Harold James Rhodes (born 22 July 1936) is an English former international cricketer who played two

Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

for

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in 1959. He played domestically for

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

between 1953 and 1975 and played one day matches for

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

between 1970 and 1973.

Life and career

Rhodes was born at

Hadfield, Derbyshire Hadfield is a town in the High Peak of Derbyshire, England, with a population at the 2021 Census of 6,763. It lies on the south side of the River Etherow, near to the border with Greater Manchester, at the western edge of the Peak District clos ...

, the son of the Derbyshire

all-rounder An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a handful of batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are consi ...

, Albert "Dusty" Rhodes. He made his first appearance for Derbyshire Club and Ground in 1951 and played one match for the Derbyshire second eleven in 1952. He made his first-class debut for Derbyshire in the 1953 season when he played a single match against Oxford University, but began appearing regularly in the second eleven. Although his father played for the Derbyshire in 1953, they never played in the same first-class match. Rhodes was initially an

off spin Off spin is a type of finger spin bowling in cricket. A bowler who uses this technique is called an off spinner. Off spinners are right arm, right-handed spin bowling, spin bowlers who use their fingers to spin the ball. Their normal Delivery (cr ...

bowler. He played a single first-class fixture against Scotland in the 1954 season and played four first-class matches in the 1955 season. In the 1956 season he played four matches and took his first five wicket innings against Yorkshire. He played three matches in the 1957 season. He developed to become a fast seam bowler. In the 1958 season he played a full first-class season taking 67 wickets and two five wicket innings. He began opening the county bowling with Les Jackson in the 1959 season after the retirement of

Cliff Gladwin Clifford Gladwin (3 April 1916 – 10 April 1988) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Derbyshire from 1939 to 1958 and in eight Tests for England from 1947 to 1949. He took over 1,600 first-class wickets. A tall right-arm mediu ...

. In that season, he played two

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), ...

against

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, taking nine wickets. He took 60 wickets for Derbyshire but with one five wicket over. Although facing strong competition from bowlers such as

Brian Statham John Brian Statham, (17 June 1930 – 10 June 2000) was an English professional cricketer from Gorton, in Manchester, who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club from 1950 to 1968 and for England from 1951 to 1965.Fred Trueman Frederick Sewards Trueman, (6 February 1931 – 1 July 2006) was an English cricketer who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and the England cricket team. He had professional status and later became an author and broadcaster. Acknowled ...

, Rhodes might have expected to play many more Tests. But doubts about the legality of his bowling action emerged, and in the 1960 season, playing for Derbyshire against the

South Africans The population of South Africa is about 58.8 million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages, and religions. The South African National Census of 2022 was the most recent census held; the next will be in 2032. In 2011, Statistics Sout ...

, he was "called" for throwing – bowling the ball with a bent arm that straightens in the delivery – by the umpire and former Test batsman,

Paul Gibb Paul Antony Gibb (11 July 1913 – 7 December 1977) 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 mid ...

. Later in the 1960 season, he was

no-ball In cricket, a no-ball is a type of illegal delivery to a batter (the other type being a wide). It is also a type of extra, being the run awarded to the batting team as a consequence of the illegal delivery. For most cricket games, especially a ...

ed again by Gibb, and by

Syd Buller John Sydney Buller (23 August 1909 – 7 August 1970) was an English first-class cricketer and international umpire. He was a wicket-keeper. Playing career Buller was born in Wortley near Leeds in Yorkshire. As a player, he was a competent w ...

. He took 78 first-class wickets in the season and took two five wicket innings. Rhodes was then subjected to a long and detailed examination of his action by MCC committees; he was eventually cleared in 1968 when it was declared that he had a "hyper-extended arm". But by then, his Test career was long gone, although he had continued to bowl successfully for Derbyshire across the 1960s. In the 1961 season he topped Derbyshire's bowling with 101 and took six five wicket innings. Against Oxford University he achieved a hat-trick that year. He took 68 wickets in the 1962 season and took five five wicket innings. His best season of 1965, saw him take 119 wickets at the low average of 11.04 runs per wicket, and he was top of the English national bowling averages for that season. Rhodes retired to League cricket in 1969. He then played some one-day matches for Nottinghamshire between 1970 and 1973, and he returned to Derbyshire in 1975, for some one day matches, and a final first-class game against

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. Rhodes finished with nine Test wickets and 1073 first-class wickets at an average of 19.50 and with a best performance of 7 for 38. He was a right-handed batsman and played 399 innings in 322 first-class matches with an average of 9.48 and a top score of 48. He scored no runs in two Test cricket matches. After the conclusion of his playing career, Rhodes took up coaching. He served as part-time coach of the German national team between 1996 and 2001, including at the

2001 ICC Trophy The 2001 ICC Trophy was a cricket tournament played in Ontario, Canada in 2001. It was the Cricket World Cup qualification tournament for the 2003 Cricket World Cup. Three spots in the World Cup were on offer and the Netherlands, host nation Canada ...

in Canada."Gründung des DCB bis 2008"
– Deutscher Cricket Bund. Retrieved 2 April 2016.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhodes, Harold 1936 births Living people Derbyshire cricketers England Test cricketers English cricketers Nottinghamshire cricketers Combined Services cricketers Commonwealth XI cricketers International Cavaliers cricketers People from Hadfield, Derbyshire Cricketers from Derbyshire Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Players cricketers North v South cricketers English cricket administrators English cricket coaches T. N. Pearce's XI cricketers