Willie Watson (7 March 1920 – 24 April 2004) 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

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

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 was a double international, as Watson was also a

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played for

's national team. He was the son of Billy Watson, and brother of Albert Watson, also footballers.

Cricket career

Born in

Bolton on Dearne Bolton upon Dearne is a village in South Yorkshire, England, in the part of the Dearne Valley through which the River Dearne passes. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is approximately east of Barnsley, west of Doncaster and ...

, Yorkshire, England, Watson, a left-handed batsman, made his debut for Yorkshire in 1939, and was a regular in the side for a dozen years after

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 ...

. He made his

Test match 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) ...

debut 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 ...

in 1951, and did well. But at a time when England was rich in batting talent, Watson rarely commanded a regular place and his twenty three Test matches were spread across eight years. His most famous innings was one of 109, in almost six hours, which with

Trevor Bailey Trevor Edward Bailey (3 December 1923 – 10 February 2011) was an England Test cricketer, cricket writer and broadcaster. An all-rounder, Bailey was known for his skilful but unspectacular batting. As the BBC reflected in his obituary: "His ...

contributing to a partnership of 163, enabled England to save the second Test 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 ...

in 1953 against the

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, several (or all) ...

, when the game appeared to be lost. Despite being a stylish left-hander, his Test career was a series of stops and starts. He even found himself dropped after his efforts at Lord's for the final Ashes series clinching victory. Nevertheless, he was 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 1954. Watson toured in the West Indies in 1953–54, and scored his second Test century in Jamaica. His final Test appearance was in New Zealand in March 1959. Watson's highest first-class score was 257, for the

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

(MCC) against

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

at Georgetown. Watson's cricket career received a late boost when, in 1958, he left Yorkshire and joined Leicestershire as assistant secretary and

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 popular if quiet skipper, he temporarily regained his England place, and was also instrumental in a limited revival of the Leicestershire's fortunes. He played his last first-class match for Leicestershire in 1964. He wrote his memoirs, ''Double International'', in 1956. Watson emigrated to South Africa in 1968, to coach the Wanderers. He died 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 ...

in April 2004, at the age of 84.

Football career

As a footballer, Watson was a cultured wing-half for

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. The ...

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

and

Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in and play at the Shay. They replaced Halifax Town A.F.C., which went into administration in the 2007–08 season. ...

. He made 211 league appearances for Sunderland, in his seven seasons at the club. He played for England four times, gaining his first cap in England's 9–2 victory over

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

in November 1949. He was a member of the squad for the

1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...

, though he did not appear in any of the games in the tournament in Brazil. He had two spells in charge of Halifax, from 1954 to 1956 and later from 1964 to 1966, and also managed

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

from 1966 to 1968, where he laid the foundations of a promotion-winning team, but his biggest successes were in cricket.

References

External links

*
Sunderland career detailsEngland football career details at www.englandstats.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Willie 1920 births 2004 deaths English cricketers England Test cricketers English cricketers of 1946 to 1968 Leicestershire cricketers Leicestershire cricket captains Wisden Cricketers of the Year Yorkshire cricketers Commonwealth XI cricketers International Cavaliers cricketers English footballers 1950 FIFA World Cup players Halifax Town A.F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players England international footballers England wartime international footballers English football managers Bradford City A.F.C. managers Halifax Town A.F.C. managers Association football midfielders English Football League players People from Bolton upon Dearne England cricket team selectors Players cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers T. N. Pearce's XI cricketers