Leonard Bates
Encyclopedia
Leonard Thomas Ashton Bates (20 March 1895 – 11 March 1971) was an English
cricket
er. He was a right-hand batsman and right-arm medium pace bowler who played for Warwickshire
.
Born in the pavilion at Edgbaston Cricket Ground
where his father, John, was head groundsman, Bates would go on play 200 first-class
matches at the ground scoring over 8,000 runs. In total Bates represented his county 441 times between 1913 and 1935, he also made two appearances for 'The Rest' against England in 1927 and once for the Players against Gentlemen
in 1925.
Bates scored a total of 19,380 first-class runs at an average
of 27.84, passing 1,000 runs in a season 12 times and three times passing 1,500. He scored 21 centuries, two coming against Kent
at Coventry in 1927, his highest was a score of 211 against Gloucestershire
in 1932.
After retiring as a player in 1935 he fulfilled the role of coach and head groundsman at Christ's Hospital
until 1963. He died at Coldwaltham
following a long and debilitating illness in which both his legs were amputated.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
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. He was a right-hand batsman and right-arm medium pace bowler who played 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...
.
Born in the pavilion 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...
where his father, John, was head groundsman, Bates would go on play 200 first-class
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...
matches at the ground scoring over 8,000 runs. In total Bates represented his county 441 times between 1913 and 1935, he also made two appearances for 'The Rest' against England in 1927 and once for the Players against Gentlemen
Gentlemen v Players
The Gentlemen v Players game was a first-class cricket match that was generally played on an annual basis between one team consisting of amateurs and one of professionals . The first two games took place in 1806 but the fixture was not revived until 1819. It was more or less annual thereafter...
in 1925.
Bates scored a total of 19,380 first-class runs at an average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
of 27.84, passing 1,000 runs in a season 12 times and three times passing 1,500. He scored 21 centuries, two coming against 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...
at Coventry in 1927, his highest was a score of 211 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....
in 1932.
After retiring as a player in 1935 he fulfilled the role of coach and head groundsman at Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital is an English coeducational independent day and boarding school with Royal Charter located in the Sussex countryside just south of Horsham in Horsham District, West Sussex, England...
until 1963. He died at Coldwaltham
Coldwaltham
Coldwaltham is a village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It is divided in two by the A29 road and lies 2.4 miles southwest of Pulborough which has both a railway station on the Arun Valley Line and a bus connection to Worthing...
following a long and debilitating illness in which both his legs were amputated.