]

References