Cyril Washbrook (6 December 1914 – 27 April 1999) was an English

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er, who played for

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He had a long career, split by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and ending when he was aged 44. Washbrook, who is most famous for

opening Opening may refer to: * Al-Fatiha, "The Opening", the first chapter of the Qur'an * The Opening (album), live album by Mal Waldron * Backgammon opening * Chess opening * A title sequence or opening credits * , a term from contract bridge * , ...

the batting for England with

Len Hutton Sir Leonard Hutton (23 June 1916 – 6 September 1990) 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 Cricketer ...

, which he did 51 times, played a total of 592

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

matches, of which 37 were

Tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

. Washbrook was named one of the five

Wisden Cricketers of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...

in 1947.

Career

Washbrook was born in Barrow,

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists visiting the area. In 2018, the Cl ...

. After being schooled at

Bridgnorth Grammar School Bridgnorth Endowed School is a coeducational secondary school with academy status, located in the market town of Bridgnorth in the rural county of Shropshire, England. Founded in 1503, The Endowed School is a state school and is a specialist ...

, aged 18, he went to Lancashire County Cricket Club, although it was not until two years later, in 1935, that he was fully established in the side, after scoring 1,724 runs and coming fifth in the national averages. He was selected to play his first Test in 1937, against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

The Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...

. However, he could only make 9 and 8 not out, and was not selected for the Australian Tests the next year. The war then interrupted his career, with Washbrook becoming a physical training instructor in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

, and it was in the

1946–47 Ashes series The 1946–47 Ashes series consisted of five cricket Test matches, each of six days with five hours play each day and eight ball overs. Unlike pre-war Tests in Australia, matches were not timeless and played to a finish. It formed part of the M ...

that he finally took on

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Hutton and Washbrook made three consecutive century stands, as Washbrook, with his cricket cap cocked in a jaunty style, became a familiar figure to cricket fans in Australia and England. Washbrook was a strong leg side player, noted for his hooks and pulls, and was at his greatest in the late 1940s. He was made one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1947, and was awarded a benefit by Lancashire in 1948, which raised £14,000. He was an accomplished fielder at

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

, and was adored by the Old Trafford faithful. During the tour of South Africa in 1948/9 Washbrook scored 542 runs in 5 Test matches, including his highest Test score of 195 made in the second Test at

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

. He shared in a 359 run partnership with Hutton which was the first wicket record at the time, and remains the first wicket record for England.Test matches – Highest partnerships by wicket for England
Stats.cricinfo.com. Retrieved 2018-07-08. He was a reluctant tourist in the 1950–51 Ashes series, and was beaten many times by Australia's spinner,

Jack Iverson John Brian Iverson (27 July 1915 – 23 October 1973), was an Australian cricketer who played in five Test cricket, Test matches from 1950 to 1951. He was known for his unique "bent finger" grip, with which he briefly perplexed batsmen across ...

. After the first Test of 1951 against

, he was dropped from the Test side, reputedly against the wishes of his batting partner, Hutton. His average partnership with Hutton in Tests was 60. In 1954, Washbrook was appointed Lancashire's first ever professional

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, a role he held on until 1959, when he was awarded a second benefit, which raised £1,520. Washbrook was appointed a Test selector in 1956. After England had lost the Second Test against Australia at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

, to go one-nil down in the five match series, the 41-year-old was asked by his fellow selectors to leave the room. When he returned, they asked him if he would play in the Third Test at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingle ...

. Washbrook made 98, sharing a stand of 187 with

Peter May Peter May may refer to: *Peter W. May, American businessman *Peter May (cricketer) (1929–1994), English Test cricketer *Peter May (writer) Peter May (born 20 December 1951) is a Scottish television screenwriter, novelist, and crime writer. H ...

, after England had been reduced to 17 for three. England won the game, and Washbrook stayed in the team, scoring just 6 in the Fourth Test at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

, in which

Jim Laker James Charles Laker (9 February 1922 – 23 April 1986) was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey County Cricket Club from 1946 to 1959 and represented England in 46 Test matches. He was born in Shipley, West Riding of York ...

took his record-breaking 19 wickets as England went two-one up. The Fifth Test at The Oval saw Washbrook's last Test innings, a duck, but with the game drawn, England had won the Ashes. From 1989 to 1990, Washbrook was president of

. He was appointed CBE in the 1991 Birthday Honours. Washbrook died in Sale,

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

, at the age of 84.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Washbrook, Cyril 1914 births 1999 deaths England Test cricketers English cricketers of 1919 to 1945 Lancashire cricketers Lancashire cricket captains Royal Air Force cricketers Wisden Cricketers of the Year People educated at Bridgnorth Endowed School People from Clitheroe Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Commanders of the Order of the British Empire England cricket team selectors Players cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI cricketers North v South cricketers 20th-century British businesspeople Royal Air Force Physical Training instructors