Johnny Wardle
Encyclopedia
Johnny Wardle was an English
spin bowler
of post-war
cricket
. His Test
bowling average of 20.39, is the lowest in Test cricket by any recognised spin bowler, since World War I
.
Wardle played for Yorkshire
, England, and later for Cambridgeshire
.
, Yorkshire
.
Wardle, though mainly a classical orthodox left-arm finger-spinner, was probably the most versatile of all the great spin bowlers, and he was capable both of originality and accuracy. His ability to bowl left-arm wrist spinners that turned and bounced much more sharply, made him preferred over Tony Lock
in his heyday. Wardle is the only English bowler to master this unusual style, and it gave him many of his greatest successes, notably in South Africa in 1956/1957, where he achieved the feat of taking 100 wickets in a season outside England. He was able, when circumstances allowed, to bowl both the chinaman
and the googly
, and he did so at the highest level.
Wardle was also a dangerous left-handed hitter, whose stocky build permitted him to drive powerfully. Often his hitting against opposing spinners suggested that the defensive batting so characteristic of 1950s and 1960s first-class cricket
was not the most effective method of play.
Wardle, whose family were miners, took to cricket during World War II
and was so successful as a spin bowler and hard-hitting batsman that Yorkshire engaged him when looking for a successor to Hedley Verity
, who had been killed in the war. Wardle only played one match in 1946, when the 43 year old Arthur Booth
's economy rate saw him head the averages, but when Booth fell ill with arthritis, Wardle took his place. In spite of a dry summer in 1947, Wardle was chosen for a largely experimental, Gubby Allen
-led, MCC
tour of the West Indies. He was disappointing on that tour, but his skill developed in the wet summer of the following year. Though an injury wiped out a quarter of his 1949 season, Wardle was deadly on the few rain-affected pitches that summer, and his bowling helped Yorkshire to make a late, albeit unsuccessful, tilt at the County Championship
title.
1950 saw him play in a home Test for the first time, but apart from some free hitting against Ramadhin
and Valentine
, whose spin bowling routed England, he did little of note. Nonetheless, with Yorkshire's bowling not nearly so strong as in the days of Bowes
and Verity, Wardle's capacity for hard work revealed itself fully for the first time: he bowled more balls than any bowler since Tich Freeman
in 1934, and his 741 maidens showed his accuracy. His 172 wickets that season was Wardle's career best return.
In 1951, Wardle was unsuccessful in challenging Jim Laker
and Roy Tattersall
for a Test spin bowling place. However, with Bob Appleyard
hit by illness, Wardle's workrate reached such levels in the following two seasons that his total of 20,723 balls delivered in these two seasons, has been beaten only by Tich Freeman, and his 11,084 balls in 1952, is the fourth-highest aggregate ever delivered. During August 1952, Wardle sent down 165 overs in two consecutive games. Though Yorkshire had a decline in fortunes in 1953, Wardle took 4 for 7 on a soft pitch at Old Trafford
, and he was named one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year
, and he toured the West Indies again. The competition from Laker and Lock, though, gave him little chance to distinguish himself, although in two innings of 39 and 66, he showed the virtue in hitting against Ramadhin and Valentine. The latter innings was of real consequence as Wardle, batting with Len Hutton
, put on 105 for the seventh wicket which heralded a series saving victory for England.
By 1954, with Fred Trueman
and Appleyard back in the team, Yorkshire rebounded and Wardle was able to become an enterprising attacking spinner once more. In this role, he took 16 wickets against Sussex
, and bowled so well against Pakistan that he toured Australia with Len Hutton
's MCC side that winter. Apart from five for 79 and 3 for 51 on a flood-soaked pitch at Sydney
, he had little to do. His use of left-arm off-breaks and googlies the following summer, allowed Wardle to reach almost 200 first-class and 15 Test wickets. In the wet summer of 1956, Lock was again preferred in the Test side, to the disgust of the Yorkshire members, but Wardle, chiefly bowling wrist-spin, baffled all South African batsmen that winter on pitches giving him little help. In the second Test at Newlands Cricket Ground
, Cape Town
, he took 7 for 36 to dismiss South Africa for 72, and may have taken more than 26 Test wickets but for injury. On that tour, Wardle claimed 90 first-class wickets at 12 runs apiece.
1957 was a disappointing year, with Wardle's workrate finally appearing to decline, and Lock tightening his grip on the Test place after Wardle failed at Lord's
. Although in the favourable conditions of 1958 Wardle was successful, friction between him and the Yorkshire committee, became intolerable when Wardle announced he would write an article in the Daily Mail
, that was openly critical of the running of Yorkshire County Cricket Club. Although MCC had chosen Wardle for the coming Ashes tour, they withdrew immediately Wardle made this announcement, and Yorkshire responded by dropping Wardle for the Roses Match
with Lancashire. They never recalled him, and when Wardle announced he would play for Nottinghamshire
, Yorkshire steadfastly refused to allow special registration.
Wardle was a big enough man to admit his troubles were largely of his own making, and any ill-feeling on his part was forgotten when he helped Yorkshire and England off-spinner Geoff Cope to iron out the problems in his action, which had occasionally had him 'called' for throwing.
Wardle's autobiography, Happy Go Johnny, was published in 1957.
Consequently, Wardle played the rest of his cricket as a professional in the Lancashire League for Nelson
and Rishton
, and until 1969 with Cambridgeshire
in the Minor Counties Championship.
Yorkshire and the MCC both tried to atone by making Wardle an honorary life member, and he took up managing a country club near Doncaster.
Johnny Wardle died, after never recovering from an operation on a brain tumour, in Hatfield, Doncaster
, Yorkshire, in July 1985, at the age of 62.
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...
spin bowler
Spin bowling
Spin bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as spinners or spin bowlers.-Purpose:The main aim of spin bowling is to bowl the cricket ball with rapid rotation so that when it bounces on the pitch it will deviate, thus making it difficult for the...
of post-war
Post-war
A post-war period or postwar period is the interval immediately following the ending of a war and enduring as long as war does not resume. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum when a war between the same parties resumes at a later date...
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...
. His Test
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...
bowling average of 20.39, is the lowest in Test cricket by any recognised spin bowler, since World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Wardle played 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....
, England, and later for Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire County Cricket Club
Cambridgeshire 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 Cambridgeshire and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy.The club is based at The Avenue...
.
Life and career
John Henry Wardle was born in Ardsley, BarnsleyBarnsley
Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Dearne, north of the city of Sheffield, south of Leeds and west of Doncaster. Barnsley is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, of which Barnsley is the largest and...
, 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...
.
Wardle, though mainly a classical orthodox left-arm finger-spinner, was probably the most versatile of all the great spin bowlers, and he was capable both of originality and accuracy. His ability to bowl left-arm wrist spinners that turned and bounced much more sharply, made him preferred over Tony Lock
Tony Lock
Graham Anthony Richard Lock was an English cricketer, who played primarily as a left-arm spinner. He played in forty nine Tests for England taking 174 wickets at 25.58 each.-Life and career:...
in his heyday. Wardle is the only English bowler to master this unusual style, and it gave him many of his greatest successes, notably in South Africa in 1956/1957, where he achieved the feat of taking 100 wickets in a season outside England. He was able, when circumstances allowed, to bowl both the chinaman
Chinaman
Chinaman is a contentious term referring to a Chinese person* whether of Han Chinese ethnicity* or a citizen of China, Chinese people.Or the term may also refer to:* A colloquial term for a square hay baler overhead feeding plunger...
and 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 :...
, and he did so at the highest level.
Wardle was also a dangerous left-handed hitter, whose stocky build permitted him to drive powerfully. Often his hitting against opposing spinners suggested that the defensive batting so characteristic of 1950s and 1960s 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...
was not the most effective method of play.
Wardle, whose family were miners, took to cricket during 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...
and was so successful as a spin bowler and hard-hitting batsman that Yorkshire engaged him when looking for a successor to 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...
, who had been killed in the war. Wardle only played one match in 1946, when the 43 year old Arthur Booth
Arthur Booth
Arthur Booth was an English professional first-class cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club...
's economy rate saw him head the averages, but when Booth fell ill with arthritis, Wardle took his place. In spite of a dry summer in 1947, Wardle was chosen for a largely experimental, Gubby Allen
Gubby Allen
Sir George Oswald Browning "Gubby" Allen, CBE was a cricketer who played for Middlesex, Cambridge University, MCC and England. Australian-born, Allen was a fast bowler and hard-hitting lower-order batsman, who captained England in eleven Test matches...
-led, 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...
tour of the West Indies. He was disappointing on that tour, but his skill developed in the wet summer of the following year. Though an injury wiped out a quarter of his 1949 season, Wardle was deadly on the few rain-affected pitches that summer, and his bowling helped Yorkshire to make a late, albeit unsuccessful, tilt at the County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
title.
1950 saw him play in a home Test for the first time, but apart from some free hitting against Ramadhin
Sonny Ramadhin
Sonny Ramadhin was a West Indian cricketer, and a dominant bowler of the 1950s. He was the first West Indian cricketers of Indian origin, and was one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1951.- Biography and career :...
and Valentine
Alf Valentine
Alfred Louis Valentine, April 28, 1930–11 May 2004 , was a West Indian cricketer in the 1950s and 1960s. He is most famous for his performance in the West Indies' 1950 tour of England, which was immortalised in the Victory Calypso.-The 1950 tour:...
, whose spin bowling routed England, he did little of note. Nonetheless, with Yorkshire's bowling not nearly so strong as in the days of Bowes
Bill Bowes
Bill Bowes was one of the best bowlers of the interwar period and, for a time, the most important force behind Yorkshire's dominance of the County Championship...
and Verity, Wardle's capacity for hard work revealed itself fully for the first time: he bowled more balls than any bowler since Tich Freeman
Tich Freeman
Alfred Percy "Tich" Freeman was an English cricketer. A leg spin bowler for Kent and England, he is the only man to take 300 wickets in an English season, and is the second most prolific wicket taker in first class cricket history.-Career:Freeman's common name comes from his extremely short...
in 1934, and his 741 maidens showed his accuracy. His 172 wickets that season was Wardle's career best return.
In 1951, Wardle was unsuccessful in challenging 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...
and Roy Tattersall
Roy Tattersall
Roy Tattersall is an English former Lancashire cricketer, who played sixteen Tests for England as a specialist off spin bowler....
for a Test spin bowling place. However, with Bob Appleyard
Bob Appleyard
Bob Appleyard is a former Yorkshire and England cricketer.He was one of the best English bowlers of the 1950s, a decade which saw England develop its strongest bowling attack of the twentieth century...
hit by illness, Wardle's workrate reached such levels in the following two seasons that his total of 20,723 balls delivered in these two seasons, has been beaten only by Tich Freeman, and his 11,084 balls in 1952, is the fourth-highest aggregate ever delivered. During August 1952, Wardle sent down 165 overs in two consecutive games. Though Yorkshire had a decline in fortunes in 1953, Wardle took 4 for 7 on a soft pitch at Old Trafford
Old Trafford (cricket)
Old Trafford is a cricket ground situated on Talbot Road in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester. It has been the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club since its foundation in 1864, having been the ground of Manchester Cricket Club from 1857...
, and he was named 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"...
, and he toured the West Indies again. The competition from Laker and Lock, though, gave him little chance to distinguish himself, although in two innings of 39 and 66, he showed the virtue in hitting against Ramadhin and Valentine. The latter innings was of real consequence as Wardle, batting with 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...
, put on 105 for the seventh wicket which heralded a series saving victory for England.
By 1954, with Fred Trueman
Fred Trueman
Frederick Sewards Trueman OBE was an English cricketer, generally acknowledged as one of the greatest fast bowlers in history. A bowler of genuinely fast pace who was widely known as Fiery Fred, Trueman played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1949 until he retired in 1968...
and Appleyard back in the team, Yorkshire rebounded and Wardle was able to become an enterprising attacking spinner once more. In this role, he took 16 wickets against 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...
, and bowled so well against Pakistan that he toured Australia with 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...
's MCC side that winter. Apart from five for 79 and 3 for 51 on a flood-soaked pitch at Sydney
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
, he had little to do. His use of left-arm off-breaks and googlies the following summer, allowed Wardle to reach almost 200 first-class and 15 Test wickets. In the wet summer of 1956, Lock was again preferred in the Test side, to the disgust of the Yorkshire members, but Wardle, chiefly bowling wrist-spin, baffled all South African batsmen that winter on pitches giving him little help. In the second Test at Newlands Cricket Ground
Newlands Cricket Ground
Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town is a South African cricket ground. It's the home of the Cape Cobras, who play in the SuperSport Series, MTN Domestic Championship and Standard Bank Pro20 competitions. It is also a venue for Test matches. Newlands is regarded as one of the most beautiful cricket...
, Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, he took 7 for 36 to dismiss South Africa for 72, and may have taken more than 26 Test wickets but for injury. On that tour, Wardle claimed 90 first-class wickets at 12 runs apiece.
1957 was a disappointing year, with Wardle's workrate finally appearing to decline, and Lock tightening his grip on the Test place after Wardle failed at Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
. Although in the favourable conditions of 1958 Wardle was successful, friction between him and the Yorkshire committee, became intolerable when Wardle announced he would write an article in the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
, that was openly critical of the running of Yorkshire County Cricket Club. Although MCC had chosen Wardle for the coming Ashes tour, they withdrew immediately Wardle made this announcement, and Yorkshire responded by dropping Wardle for 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...
with Lancashire. They never recalled him, and when Wardle announced he would play 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...
, Yorkshire steadfastly refused to allow special registration.
Wardle was a big enough man to admit his troubles were largely of his own making, and any ill-feeling on his part was forgotten when he helped Yorkshire and England off-spinner Geoff Cope to iron out the problems in his action, which had occasionally had him 'called' for throwing.
Wardle's autobiography, Happy Go Johnny, was published in 1957.
Consequently, Wardle played the rest of his cricket as a professional in the Lancashire League for Nelson
Nelson Cricket Club
Nelson Cricket Club, based at Seedhill in Nelson, Lancashire, are a cricket club in the Lancashire League. They play at the Seedhill ground in Nelson. Their captain for the 2011 season is Thomas Lord and their professional is New Zealand international player Luke Woodcock.Nelson Cricket Club was...
and Rishton
Rishton Cricket Club
Rishton Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which plays its home games at Blackburn Road in Rishton. For the 2011 season their captain is Jimmy Bibby and their professional is Cameron Delport....
, and until 1969 with Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire County Cricket Club
Cambridgeshire 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 Cambridgeshire and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy.The club is based at The Avenue...
in the Minor Counties Championship.
Yorkshire and the MCC both tried to atone by making Wardle an honorary life member, and he took up managing a country club near Doncaster.
Johnny Wardle died, after never recovering from an operation on a brain tumour, in Hatfield, 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, in July 1985, at the age of 62.