Walter Brearley
Encyclopedia
Walter Brearley, born March 11, 1876, at Bolton
, Lancashire
; died January 30, 1937, at the Middlesex Hospital
, Marylebone
, London
was a cricketer
who played for Lancashire
and England
.
Brearley was a fast bowler with what Wisden
described as "a rolling gait" who put his full – and substantial – weight into achieving pace and swing. He played county cricket only from the age of 26, but his abity to make the ball rise sharply on the somewhat fiery Old Trafford wickets became noticed the following year, but after the wickets became less difficult he was dropped from the side. The following year, his bowling was a valuable part of Lancashire's finest season in county cricket (sixteen wins and no losses) but his inability to play late in the season attracted the notice of Wisden.
The following year, he improved even further - at times bowling well even on wickets too dead to suit a fast bowler. A superb display of pace and length against Somerset
at Old Trafford
made him an automatic choice for the Test
team for the Fourth Test against Australia
. He took four wickets in each innings, and in the final match of the series at The Oval
took six out of the 14 wickets to fall, including five for 110 runs in the first innings. In all cricket that season, he took the wicket of Victor Trumper
six times and finished with an aggregate of 181 wickets for 19.25 each. His tremendous stamina and ability to maintain his fastest pace through even the longest spells of bowling was described as "nothing short of remarkable" by the 1906 Wisden.
However, having established himself as the best fast bowler in the world, at the end of the season Brearley announced that business claims would prevent him playing again. Although he changed his mind and did play five times for Lancashire in 1906 besides helping Neville Knox
to form a remarkably hostile attack for the Gentlemen at Lord's, he refused to play again for his county until 1908. In 1907, Brearley only played a handful of first-class games for the Gentlemen and a couple of privately raised teams, but was still thought good enough to only just miss out on a Test place at Lord's against South Africa. 1908 saw Brearley end his dispute with the Lancashire committee and bowl superbly before business kept him out of most of the August matches. He took 148 wickets in just seventeen matches and was named a Cricketer of the Year
by Wisden
. In 1909 he was even more impressive so long as he could play, but failed in his only Test, and in the following two years business and a major accident limited him to just fourteen of Lancashire's fifty eight Championship games.
The following year, Brearley's rift with the Lancashire committee became irreconcilable and at the beginning of 1912 it was clear he would play no county cricket. However, so well-thought of was he that, playing when business allowed for Cheshire
in the Minor Counties competition, Brearley played one further Test but the wicket was too soft for him to get a foothold.
Even when the best fast bowler in the world, Brearley could never go on an overseas tour owing to business commitments.
Brearley made one late first-class
appearance in 1921 at the age of 45 when he was picked for Archie MacLaren's amateur team that took on, and beat, Warwick Armstrong
's previously invincible Australians. Brearley's own contribution was modest: he scored one run and did not bowl.
A wholehearted cricketer who bustled about whatever he did, Brearley's batting fame rested on his hurried walk to the wicket and the much-told Old Trafford story that, at the sound of him scurrying to the wicket, the horse walked between the shafts of the heavy roller ready for the end of the innings. In all cricket, he took 844 wickets but scored only 908 runs.
Neville Cardus
wrote "Every ball was a crisis as far as Brealey was concerned".
He told a story in the words of the great man: "Ah hit George Hirst bang on't kneecap; and Ah'll swear to me dying day he was in front - ball would a knocked all 3 stumps down. But umpire gives it "not out" and then George hits me over the ropes and t'crowd sarcastic like shouts "Ow's That?" and next ball he hits me again over the ropes and crowd shouts "Ow's that?" again so I knocked his middle stump flying in two and Ah brandishes 'em at crowd. And then I runs off field and comes back with six new stumps and gives em to umpire and says, "Here take these, you'll need all bloody lot before Ah've done." And he need four on em, Ah can tell you."
He maintained faith in his ability long after his retirement. When watching new fast bowlers in later years Brearley was often heard to exclaim that he could still 'throw his hat faster'.
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
; died January 30, 1937, at the Middlesex Hospital
Middlesex Hospital
The Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, United Kingdom. First opened in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally closed in 2005. Its staff and services were transferred to various sites...
, Marylebone
Marylebone
Marylebone is an affluent inner-city area of central London, located within the City of Westminster. It is sometimes written as St. Marylebone or Mary-le-bone....
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
was a 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 played for 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...
and England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
.
Brearley was a fast bowler with what Wisden
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
described as "a rolling gait" who put his full – and substantial – weight into achieving pace and swing. He played county cricket only from the age of 26, but his abity to make the ball rise sharply on the somewhat fiery Old Trafford wickets became noticed the following year, but after the wickets became less difficult he was dropped from the side. The following year, his bowling was a valuable part of Lancashire's finest season in county cricket (sixteen wins and no losses) but his inability to play late in the season attracted the notice of Wisden.
The following year, he improved even further - at times bowling well even on wickets too dead to suit a fast bowler. A superb display of pace and length against 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...
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...
made him an automatic choice for the 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...
team for the Fourth Test against Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
. He took four wickets in each innings, and in the final match of the series 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...
took six out of the 14 wickets to fall, including five for 110 runs in the first innings. In all cricket that season, he took the wicket of Victor Trumper
Victor Trumper
Victor Thomas Trumper was an Australian cricketer known as the most stylish and versatile batsman of the Golden Age of cricket, capable of playing match-winning innings on wet wickets his contemporaries found unplayable. Archie MacLaren said of him, "Compared to Victor I was a cab-horse to a Derby...
six times and finished with an aggregate of 181 wickets for 19.25 each. His tremendous stamina and ability to maintain his fastest pace through even the longest spells of bowling was described as "nothing short of remarkable" by the 1906 Wisden.
However, having established himself as the best fast bowler in the world, at the end of the season Brearley announced that business claims would prevent him playing again. Although he changed his mind and did play five times for Lancashire in 1906 besides helping Neville Knox
Neville Knox
Neville Alexander Knox was an English fast bowler of the late 1900s and effectively the successor to Tom Richardson and William Lockwood in the Surrey team...
to form a remarkably hostile attack for the Gentlemen at Lord's, he refused to play again for his county until 1908. In 1907, Brearley only played a handful of first-class games for the Gentlemen and a couple of privately raised teams, but was still thought good enough to only just miss out on a Test place at Lord's against South Africa. 1908 saw Brearley end his dispute with the Lancashire committee and bowl superbly before business kept him out of most of the August matches. He took 148 wickets in just seventeen matches and was named a Cricketer 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"...
by Wisden
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
. In 1909 he was even more impressive so long as he could play, but failed in his only Test, and in the following two years business and a major accident limited him to just fourteen of Lancashire's fifty eight Championship games.
The following year, Brearley's rift with the Lancashire committee became irreconcilable and at the beginning of 1912 it was clear he would play no county cricket. However, so well-thought of was he that, playing when business allowed for Cheshire
Cheshire County Cricket Club
Cheshire 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 Cheshire and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy...
in the Minor Counties competition, Brearley played one further Test but the wicket was too soft for him to get a foothold.
Even when the best fast bowler in the world, Brearley could never go on an overseas tour owing to business commitments.
Brearley made one late 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...
appearance in 1921 at the age of 45 when he was picked for Archie MacLaren's amateur team that took on, and beat, Warwick Armstrong
Warwick Armstrong
Warwick Windridge Armstrong was an Australian cricketer who played 50 Test matches between 1902 and 1921. An all-rounder, he captained Australia in ten Test matches between 1920 and 1921 and was undefeated, winning eight Tests and drawing two...
's previously invincible Australians. Brearley's own contribution was modest: he scored one run and did not bowl.
A wholehearted cricketer who bustled about whatever he did, Brearley's batting fame rested on his hurried walk to the wicket and the much-told Old Trafford story that, at the sound of him scurrying to the wicket, the horse walked between the shafts of the heavy roller ready for the end of the innings. In all cricket, he took 844 wickets but scored only 908 runs.
Neville Cardus
Neville Cardus
Sir John Frederick Neville Cardus CBE was an English writer and critic, best known for his writing on music and cricket. For many years, he wrote for The Manchester Guardian. He was untrained in music, and his style of criticism was subjective, romantic and personal, in contrast with his critical...
wrote "Every ball was a crisis as far as Brealey was concerned".
He told a story in the words of the great man: "Ah hit George Hirst bang on't kneecap; and Ah'll swear to me dying day he was in front - ball would a knocked all 3 stumps down. But umpire gives it "not out" and then George hits me over the ropes and t'crowd sarcastic like shouts "Ow's That?" and next ball he hits me again over the ropes and crowd shouts "Ow's that?" again so I knocked his middle stump flying in two and Ah brandishes 'em at crowd. And then I runs off field and comes back with six new stumps and gives em to umpire and says, "Here take these, you'll need all bloody lot before Ah've done." And he need four on em, Ah can tell you."
He maintained faith in his ability long after his retirement. When watching new fast bowlers in later years Brearley was often heard to exclaim that he could still 'throw his hat faster'.