A Leeds & Broomfield International XI the Following Team Is Made
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A Leeds & Broomfield International XI The following team is made up of players who have appeared at least once for Leeds and also represented their country. A certain amount of licence has been required in the selection process as Mynn, Wenman, Pilch, Willes and Ashby appeared for teams notionally named as “England” or “All England” in the early to mid-1800s, when no international matches were in fact played. (The first test took place in 1877.) These players were in truth guns for hire who would sell their services to the highest bidder, often claiming to be amateurs. Of this team Warner, Mynn, McCague, Willes and Ashby have all lived for longish periods in or at least quite near Leeds and Gilbert has a close association with Leeds by marriage. Had the sport selection been widened beyond cricket, 1970s opening bowler Mike Sharratt, who represented England at Petanque, could have been included. Who knows, there may be others! I have to point out that Dave Wratten is convinced that John Inverarity, Australian all-rounder, who played in 6 tests and also appeared for Kent, made an appearance for Leeds in the 1970s while at The Mote but I have been unable to find a record of this. In batting order the team is: 1. P F (“Plum”) Warner (Leeds 1911) Warner was MiddleseX and England captain, a rather weak England manager on the infamous “Bodyline” tour to Australia in 1932/33 and in 1950 President of the MCC. An archetypal establishment figure, he had a top score of 132* for England and 244 for MiddleseX. He lived in Caring Lane for several years and once made 126 for Leeds as well as making two stumpings. A stand at Lords is named after him. 2. F L Fane (Leeds 1911) Frederick Fane played for Essex and also captained England in several tests, several times opening the batting with Jack Hobbs. He was the only Irishman to have scored a century for England before Eoin Morgan repeated the feat in 2010. (McCague never managed it.) His contribution on his sole appearance for Leeds is, alas, unknown. 3. J Denly (Leeds 2001) Joe Denly of Kent, MiddleseX and England appears to have lost his England place maybe for good…? In his only appearance for Leeds aged 15 against Tunbridge Wells Wednesday XI, he made 86* and was unsuccessful with the ball. Leeds never selected him again. 4. F Pilch (Leeds 1832) Fuller Pilch was by common consent the top batsman in the country from around 1820 to 1850 and described as the best ever before W G Grace appeared on the scene. Born in Norfolk, he moved to Kent to become County groundsman, first at Town Malling, then later at Canterbury. He scored 10 centuries in his career (unheard of back then) and was the best groundsman/batsman to play for Leeds before……you guess who! 5. A Mynn (Leeds 1829 – 1858) Alfred Mynn, the “lion of Kent” was a true colossus of the game and the best known cricketer of his day – a combination of Ian Botham, Fred Trueman and Freddie Flintoff. He was a fearsome fast roundarm bowler, a fearless batsman and a champion at single wicket. According to legend, Mynn lived on a diet of beef and beer. When asked what other nourishment he took, he reputedly replied ‘beer and beef’. When sitting for his portrait, in one two-hour session he was said to have eaten two meals, each consisting of two and a half pounds (1.34 kg.) of beef and a quart (1.13 litres) of beer. By his bed at night he kept a glass of ‘light bitter’. Predictably, his waistline expanded in later life and by the close of his playing career he was 20 stones (127 kg.) or more. 6. E Wenman (Leeds 1834 – 1837) Edward Gower (Ned) Wenman from Benenden was the first in an illustrious line of Kent wicketkeeper/batsmen. In addition, he was also a successful bowler. In his day the keeper did not have any protective equipment, not even gloves. He played many games for Kent, “England” and Gents v Players. One of his greatest feats came in 1834 when he and one Richard Mills played and beat by an innings eleven players form the Isle of OXney, the pair being allowed no eXtra fielders. 7. K McCleay (Leeds 1980) Although he only made 15 in his solitary appearance for Leeds and was not asked to bowl, Ken McCleay, a useful all-rounder went on to play in 16 ODIs for Australia, also representing Western Australia and Somerset. 8. M McCague (Leeds 2009 – 2019) Martin McCague hardly needs any introduction to Leeds members. An Irish-born Aussie he played in 3 tests for England, dismissing Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh and David Boon along the way. In a long career for Western Australia, Kent and England he took over 650 wickets in all matches. When he arrived at Leeds he converted into a big-hitting opening bat who terrorised opposition bowlers and scored two double hundreds including a club record 234*. He may well be miffed to be dropped down the order! 9. D Gilbert (Leeds 1998 – 1999) Dave Gilbert, who married the daughter of Colin Robbins, played in 9 tests and 14 ODIs for Australia, playing also for New south wales and Gloucestershire. He was a right arm fast-medium bowler who scored 105 in one innings for Leeds, sharing a brutal partnership of 140 with Geoff Hunt. 10. J Willes (Leeds 1806 – 1830) Fast bowler John Willes, who hailed from Sutton Valence, holds a special place in cricket history as the supposed inventor of round- arm bowling, purportedly learning the technique from playing with his sister who was unable to bowl underarm (the favoured method of the day) owing to her hooped crinoline dress!! His fame rests on being no-balled at Lords in 1822 in the Kent v MCC game at the behest of Lord Frederick Beauclerk, a renowned hater of this new-fangled bowling – an invention of the devil! At this insult to Willes’ bowling he mounted his horse and left the ground, never to return. 11. W Ashby (Leeds 1806) A protégé of Willes, William Ashby from Linton was described thus - “a slow round-arm bowler, not high in delivery but his balls had an unusual bias…” Unfortunate man! A carpenter by trade, he played at Lords many times including for Kent, MCC, England and Surrey over a 30-year career. This team is rich in bowling and the captain (Warner?) would have a ticklish decision to make in deciding whether to throw the new ball to McCague, Willes or Mynn. With backup of medium pacers Gilbert and McCleay plus spinners Ashby and Denly the team has an embarrassment of riches. The batting is worrying as Warner and Fane would have to adjust quickly to the demands of limited overs cricket, and Pilch, Mynn and Wenman would have to get used to wearing pads and gloves. However, they would appreciate batting on a track which had been mowed and rolled. The roundarm bowlers may struggle to avoid bowling wides and certainly the flat track would not be to their liking. And none of the pre-1980 players would bother to chase the ball in the field or, heaven forbid, dive to stop it! Peter Bowden Plum Warner Joe Denly F L Fane Fuller Pilch Martin McCague Ned Wenman Ken Mcleay Alfred Mynn Alas, there is no picture of William Ashby, of the biased balls. John Willes, RIP Dave Gilbert .