Ellis Robinson
Encyclopedia
Ellis Pembroke Robinson (10 August 1911 – 10 November 1998) was a first-class
cricketer
who took over 1,000 first-class wickets for Yorkshire
from 1934 to 1949, and Somerset
from 1950 to 1952.
, near Doncaster
, Yorkshire
. His Christian names, Ellis Pembroke, derived from his mother, a cockney housemaid who worked for a Cambridgeshire
family called Ellis Merry who was a college servant at Pembroke College
. "My mum had played cricket on Parker's Piece
, where Jack Hobbs
had played, and I can't remember when I didn't play the game," he told Nigel Pullan in an interview in 1994.
Robinson learned his cricket at his Denaby club and was sent to Bramall Lane
, Sheffield
, for George Hirst to assess. He began as a promising wicketkeeper batsman but – "There was no room to keep wicket so, anxious to impress Mr Hirst, I bowled a few quick leg-breaks and googlies
." He was invited to the famous "winter shed" at Headingley
and told, in true Yorkshire fashion, to forget the leg breaks and concentrate on off spin
. Yorkshire had Hedley Verity
to spin the ball away from the bat and needed an off spinner as variation as the great George Macaulay
was coming to the end of his career.
, taking 4–31 and watching the 18-year-old Len Hutton
score 196, his first century
. He did not establish himself in the strong Yorkshire team until 1937 when he took 78 wickets at an average of 22.55. He snared 104 wickets in 1938 and 120 in the last season before the war and spent six years during in the R.A.F. during the war.
He was given a Test trial in 1946 when he took 149 wickets and believed he should have been included in Wally Hammond
's doomed team to Australia that following winter: "I turned the ball more than most off-spinners and I think I would have been effective in Australia." The Australians rated him too, Ian Johnson
, Australia's premier off-spinner, sought Robinson's advice when touring England in 1948.
As a batsman, following a strong order, Robinson's normal brief was to score quickly. He lifted Claude Lewis, the Kent
left-arm spinner and later county scorer, over the roof of the football stand at Headingley, put Dick Howorth
of Worcestershire out of Park Avenue
, Bradford and into Horton Park
, and Johnnie Clay
of Glamorgan
out of the Arms Park
in Cardiff.
He usually fielded at first slip and was as sharp a catcher as any in the county game, taking 265 catches in all. He usually had the dour Arthur Mitchell
alongside him at second slip, a partnership that produced a story that will live with Robinson's memory. Before a packed crowd at Headingley, he took a one-handed catch that involved a leap, a dive and ended with a double somersault. As Robinson struggled to his feet, grinning and holding the ball high to acknowledge the cheers of the crowd, Mitchell – "grim as a piece of stone from Baildon Moor" according to Herbert Sutcliffe
– muttered from the side of his mouth: "Gerrup. Tha's makkin' an exhibition o' thissen."
Robinson spent most of his playing career under the tough captaincy of Brian Sellers
, who won six championships in eight seasons. "I got a rollicking in my first match for putting my foot on the ball. In my first season, my spinning finger was so worn it was bleeding but Mr Sellers said I had to keep going and bowled me into the wind all day." In that match, at Bristol, Robinson took 2–168 as Hammond stroked 143. "You were only paid if you played and I was never sure of my place. As an uncapped player I got pounds 7 or pounds 8 a match but had to pay my own travel and hotel expenses."
emerging, Robinson was released to spend three summers with Somerset
, for whom he played wearing his fading old white rose cap. He remained an effective bowler to the end, taking 102 wickets in 1951.
In 301 first-class matches in all he took 1009 wickets at just 22.58 with a best of 8 for 35 against Lancashire
in the Roses Match
. He also took 8 wickets in an innings against Surrey
and Sussex
. He took 5 wickets in an innings 61 times and 12 wickets in a match on 12 occasions. Batting left-handed, he scored 3,492 runs at 11.01 with a highest score of 75* for Yorkshire against Gloucestershire
.
Despite taking over a thousand first-class wickets Robinson was never selected for England though he spun the ball and extracted bounce on most surfaces. He bowled most of his overs from around the wicket, angling the ball across the right-hander and spinning it sharply back in. Like so many cricketers, he lost his best years to the Second World War.
After retiring from the first-class game he returned to Yorkshire and resumed his links with the Denaby club for whom he had first played as a youngster. He was belatedly honoured by Yorkshire by being made an Honorary Life Member in 1982. He died suddenly on November 10, 1998 at his home in Conisbrough
, while he was dressing to play golf. He was 87 years old and the last surviving player from Yorkshire's all-conquering side of the 1930s.
played first-class cricket for Nottinghamshire
.
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...
cricketer
Cricketer
A cricketer is a person who plays the sport of cricket. Official and long-established cricket publications prefer the traditional word "cricketer" over the rarely used term "cricket player"....
who took over 1,000 first-class wickets for 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....
from 1934 to 1949, and Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
from 1950 to 1952.
Early life
Robinson was born in Denaby Main, ConisbroughConisbrough
Conisbrough is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, in South Yorkshire, England. It is located roughly midway between Doncaster and Rotherham, and is built alongside the River Don at...
, near Doncaster
Doncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
, 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...
. His Christian names, Ellis Pembroke, derived from his mother, a cockney housemaid who worked for a Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
family called Ellis Merry who was a college servant at Pembroke College
Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college has over seven hundred students and fellows, and is the third oldest college of the university. Physically, it is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from almost every century since its...
. "My mum had played cricket on Parker's Piece
Parker's Piece
Parker's Piece is a flat and very roughly square green common located near the centre of Cambridge, England. The two main walking and cycling paths across it run diagonally, and the single lamp-post at the junction is commonly known as Reality Checkpoint...
, where Jack Hobbs
Jack Hobbs
Sir John Berry "Jack" Hobbs was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches from 1908 to 1930....
had played, and I can't remember when I didn't play the game," he told Nigel Pullan in an interview in 1994.
Robinson learned his cricket at his Denaby club and was sent to Bramall Lane
Bramall Lane
-Cricket at the Lane:Bramall Lane opened as a cricket ground in 1855, having been leased by Michael Ellison from the Duke of Norfolk at an annual rent of £70. The site was then away from the town's industrial area, and relatively free from smoke. It was built to host the matches of local cricket...
, Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, for George Hirst to assess. He began as a promising wicketkeeper batsman but – "There was no room to keep wicket so, anxious to impress Mr Hirst, I bowled a few quick leg-breaks and googlies
Googly
In cricket, a googly is a type of delivery bowled by a right-arm leg spin bowler. It is occasionally referred to as a Bosie , an eponym in honour of its inventor Bernard Bosanquet.- Explanation :...
." He was invited to the famous "winter shed" at 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 ....
and told, in true Yorkshire fashion, to forget the leg breaks and concentrate on off spin
Off spin
Off spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket which is bowled by an off spinner, a right-handed spin bowler who uses his or her fingers and/or wrist to spin the ball from a right-handed batsman's off side to the leg side...
. Yorkshire had Hedley Verity
Hedley Verity
Hedley Verity was a professional cricketer who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire and England between 1930 and 1939. A slow left arm orthodox bowler, he took 1,956 wickets in first-class cricket at an average of 14.90 and in 40 Tests he took 144 wickets at an average of 24.37...
to spin the ball away from the bat and needed an off spinner as variation as the great George Macaulay
George Macaulay
George Gibson Macaulay , was a professional English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1920 and 1935. He played in eight Test matches for England from 1923 to 1933, achieving the rare feat of taking a wicket with his first ball in Test cricket...
was coming to the end of his career.
Yorkshire
Robinson made his Yorkshire debut at Worcester in 1934 against WorcesteshireWorcestershire County Cricket Club
Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Worcestershire...
, taking 4–31 and watching the 18-year-old Len Hutton
Len Hutton
Sir Leonard "Len" Hutton was an English Test cricketer, who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England in the years around the Second World War as an opening batsman. He was described by Wisden Cricketer's Almanack as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket...
score 196, his first century
Century (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a batsman reaches his century when he scores 100 or more runs in a single innings. The term is also included in "century partnership" which occurs when two batsmen add 100 runs to the team total when they are batting together. A century is regarded as a landmark score for...
. He did not establish himself in the strong Yorkshire team until 1937 when he took 78 wickets at an average of 22.55. He snared 104 wickets in 1938 and 120 in the last season before the war and spent six years during in the R.A.F. during the war.
He was given a Test trial in 1946 when he took 149 wickets and believed he should have been included in Wally Hammond
Wally Hammond
Walter Reginald "Wally" Hammond was an English Test cricketer who played for Gloucestershire in a career that lasted from 1920 to 1951. Beginning his career as a professional, he later became an amateur and was appointed captain of England...
's doomed team to Australia that following winter: "I turned the ball more than most off-spinners and I think I would have been effective in Australia." The Australians rated him too, Ian Johnson
Ian Johnson (cricketer)
Ian William Geddes Johnson CBE was an Australian cricketer who played 45 Test matches as a slow off-break bowler between 1946 and 1956. Johnson captured 109 Test wickets at an average of 29.19 runs per wicket and as a lower order batsman made 1,000 runs at an average of...
, Australia's premier off-spinner, sought Robinson's advice when touring England in 1948.
As a batsman, following a strong order, Robinson's normal brief was to score quickly. He lifted Claude Lewis, the Kent
Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...
left-arm spinner and later county scorer, over the roof of the football stand at Headingley, put Dick Howorth
Dick Howorth
Dick Howorth was an English all-rounder for Worcestershire between 1933 and 1951. Chiefly remembered as a left-arm spin bowler, Howorth also occasionally bowled medium pace and was a capable hard-hitting left-handed batsman...
of Worcestershire out of Park Avenue
Park Avenue (stadium)
Park Avenue is a sports ground on Horton Park Avenue in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It was used for both cricket and football. It held 306 first class and 48 list A cricket matches between 1881 and 1996, and was home to former Football League club Bradford Park Avenue, to which it lent its...
, Bradford and into Horton Park
Horton Park, Bradford
Horton Park is a public park in Bradford, England, located to the west of the city in Great Horton. It was opened on May 25, 1878 on land purchased by Bradford Council in 1873....
, and Johnnie Clay
Johnnie Clay
John Charles Clay was a cricketer who played for Glamorgan County Cricket Club. Clay also played one Test match for England....
of Glamorgan
Glamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County...
out of the Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park , also known as The Arms Park, is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green, and is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World...
in Cardiff.
He usually fielded at first slip and was as sharp a catcher as any in the county game, taking 265 catches in all. He usually had the dour Arthur Mitchell
Arthur Mitchell (cricketer)
Arthur "Ticker" Mitchell was an English first-class cricketer, who played both for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England....
alongside him at second slip, a partnership that produced a story that will live with Robinson's memory. Before a packed crowd at Headingley, he took a one-handed catch that involved a leap, a dive and ended with a double somersault. As Robinson struggled to his feet, grinning and holding the ball high to acknowledge the cheers of the crowd, Mitchell – "grim as a piece of stone from Baildon Moor" according to Herbert Sutcliffe
Herbert Sutcliffe
Herbert Sutcliffe was an English professional cricketer who represented Yorkshire and England as an opening batsman. Apart from one match in 1945, his first-class career spanned the period between the two World Wars...
– muttered from the side of his mouth: "Gerrup. Tha's makkin' an exhibition o' thissen."
Robinson spent most of his playing career under the tough captaincy of Brian Sellers
Brian Sellers
Arthur Brian Sellers was an English amateur first-class cricketer, who played in 334 first-class matches for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1932 and 1948, and later became a prominent administrator at the club....
, who won six championships in eight seasons. "I got a rollicking in my first match for putting my foot on the ball. In my first season, my spinning finger was so worn it was bleeding but Mr Sellers said I had to keep going and bowled me into the wind all day." In that match, at Bristol, Robinson took 2–168 as Hammond stroked 143. "You were only paid if you played and I was never sure of my place. As an uncapped player I got pounds 7 or pounds 8 a match but had to pay my own travel and hotel expenses."
Somerset and later life
After the 1949 season, with Ray IllingworthRay Illingworth
Raymond Illingworth, CBE is a former English cricketer, cricket commentator and cricket administrator. He was one of only nine players to have taken 2,000 wickets and made 20,000 runs in First class cricket, and the last one to do so...
emerging, Robinson was released to spend three summers with Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
, for whom he played wearing his fading old white rose cap. He remained an effective bowler to the end, taking 102 wickets in 1951.
In 301 first-class matches in all he took 1009 wickets at just 22.58 with a best of 8 for 35 against Lancashire
Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then...
in the Roses Match
Roses Match
The Roses Match refers to any game of cricket played between Yorkshire County Cricket Club and Lancashire County Cricket Club. Yorkshire's emblem is the white rose, while Lancashire's is the red rose. The associations go back to the Wars of the Roses in the 15th century...
. He also took 8 wickets in an innings against Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
and Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
. He took 5 wickets in an innings 61 times and 12 wickets in a match on 12 occasions. Batting left-handed, he scored 3,492 runs at 11.01 with a highest score of 75* for Yorkshire against Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Gloucestershire. Its limited overs team is called the Gloucestershire Gladiators....
.
Despite taking over a thousand first-class wickets Robinson was never selected for England though he spun the ball and extracted bounce on most surfaces. He bowled most of his overs from around the wicket, angling the ball across the right-hander and spinning it sharply back in. Like so many cricketers, he lost his best years to the Second World War.
After retiring from the first-class game he returned to Yorkshire and resumed his links with the Denaby club for whom he had first played as a youngster. He was belatedly honoured by Yorkshire by being made an Honorary Life Member in 1982. He died suddenly on November 10, 1998 at his home in Conisbrough
Conisbrough
Conisbrough is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, in South Yorkshire, England. It is located roughly midway between Doncaster and Rotherham, and is built alongside the River Don at...
, while he was dressing to play golf. He was 87 years old and the last surviving player from Yorkshire's all-conquering side of the 1930s.
Family
His uncle George RobinsonGeorge Robinson (cricketer, born 1873)
George Lutha Robinson was an English cricketer. Robinson was a right-handed batsman who bowled leg break. He was born in Ruddington, Nottinghamshire....
played first-class cricket for Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
.