I played with Yorkshire CCC legends like Brian Close and Geoffrey Boycott - now I need to find a good home for my rare cricketing stamp collection'

Browsing the stamps, some of which depict pictures of Yorkshire cricketers he played with, such as Brian Close and Richard Hutton, it becomes clear that buying them was just as natural as his brief career as a professional cricketer between 1969-72.

Appropriately, given his love of cricket, Dalton grew up in Newport View, a boundary hit from the Headingley ground; academically clever and a talented sportsman, he won a scholarship to Leeds Grammar School where he developed during the 1960s into one of the best schoolboy cricketers of his generation.

It was, therefore, inevitable that Yorkshire would examine his ability and potential.

An attacking batsman, he scored three first class centuries for Yorkshire -111 against Oxford University in May 1971, 119 against Worcestershire in July 1971 and 128 versus Middlesex at Headingley in August 1972.

Dalton also made four hundreds for the Seconds, and at one point in his career, senior figures at Yorkshire suggested that this Economics graduate from Newcastle University had the leadership qualities required to captain the county.

However, at the end of the 1972 season, he resigned from Yorkshire because he was no longer enjoying life as a professional cricketer.

Making use of his degree and then an MBA from Bradford University, he left the batting crease and went on to forge a successful business career, although he continued for a period to play club cricket as a professional.

As Dalton explains, while he began collecting cricket stamps in the 1970s, his enthusiasm for philately began much earlier.

“I started as an eight or nine-year-old. My grandparents had Victorian stamps, and I’ve put these Penny Reds and Penny Blues in a collection.

"I’ve also got stamps with heads of several kings on. I enjoy the feel of stamps and put together the cricket ones over 20 years.

“I was employed at Burton’s in Leeds and someone there was a stamp dealer on the side. He became a source, and others followed. The stamps are from all over the cricketing world.

"For example, the Close ones and the David Bairstow stamp were issued by Nukule Tuvalu in the South Pacific. The one showing Martyn Moxon, the ex-Yorkshire captain, is from Grenadines and St. Vincent in the Caribbean.

“You’ll also see Ian Botham on a stamp from St. Vincent and Tom Graveney too, the England batsman.

"I probably like the WG Grace stamps the most which were issued at the time of the 100th anniversary of county cricket (1873-1973).

"So, I’ve got cricket stamps, from among other countries, Jamaica, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Antigua, Australia and Barbados.

“I must have spent £500 on buying them and I’ve no idea what the collection is worth. But we are moving, and I would like it to find a new home. No one in my family would like to take it now.

"No, I won’t feel sad to see them go if I find the right individual or location. I shall feel the stamps are going to be a pleasure and that they will have a relationship with whoever takes them on.”

As a professional, Dalton played alongside Yorkshire players of the stature of Boycott, Close, John Hampshire, Doug Padgett, Don Wilson, Bairstow, Tony Nicholson, Geoff Cope and Phil Sharpe, and he also knew Fred Trueman.

If anyone has any doubts as to his qualities – after all, he played only 21 first class games and 17 one day matches before resigning – look at the History of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, published in 1989, and written by Tony Woodhouse.

He writes: “At Headingley against Middlesex, Andrew Dalton played a mature role with 128 and 49. Producing every scoring shot in the book, he played one of the best middle order innings by a Yorkshire player for several years.”

While it’s more than half a century since he last appeared for Yorkshire and, therefore giving up a promising career in only his mid-20s, Dalton says he has no regrets and, thankfully, retains clear memories of Yorkshire’s greatest post-war skipper who is much, much more than a figure on a postage stamp.

“Brian Close was a fabulous leader. He was the thinking captain. Brian was totally selfless, never played for himself and he read the game extremely well.

"Brian was a strong supporter of mine. He’d seen me score runs when he was at the other end in Second XI games coming back from injury. He was a pleasure to play with.

“It’s always good to be led by someone who knows where they are going. Captains then had to be imaginative in terms of getting a result.

"Brian was highly thought of, and it was just a shame when the Yorkshire Committee asked him to move on in 1970.

"That was one of the reasons why I resigned at the end of the 1972 season. Brian was probably the best leader I can remember-fearless, took risks and inspirational.

“Yes, it was a thrill scoring those hundreds for Yorkshire. Looking back, I was out cheaply on a number of occasions, but if I got in, I had a simple philosophy which was I was going to dominate the bowling.

"After I resigned, I was offered a job at Worcestershire, but I turned it down. I didn’t play beyond 1976.I thought I could have played at a very high level, but you never know.

"So, no regrets at all. My closing salary at Yorkshire was £750.00, and my first position at Burton’s was two and a half times as much.”

Does he keep in touch today with Yorkshire and is he still interested in cricket?

“I was one of the early committee members of the Yorkshire Players’ Association, founded in 2005, so I was close to the club and have a great regard for Moxon and the former chief executive Mark Arthur.

"I’ve never been a watcher, and I don’t sit in front of the box watching Tests. I’ll watch for a few minutes.

"I obviously follow Yorkshire and noticed recently that we drew against Essex, a game at Chelmsford which we should have won. Close would have declared earlier.”