Geoffrey Pullar (1 August 1935 – 25 December 2014) 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

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

and in 28

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), ...

for

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 ...

. His affectionate

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

was ' Noddy', not, as often said, because, once he was out, he was known to sleep often in the dressing room, but because he was once discovered watching the children's programme there. He was, in any case, a skilled batsman, rarely lifting the ball off the surface while driving elegantly and adept at accumulating by flicking the ball off his toes towards fine leg. Preferring to play off the front foot, Pullar was also a good puller of the ball and could crack a square cut. In his younger days he had been compared to

Charlie Hallows Charles Hallows (4 April 1895 – 10 November 1972) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Lancashire and England. A tall left-handed opening batsman, Hallows provided the attacking flair in the successful Lancashire side in the 19 ...

and

Eddie Paynter Edward Paynter (5 November 1901 – 5 February 1979) was an English cricketer: an attacking batsman and excellent fielder. His Test batting average of 59.23 is the seventh highest of all time, and second only to Herbert Sutcliffe amongst Englis ...

, two of Lancashire's crowd pleasing greats – he had the artistry of the former and the pugnacious aggression and watchful determination of the latter.

Life and career

Pullar was born in Swinton,

, in 1935, and was a product of Werneth Cricket Club, which was close to where he went to school in

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

; while there he showed equal talent as a leg break bowler as well as with his batting – but with

Tommy Greenhough Thomas Greenhough (9 November 1931 – 15 September 2009) was an English cricketer, who represented Lancashire during the 1950s and 1960s, as well as playing four Tests for England. After the retirement of Doug Wright, Eric Hollies and Roly Jen ...

, Bob Barber and

Sonny Ramadhin Sonny Ramadhin, Chaconia Medal, CM (1 May 1929 – 27 February 2022) was a West Indian cricket team, West Indian cricketer, and was a dominant bowler of the 1950s. He was the first of many West Indian cricketers of Indo-Trinidadian, Indian orig ...

variously based 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 ...

, Pullar's bowling was rarely called upon in

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 ...

. Originally a

middle order In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batters play through their team's innings, there always being two batters taking part at any one time. All eleven players in a team are required to bat if the innings is completed (i.e., i ...

batsman, the left-handed Pullar was tried as an

opener Opener, Open'er or Openers may refer to: * ''Opener'' (album), an album by 8mm * Opener (baseball), a baseball strategy to use a relief pitcher to start a game * Open'er Festival, a contemporary music festival held in Gdynia, Poland * Bottle opene ...

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

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in 1959, and was an instant success, scoring 75 at Headingley, and 131 at Old Trafford, the first ever Test century by a Lancastrian at the ground. He then became a fixture in the England side for four years, making four centuries in all and averaging more than 43. Pullar did well against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

at home series of 1960, following a solid winter tour of the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

where he played in all five tests against a bowling attack including Wes Hall,

Garfield Sobers Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers, (born 28 July 1936), also known as Sir Gary or Sir Garry Sobers, is a former cricketer who played for the West Indies between 1954 and 1974. A highly skilled bowler, an aggressive batsman and an excellent fielder, ...

and Charlie Griffith who had his debut in the fifth test. He had a good tour to

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

in 1961–62, and topped the batting averages despite bagging a pair in the first Test in Pakistan. His highest Test score was 175 against the South Africans at

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 ...

in 1960, when he put on 290 for the first wicket with Colin Cowdrey. He had modest success 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) ...

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

, when Alan Davidson snared him five times, and Pullar only played twice against Pakistan in England in 1962, scoring only 27 runs in two knocks while others, notably

Peter Parfitt Peter Howard Parfitt (born 8 December 1936) is an English former cricketer. He attended Fakenham Grammar School, and King Edward VII Grammar School, in Kings Lynn, Norfolk. The cricket correspondent Colin Bateman noted, "he was a stocky, po ...

, scored freely against a moderate attack. After the tour to Australia in 1962–63, during which he fell ill with pleurisy, Pullar lost his England place and never regained it. After some years of declining success for Lancashire, he joined Gloucestershire in 1969, and topped the county's batting averages in his first season. But

arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...

in his knees forced his retirement after just six matches the following year. Pullar was elected Young Cricketer of the Year in 1959 by the Cricket Writers' Association (a year in which he scored three tons against the champions,

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 ...

) and he was one of the

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 1960. He also won a junior England cap for

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

. Pullar died at age 79 on 25 December 2014.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pullar, Geoff 1935 births 2014 deaths England Test cricketers English cricketers English cricketers of 1946 to 1968 Gloucestershire cricketers International Cavaliers cricketers Lancashire cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers People from Oldham People from Swinton, Greater Manchester Players cricketers Wisden Cricketers of the Year North v South cricketers