Walter Scott Lees (25 December 1875 – 10 September 1924) was a

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

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 ...

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 in five

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) ...

against

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in 1906. On his debut, he took five wickets in the first innings in

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 ...

Biography

He was born on 25 December 1875 in Yorkshire. He learned his cricket in London and began his career with Surrey in 1896, but was regarded as merely promising until the following year when he took a regular place from the out-of-form William Lockwood and took 75 wickets despite being overshadowed by Tom Richardson. On two occasions his bowling was nonetheless a vital factor in Surrey winning or turning around matches. The following few years, however, were very patchy and Lees struggled to maintain his place in the side against competition from the rejuvenated Lockwood and

Bill Brockwell William Brockwell (21 January 1865 – 1 July 1935) was an English cricketer. Although primarily remembered as a batsman, he began his career as a fast-medium bowler. With George Lohmann, Tom Richardson and William Lockwood carrying all before ...

. He lost his place very early in 1898 and did not become a regular again until 1900, when performances like eight for 31 against Hampshire and nine wickets in a superb win over Lancashire showed he had the potential to be a major force. However, Lees was again disappointing in 1901 and almost completely lost his place in 1902 despite Surrey being dreadfully short of bowlers. However, in the following year a performance of thirteen wickets for 75 runs against Cambridge University saw Lees finally establish himself as an integral part of the Surrey eleven. Although he only twice took five wickets in a

County Championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...

innings, Lees not only took 102 wickets but developed his hard hitting sufficiently to be often valuable as a batsman for a team weakened immensely by the loss of Brockwell and

Bobby Abel Robert Abel (30 November 1857 – 10 December 1936), nicknamed "The Guv'nor", was a Surrey and England opening batsman who was one of the most prolific run-getters in the early years of the County Championship. He was the first England player ...

. 1904 saw Lees raised to the status of Surrey's chief bowler (except on

sticky wicket A sticky wicket (or sticky dog, or glue pot) is a metaphor used to describe a difficult circumstance. It originated as a term for difficult circumstances in the sport of cricket, caused by a damp and soft wicket. In cricket The phrase comes fr ...

s) by the dropping out of Lockwood and Richardson, but by the standards of the day he was very expensive in most matches. However, in 1905 Lees, aided by some fiery pitches at the Oval in July and August, rose far beyond what his previous performances would suggest. With improved accuracy, spin and life from the fast pitches he was the leading wicket-taker in England, falling only seven short of 200 first-class wickets at a price far below any he had previously managed. This earned Lees a ''

Wisden Cricketer 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 ...

'' nomination in 1906, and he was chosen for a tour to South Africa. His batting remained on the same level as previous years, but he did hit a maiden century in fifty minutes against

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, something he was to repeat a year later against

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

. In 1906, though he took 168 wickets, Lees was overshadowed by the tremendous speed of

Neville Knox Neville Alexander Knox (10 October 1884 - 3 March 1935) was an English fast bowler of the late 1900s and effectively the successor to Tom Richardson and William Lockwood in the Surrey team. Because of his profession as a singer, Knox's cricket ...

on the dry but very true Oval pitches, but was believed by observers to be just as good as in 1905. In a famous match for the Players, Lees put on more pace than usual and took six wickets, whilst with 51 he proved better able to play Knox and

Walter Brearley Walter Brearley (11 March 1876 – 30 January 1937) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Lancashire and England. Brearley was a fast bowler with what ''Wisden'' described as "a rolling gait" who put his full – and substantial ...

than most of the recognised professional batsmen.Pardon (editor); ''John Wisden’s Cricketers' Almanack''; Forty-Fourth Edition (1907), pp. 332–334 Lees' 1907 season was affected by a strain that cost him a month's cricket and any chance of representative honours, whilst from 1908 inconsistency began to plague his bowling and his batting was no longer of value. Though he had some deadly days in 1909, it was clear Lees was on the way down, and by the end of 1910 he had lost his place in the Surrey side to

Bill Hitch John William Hitch (7 May 1886 – 7 July 1965) was a cricketer who played for Surrey and England. A Lancastrian, Hitch was bowling for a club in Cambridgeshire when he was spotted by Surrey's batsman Tom Hayward and recommended to The Oval. ...

and Tom Rushby. After a few games in 1911, Lees was not re-engaged. He died in 1924 aged 48.

References

External links

* *''Surrey County Cricket Club First-Class Records 1846-2000, Limited Overs Records 1963-2000'', pub. Surrey County Cricket Club, 2001. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lees, Walter 1875 births 1924 deaths England Test cricketers English cricketers People from Sowerby Bridge Sportspeople from Calderdale Surrey cricketers Wisden Cricketers of the Year Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Players cricketers North v South cricketers Cricketers who have taken five wickets on Test debut London County cricketers Players of the South cricketers Cricketers from West Yorkshire