Don Brennan (Cricketer)
Encyclopedia
Donald Vincent Brennan (10 February 1920 – 9 January 1985) was an English
cricket
er, who played in two Tests
in 1951. For his county Yorkshire
he was their regular wicket-keeper between 1947 and 1953, taking a total of 380 dismissal
s in those seven seasons. A poor batsman, he averaged 10.52 in first-class cricket
with only a single fifty in 232 appearances. Cricket correspondent, Colin Bateman, noted after Brennan had replaced Godfrey Evans
in the England cricket team, that "there can be few higher tributes to his 'keeping skills than that".
, Bradford
, Yorkshire
, Brennan played Bradford League cricket for his home town before his break into first-class cricket in 1947. Brennan played two second XI matches in 1946, but first team opportunities were blocked by Paul Gibb
, Arthur Wood and Kenneth Fiddling
. However, all three had left the club by the start of the 1947 season, leaving Brennan and Harry Crick
in competition for the keeper spot.
Brennan made his first-class debut, aged 27, against the MCC
in Yorkshire's opening fixture of the season, but Crick was selected for five of the six Championship matches in May, thereafter Brennan was a regular, finishing the season with twenty three appearances to Crick's five outings. Brennan was awarded his cap in his maiden season.
He was Yorkshire's only ever-present in the 1948 County season, scoring 104 runs at 4.95 and taking 43 dismissals. He was also a regular in both the 1949 and 1950 seasons, despite Jack Firth
, Yorkshire's second choice keeper, averaging more with the bat in his limited opportunities.
Brennan's batting progressed in 1951, his average increasing twofold to 15.81 from 7.80 of the previous season. The improvement came at the right time as he was selected by England, to replace Godfrey Evans
, for the fourth Test with South Africa. Brennan made his debut on his home ground, Headingley
, alongside fellow debutants Frank Lowson
and Peter May
. Brennan conceded just one bye in South Africa large first innings total of 538, in England's innings he scored 16 in three-quarters of an hour, before being bowled by Tufty Mann
.
Brennan's second Test came three weeks later at The Oval
, he took his one Test dismissal in the first innings, with a stumping off the bowling of Jim Laker
. However, in his only innings, he was dismissed for a duck.
He was chosen for the MCC's tour of India and Pakistan that winter, however Dick Spooner
was selected as keeper for all five Tests. On the tour he scored the only fifty of his first-class career, notching up 67 not out against Maharashtra
.
Brennan played two more seasons of county cricket, in 1952 he scored 242 runs at 11 with 62 dismissals. In 1953, he scored 379 runs at 14.03, and took 51 dismissals.
Brennan retired at the end of that season to pursue business commitments with his family textile business. Also after retiring he served on the Yorkshire committee. In 1964, he played a single match for the MCC against Yorkshire.
He died in Ilkley
, Yorkshire, following a long illness.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er, who played in two Tests
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
in 1951. For his county Yorkshire
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
he was their regular wicket-keeper between 1947 and 1953, taking a total of 380 dismissal
Dismissal (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a dismissal occurs when the batsman is out . Colloquially, the fielding team is also said to have snared, bagged or captured a wicket. At this point a batsman must discontinue batting and leave the field permanently for the innings...
s in those seven seasons. A poor batsman, he averaged 10.52 in first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
with only a single fifty in 232 appearances. Cricket correspondent, Colin Bateman, noted after Brennan had replaced Godfrey Evans
Godfrey Evans
Thomas Godfrey Evans CBE was an English cricketer who played for Kent and England.Described by Wisden as 'arguably the best wicket-keeper the game has ever seen', Evans collected 219 dismissals in 91 Test match appearances between 1946 and 1959 and a total of 1066 in all first-class matches...
in the England cricket team, that "there can be few higher tributes to his 'keeping skills than that".
Life and career
Born in EccleshillEccleshill
Eccleshill is a Ward in the City of Bradford Metropolitan District in the county of West Yorkshire, England....
, Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, Brennan played Bradford League cricket for his home town before his break into first-class cricket in 1947. Brennan played two second XI matches in 1946, but first team opportunities were blocked by Paul Gibb
Paul Gibb
Paul Gibb was an English cricketer, who played in eight Tests for England from 1938 to 1946. He also played first-class cricket for Cambridge University and Yorkshire, mostly as a batsman but occasionally also keeping wicket.Gibb was educated at St Edward's School, Oxford, and played first-class...
, Arthur Wood and Kenneth Fiddling
Kenneth Fiddling
Kenneth Fiddling was a first-class cricketer whose career spanned the 1938 to 1953 seasons.Born in Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire, England, Fiddling was a professional who played 18 games for Yorkshire from 1938 to 1946, and 142 for Northants from 1947 to 1953. A specialist wicket-keeper, he took 226...
. However, all three had left the club by the start of the 1947 season, leaving Brennan and Harry Crick
Harry Crick
Harry Crick was an English first-class cricketer, who played eleven matches for Yorkshire between 1937 and 1947. Born in Ecclesall, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, like many cricketers of that time, he lost his best years to World War II. He served in the RAF, rising to the rank of Flight...
in competition for the keeper spot.
Brennan made his first-class debut, aged 27, against the MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
in Yorkshire's opening fixture of the season, but Crick was selected for five of the six Championship matches in May, thereafter Brennan was a regular, finishing the season with twenty three appearances to Crick's five outings. Brennan was awarded his cap in his maiden season.
He was Yorkshire's only ever-present in the 1948 County season, scoring 104 runs at 4.95 and taking 43 dismissals. He was also a regular in both the 1949 and 1950 seasons, despite Jack Firth
Jack Firth
Jack Firth was an English first-class cricketer, who played eight games for Yorkshire County Cricket Club in 1949 and 1950, and 223 matches for Leicestershire from 1951 to 1958. He also appeared in two games for the Minor Counties in 1950, and two more for the M.C.C...
, Yorkshire's second choice keeper, averaging more with the bat in his limited opportunities.
Brennan's batting progressed in 1951, his average increasing twofold to 15.81 from 7.80 of the previous season. The improvement came at the right time as he was selected by England, to replace Godfrey Evans
Godfrey Evans
Thomas Godfrey Evans CBE was an English cricketer who played for Kent and England.Described by Wisden as 'arguably the best wicket-keeper the game has ever seen', Evans collected 219 dismissals in 91 Test match appearances between 1946 and 1959 and a total of 1066 in all first-class matches...
, for the fourth Test with South Africa. Brennan made his debut on his home ground, Headingley
Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....
, alongside fellow debutants Frank Lowson
Frank Lowson
Frank Anderson Lowson was an English cricketer, who played in seven Tests for England from 1951 to 1955. In first-class cricket, Lowson amassed 15,321 runs at an average of over 37, but had drifted away from the county game by his early thrties.-Life and career:Lowson was born in Bradford,...
and Peter May
Peter May
-External links:* * at Cricket Archive*...
. Brennan conceded just one bye in South Africa large first innings total of 538, in England's innings he scored 16 in three-quarters of an hour, before being bowled by Tufty Mann
Tufty Mann
Norman Bertram Fleetwood 'Tufty' Mann was a South African cricketer who played in nineteen Tests from 1947 to 1951.-External links:*...
.
Brennan's second Test came three weeks later at The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
, he took his one Test dismissal in the first innings, with a stumping off the bowling of Jim Laker
Jim Laker
James "Jim" Charles Laker was a cricketer who played for England in the 1950s, known for "Laker's match" in 1956 at Old Trafford, when he took nineteen wickets in England's victory against Australia...
. However, in his only innings, he was dismissed for a duck.
He was chosen for the MCC's tour of India and Pakistan that winter, however Dick Spooner
Dick Spooner
Richard Thompson Spooner was an English cricketer, who played for Warwickshire and England.A latecomer who did not play first-class cricket until he was 28, Spooner was a quick-witted left-handed batsman who could open the innings or bat further down the order, and a reliable wicket-keeper whose...
was selected as keeper for all five Tests. On the tour he scored the only fifty of his first-class career, notching up 67 not out against Maharashtra
Maharashtra cricket team
The Maharashtra cricket team is a domestic cricket team based in the Indian state of Maharashtra in the city of Pune. It is in the Plate Group of the Ranji Trophy...
.
Brennan played two more seasons of county cricket, in 1952 he scored 242 runs at 11 with 62 dismissals. In 1953, he scored 379 runs at 14.03, and took 51 dismissals.
Brennan retired at the end of that season to pursue business commitments with his family textile business. Also after retiring he served on the Yorkshire committee. In 1964, he played a single match for the MCC against Yorkshire.
He died in Ilkley
Ilkley
Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in West Yorkshire, in the north of England. Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the metropolitan borough of Bradford. Approximately north of Bradford, the town lies mainly on the south bank of the River Wharfe...
, Yorkshire, following a long illness.