Billy Sutcliffe

William Herbert Hobbs Sutcliffe (10 October 1926 – 16 September 1998) was an English amateur first-class cricketer,[1] and the son of Herbert Sutcliffe; his middle name was in honour of Jack Hobbs.

Billy Sutcliffe
Personal information
Full nameWilliam Herbert Hobbs Sutcliffe
Born(1926-10-10)10 October 1926
Pudsey, Yorkshire, England
Died16 September 1998(1998-09-16) (aged 71)
Collingham, West Yorkshire
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium, leg-break
RoleBatsman, captain
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1948–1957Yorkshire
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 210
Runs scored 7530
Batting average 26.42
100s/50s 6/38
Top score 181
Balls bowled 672
Wickets 15
Bowling average 22.26
5 wickets in innings –
10 wickets in match –
Best bowling 2/12
Catches/stumpings 90/–
Source: Cricinfo, 25 October 2013

Sutcliffe was born in Pudsey, near Leeds, Yorkshire, England. Playing as a right-handed batsman and occasional medium and leg break bowler, he made his debut for Yorkshire County Cricket Club in 1948, and retired from the first-class game in 1959.[1] In 210 first-class matches, he scored 7,530 runs, with a career best score of 181 against Kent in 1952,[2] at an average of 26.42. He scored six centuries in all, including 171 not out against Worcestershire and 161 not out against Glamorgan. Bob Appleyard recalled that Sutcliffe batted with a 2 pounds 6 ounces bat, which had to be specially made as it was considered very heavy in its day.

He toured India with the Commonwealth XI in 1950-51 (adding 301 for the fourth wicket with Frank Worrell in the match against Ceylon),[3] and Pakistan with the MCC in 1955-56.

Sutcliffe captained Yorkshire as an amateur for two years in 1956 and 1957. He led a recovering Yorkshire to third in the County Championship in his final season in charge. Brian Close called him "a super lad who made himself into a county cricketer because it was expected of him, and because he believed in Yorkshire cricket and its right to pre-eminence. He was happier having a pint and a natter than he was in cracking the whip on the field". The Yorkshire and England spin bowler and Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) coach Don Wilson said "It was unfair to suggest he was only in the job because of his name. He was a great league player and had proved himself a knowledgeable captain for Leeds. It was the senior players who were at the root of this malediction."

He later served on the Yorkshire committee, and on the Test selection panel in 1969 and 1970.[4]

He died in September 1998 in Collingham, Yorkshire.

References
  1. Warner, David (2011). The Yorkshire County Cricket Club: 2011 Yearbook (113th ed.). Ilkley, Yorkshire: Great Northern Books. p. 379. ISBN 978-1-905080-85-4.
  2. Kent v Yorkshire 1952
  3. Ceylon v Commonwealth XI 1950-51
  4. Wisden 1999, p. 1491.
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