Eric Hollies
Encyclopedia
William Eric Hollies was an English
cricket
er, who is mainly remembered for taking the wicket of Donald Bradman
for a duck
in Bradman's final Test match
innings, in which only four was needed for a Test average of 100. Hollies played all his first-class cricket
career for Warwickshire
, taking 2,323 wickets at less than 21 a piece.
Cricket writer, Colin Bateman, noted, "Hollies was one of cricket's most extraordinary characters, whose meagre thirteen Tests
in no way reflected his contribution to the game. He was a fastish leg-break bowler who rarely had much use for the googly
.." Bateman added, "locquacious, with a rich seam of Black Country
humour, he was an immensely respected and hard-working cricketer".
, Staffordshire
. A leg spin
bowler, Hollies made his English county debut for Warwickshire
in 1932 and debuted for England in 1934, after showing his skill on the generally easy Edgbaston wickets. Hollies did not spin the ball as much as most leg-spinners but he gained in accuracy as a result, and he frequently bowled amazingly long spells for his county, most notably 73 overs in one innings against Worcestershire
in 1949. He varied his stock leg-break with a top-spinner and googly that were difficult to detect and gained him many wickets, most famously the one of Bradman in 1948.
He took over 100 wickets for Warwickshire every year between 1935 and 1957, with the exceptions of 1936 (dreadful weather that reduced his normally prodigious output of overs), 1953 (injury) and 1956 (poor form, probably due to him captaining the side). At his peak, he was one of the best bowlers in England, and it is believed that the MCC
erred in not taking him to Australia, after he was the leading wicket-taker in the country for a struggling Warwickshire side in 1946. That year, on one of the relatively few hard pitches, he took, without the direct assistance of a fielder (seven bowled, three LBW
), all ten wickets in an innings against Nottinghamshire
.
After a poor season in 1947, Hollies returned to form in 1948, and was the one bowler who looked threatening against the Australian batsmen. He famously bowled out Bradman second ball for a duck, when the latter needed just four runs to ensure a Test match average of at least 100. In addition to his performance in the Oval
Test, he took eight for 107 against a strong batting side for his county. In 1949, he played in all four Tests but the pitches blunted his effectiveness completely (though he was always steady) and from 1951, when English bowling recovered some of its pre-World War II
strength, he was never in the running for Test honours, despite playing a major role in Warwickshire's County Championship
success in 1951.
He continued to bowl well right up to his last match, and was finally named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year
in 1955, after taking 100 wickets for the tenth time. By the time of his retirement from first-class cricket in 1957, he had taken more wickets for Warwickshire than any other player.
After Hollies retired from county cricket, he played for Staffordshire
a few times in 1958, and continued to bowl in league cricket until the 1970s.
Hollies was, however, remarkable for his incompetence as a batsman. His total of runs (1,673) was 650 fewer than his haul of wickets, and only once (in 1954) did he reach 30 in an innings. In fact, he did not reach 20 in any innings between 1946 and 1953, and set an all-time first-class record, between July 1948 and August 1950, of seventy-one consecutive innings without reaching double figures. The nearest approach was by Nobby Clark
of Northamptonshire
with sixty-five innings without reaching double figures between 1925 and 1927.
"The last time I saw Eric Hollies bat at Birmingham
," recalled Jack Fingleton
in 1958, "he was clapped and cheered all the way to the middle at No. 11. Everybody knew there would be no pretty passes at the ball and deft deflections from Eric. They knew that if he could only survive two balls they would see something in batting unknown to any textbook." Bateman added, "when it was time to get his pads on, Eric would prop his bat up in the Edgbaston dressing room window and say to it: 'Now while I'm getting ready, you find out what the ball's doing'".
One of the stands at Edgbaston Cricket Ground
is known as the Eric Hollies Stand.
Hollies died in Chinley
, Derbyshire
in April 1981, at the age of 68.
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 is mainly remembered for taking the wicket of Donald Bradman
Donald Bradman
Sir Donald George Bradman, AC , often referred to as "The Don", was an Australian cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time...
for a duck
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
in Bradman's final Test match
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...
innings, in which only four was needed for a Test average of 100. Hollies played all his 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...
career for Warwickshire
Warwickshire County Cricket Club
Warwickshire 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 Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor...
, taking 2,323 wickets at less than 21 a piece.
Cricket writer, Colin Bateman, noted, "Hollies was one of cricket's most extraordinary characters, whose meagre thirteen 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 no way reflected his contribution to the game. He was a fastish leg-break bowler who rarely had much use for the googly
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 :...
.." Bateman added, "locquacious, with a rich seam of Black Country
Black Country
The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...
humour, he was an immensely respected and hard-working cricketer".
Life and career
Hollies was born in Old HillOld Hill
Old Hill is a locality in the metropolitan borough of Sandwell in West Midlands, England. It is a district of Cradley Heath.-General description:...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
. A leg spin
Leg spin
Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in the sport of cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action, causing the ball to spin from right to left in the cricket pitch, at the point of delivery. When the ball bounces, the spin causes the ball to deviate sharply from right to left, that...
bowler, Hollies made his English county debut for Warwickshire
Warwickshire County Cricket Club
Warwickshire 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 Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor...
in 1932 and debuted for England in 1934, after showing his skill on the generally easy Edgbaston wickets. Hollies did not spin the ball as much as most leg-spinners but he gained in accuracy as a result, and he frequently bowled amazingly long spells for his county, most notably 73 overs in one innings against Worcestershire
Worcestershire 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...
in 1949. He varied his stock leg-break with a top-spinner and googly that were difficult to detect and gained him many wickets, most famously the one of Bradman in 1948.
He took over 100 wickets for Warwickshire every year between 1935 and 1957, with the exceptions of 1936 (dreadful weather that reduced his normally prodigious output of overs), 1953 (injury) and 1956 (poor form, probably due to him captaining the side). At his peak, he was one of the best bowlers in England, and it is believed that 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...
erred in not taking him to Australia, after he was the leading wicket-taker in the country for a struggling Warwickshire side in 1946. That year, on one of the relatively few hard pitches, he took, without the direct assistance of a fielder (seven bowled, three LBW
Leg before wicket
In the sport of cricket, leg before wicket is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed. An umpire will rule a batsman out LBW under a series of circumstances which primarily include the ball striking the batsman's body when it would otherwise have continued on to hit the batsman's...
), all ten wickets in an innings against 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...
.
After a poor season in 1947, Hollies returned to form in 1948, and was the one bowler who looked threatening against the Australian batsmen. He famously bowled out Bradman second ball for a duck, when the latter needed just four runs to ensure a Test match average of at least 100. In addition to his performance in 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...
Test, he took eight for 107 against a strong batting side for his county. In 1949, he played in all four Tests but the pitches blunted his effectiveness completely (though he was always steady) and from 1951, when English bowling recovered some of its pre-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
strength, he was never in the running for Test honours, despite playing a major role in Warwickshire's County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
success in 1951.
He continued to bowl well right up to his last match, and was finally named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
The Wisden Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season"...
in 1955, after taking 100 wickets for the tenth time. By the time of his retirement from first-class cricket in 1957, he had taken more wickets for Warwickshire than any other player.
After Hollies retired from county cricket, he played for Staffordshire
Staffordshire County Cricket Club
Staffordshire County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Staffordshire and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy...
a few times in 1958, and continued to bowl in league cricket until the 1970s.
Hollies was, however, remarkable for his incompetence as a batsman. His total of runs (1,673) was 650 fewer than his haul of wickets, and only once (in 1954) did he reach 30 in an innings. In fact, he did not reach 20 in any innings between 1946 and 1953, and set an all-time first-class record, between July 1948 and August 1950, of seventy-one consecutive innings without reaching double figures. The nearest approach was by Nobby Clark
Edward Clark (cricketer)
Edward Winchester 'Nobby' Clark was a Northamptonshire cricketer of the inter-war period during which they were one of the weakest counties ever to play in the County Championship...
of Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club
Northamptonshire 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 Northamptonshire. Its limited overs team is called the Northants Steelbacks. The traditional club colour is Maroon. During the...
with sixty-five innings without reaching double figures between 1925 and 1927.
"The last time I saw Eric Hollies bat at Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
," recalled Jack Fingleton
Jack Fingleton
John "Jack" Henry Webb Fingleton OBE was an Australian cricketer who was trained as a journalist and became a political and cricket commentator after the end of his playing career...
in 1958, "he was clapped and cheered all the way to the middle at No. 11. Everybody knew there would be no pretty passes at the ball and deft deflections from Eric. They knew that if he could only survive two balls they would see something in batting unknown to any textbook." Bateman added, "when it was time to get his pads on, Eric would prop his bat up in the Edgbaston dressing room window and say to it: 'Now while I'm getting ready, you find out what the ball's doing'".
One of the stands at Edgbaston Cricket Ground
Edgbaston Cricket Ground
Edgbaston Cricket Ground, also known as the County Ground or Edgbaston Stadium, is a cricket ground in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, England...
is known as the Eric Hollies Stand.
Hollies died in Chinley
Chinley
Chinley is a rural village in High Peak Borough, situated on the western edge of the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire, England, with a population of around 2000. Before the railway, the area was economically dominated by agriculture and quarrying. Three textile mills were established in...
, Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
in April 1981, at the age of 68.