Sporting Bygones: Above all we were Yorkshiremen which meant such a lot to everyone – Close

LIKE so many good ideas, it was simple in the beginning if rather more complex in the making but for those of us who treasure the past as much as we enjoy the present, Yorkshire author Andrew Collomosse has rendered a service.

We still reminisce about the heroes of our earlier days and no doubt too often bore those not fortunate enough to have been around at the time but Collomosse has, with the lightest of touches allied to a receptive ear, produced a minor masterpiece of a cricket book*.

His plan was to interview all the surviving members of the Yorkshire dressing room who figured in the seven County Championships and two Gillette Cups won under three captains between 1959 and 1969. As you would expect, the majority of the players were happy to give their time and have their memories recorded; the exception – again as you would expect – was Geoffrey Boycott.

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Their recollections make fascinating reading, even for those of us who followed Yorkshire day-by-day during those days of despair in the early and middle Fifties, through to the transformation under Ronnie Burnet, the continuation with Vic Wilson as captain and the final surge to greatness – with the occasional flaw to prove they were human after all – with Brian Close in charge on the field.

We might have thought we knew everything there was to know about Yorkshire cricket over those years; we now know how little we knew.

The basis of that great side, we and everyone else knew, was the core of four: Close, Raymond Illingworth, Fred Trueman and Jimmy Binks with the latter, modest, efficient and quiet, as influential as any of the others, thanks to his ability to spot a batsmen's weakness, a bowler's lack of zip or accuracy.

Around that quartet, Yorkshire were fortunate to have a never-ending flow of quality players, many of whom would play for England and the key figures among them, the likes of Bryan Stott, Ken Taylor, Doug Padgett, Mel Ryan, Bob Platt, Mike Cowan, John Hampshire, Don Wilson, Philip Sharpe, Richard Hutton and Geoff Cope all contribute to a narrative which will become required reading for anyone eager to study the history of Yorkshire cricket.

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There is much talk of the game – nothing wrong with that in a cricket book – but there is also humour, especially from Platt, Ryan and Cowan; humility; sadness, music; high-speed driving; criticism where due; and always honesty.

Particularly moving is Cope's account of his friendship with Johnny Wardle, one of the great players in Yorkshire's history but one whose career ended in turmoil. That did not prevent Wardle giving generously of his time and knowledge when Cope was in the throes of rebuilding his action after doubts were voiced as to its legality. It is a poignant tale.

Then there is Richard Hutton, commenting on the events which followed the releasing of Illingworth, the retirement of Trueman and Binks and the sacking of Close. The turmoil of the Seventies, he insists, was a result of the appointment of Boycott as captain.

"To my mind, he was totally unsuited to be captain of Yorkshire," states Hutton unequivocally.

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"Throughout the Sixties the attitude of a group of highly-talented players was that the team was always bigger than the individual. Then suddenly that was reversed; it was sad, really sad."

And, perhaps inevitably, that theme was developed as the final words on Collomosse's tape recorder came from Brian Close, the man whom many consider the equal in talent of any other Yorkshire cricketer in the history of the club, the Hon Jackson, Wilfred Rhodes and George Herbert Hirst included.

Perhaps Close's figures do not stand comparison with Sir Stanley or the two redoubtable all-rounders from Kirkheaton but the explanation for that is the key to Close himself, a hugely talented cricketer who should certainly have played many more games for England but above all a man for whom the team was everything.

If Yorkshire or England winning meant that the individual had to sacrifice his wicket then that was how it happened.

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There was another thing, as Close concludes: "Above all we were Yorkshiremen, which meant such a lot to everyone. We weren't the best paid players in the land and none of us had a proper contract – we were just told in August whether we were going to be retained the following year.

"But from April to September we were 11 Yorkshiremen playing for Yorkshire and we knew all about the cricketing traditions of our county. We were a great side and became a great side because we had so many options in the field. You are never, ever going to win a Championship unless you are good in the field.

"Your batsmen – and make no mistake we had some bloody good players – can put you in a winning position but to go on and win the match you have to bowl the other side out twice and we were equipped to do that, week in, week out.

"We won matches we had no right to win because of the way we played."

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That was the Yorkshire way throughout those magnificent years. Yorkshire had a definite edge then, an edge which was lost forever when the decision was taken to allow players born outside the county to represent the club.

Or was it forever?

* Magnificent Seven by Andrew Collomosse (Great Northern Books, 16.99)

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