Bob Appleyard
Encyclopedia
Bob Appleyard is a former Yorkshire
and England cricket
er.
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. Able to bowl fast-medium swingers or seamers and off-spinners with almost exactly the same action, Appleyard was a tragic figure whose career was almost destroyed by injury and illness after an amazing first full season in 1951. In his limited Test life, he took a wicket every fifty-one balls, and in first class cricket his 708 wickets cost only 15.48 runs each. Equally, when he was fit, Appleyard was one of the finest bowlers to represent county and country.
.
In his own words, "It is difficult even now to recall the details. I think I'd been spending some nights at my grandma's. She was on her own, and I spent quite a bit of time with her". Bob's own mother had left home when he was aged just seven, while his sister Margaret died of diphtheria
. Following the discovery at Bradford, he was taken in by his stepmother's parents. He never spoke about the tragedy to his team mates during his playing career, and only revealed the truth in his book, No Coward Soul, written with Stephen Chalke.
In adulthood, Appleyard lost his son, Ian, to leukaemia and later his grandson, John, to the same disease. As a young cricketer Appleyard spent eleven months in hospital after being diagnosed with advanced tuberculosis
. Whilst in hospital, Appleyard kept his fingers strong by squeezing a cricket ball
under the bed covers. He had to learn to walk again and had the upper half of his left lung removed
According to his biography on Cricinfo, "Appleyard became a successful business rep and he was working for the British Printing Corporation in 1981 when it was taken over by Robert Maxwell
. Appleyard quickly saw Maxwell for the crook that he was and when Maxwell dismissed him on the strength of trumped up allegations, Appleyard battled for a fair settlement and won, shrewdly taking his money out of the BPC pension fund at the same time". Cricket commentator, Colin Bateman, also noted that Appleyard won an out-of-court settlement from Maxwell, whom Appleyard had threatened to sue.
In cricketing terms, perhaps his greatest achievement was to change from the swing and cut bowler of English conditions, to one who could control the ball in the air, and deceive batsmen on length, in Australia
.
Appleyard said: "I never discussed what I was doing with Len Hutton
, but I knew I had to change. You have to adapt to different conditions and try different things and those are the sort of things missing from the modern game. Today's bowlers are stereotyped and they really should experiment more with different types of delivery." .
After pronounced success in local cricket within Yorkshire, Appleyard was engaged by the county in 1950 at the age of 26 and played three games for the county, taking six wickets in two County Championship
games against Surrey
and Gloucestershire
.
With Alec Coxon
departing for league cricket and Brian Close
on military service, it was thought that Yorkshire would have an ordinary season in 1951, yet Appleyard's bowling, which saw him take the first 200 wicket aggregate for four years, ensured they remained near the top of the table. His wickets that season cost an average of 14 a piece. A big man at about 188 centimetres (6 feet one and half inches) and 97 kilograms (over 15 stone
), Appleyard was able to bowl both as a paceman and as a spinner with no apparent changes of action, so that he could go through an innings with little rest and possess sting under all conditions of weather and wicket. He was chosen as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year but did not gain representative honours.
However, after one match in 1952 a chronic illness kept Appleyard off the field for the rest of that year and all of 1953. Even at the beginning of 1954, Appleyard was not expected to play again, but a surprising recovery saw him second in the averages after Brian Statham
and bowling with skill on a perfect pitch at Trent Bridge
in his first Test
. In the words of Wisden: "His mixture of in-swingers, off-spinners and leg-cutters; his variations of flight and pace, bore the make of a highly-skilled craftsman". As a consequence, Appleyard was chosen for the Ashes tour ahead of Jim Laker
, and under Hutton's captaincy. He again bowled with skill on unusually erratic Australian wickets, most notably in the extreme heat at Adelaide in the Fourth Test, which clinched the Ashes.
Appleyard enjoyed the more English conditions as the tour moved on to New Zealand, and played a leading role the dismissal of New Zealand at Wellington
in March for the lowest score in the history of Test cricket. On a rain-affected pitch, he took 4 for 7, as New Zealand were rolled for 26.
In 1955, now almost exclusively bowling spinners, Appleyard was almost unplayable on the wet wickets early in the summer, but a knee injury wiped out almost all his cricket after the middle of June. However, he recovered his form well enough in 1956 to regain his Test place for the first match as Trent Bridge
but did not bowl well enough to challenge Jim Laker for the rest of the summer. Indeed, in a summer when the vast majority of pitches favoured spin, Appleyard's average was not exceptional. Then, in 1957, Appleyard declined so badly that Yorkshire often left him out of their team: he seemed unable to show his old versatility when asked to open again with Trueman
and was not gaining as much penetration on rain-affected surfaces. Appleyard decline continued in 1958, and Yorkshire dropped him for good in early June, and he never did well enough for the second eleven for them to consider retaining him.
He became a successful businessman after retirement from the game and founded a cricket school in Bradford
. He has raised over a million pounds for youth cricket, working with the Sir Leonard Hutton Foundation Scheme for young cricketers. His proceeds from his biography were donated to this fund. In 1997, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Bradford
. He served as President of Yorkshire into his eighties, and remains as an Honorary Life Member of the club.
With the death of Alf Gover
in 2001, Appleyard became the sole survivor amongst the twenty eight bowlers who have taken 200 wickets, or more, in an English cricket season (the last case of which was Tony Lock
in 1957).
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....
and England 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 one of the best English bowlers of the 1950s, a decade which saw England develop its strongest bowling attack of the twentieth century. Able to bowl fast-medium swingers or seamers and off-spinners with almost exactly the same action, Appleyard was a tragic figure whose career was almost destroyed by injury and illness after an amazing first full season in 1951. In his limited Test life, he took a wicket every fifty-one balls, and in first class cricket his 708 wickets cost only 15.48 runs each. Equally, when he was fit, Appleyard was one of the finest bowlers to represent county and country.
Life and career
He had a sad start in life, walking into the bathroom of his home in Bradford to find the bodies of his father John Appleyard, his stepmother, and his two little sisters Wendy and Brenda, in a room thick with gas. Bob, who had been sent to stay overnight at his grandmother's, ran for assistance and the police were called. At the inquest, it was stated simply that John Appleyard had been greatly disturbed following the recent outbreak of World War IIWorld 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...
.
In his own words, "It is difficult even now to recall the details. I think I'd been spending some nights at my grandma's. She was on her own, and I spent quite a bit of time with her". Bob's own mother had left home when he was aged just seven, while his sister Margaret died of diphtheria
Diphtheria
Diphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium. It is characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity...
. Following the discovery at Bradford, he was taken in by his stepmother's parents. He never spoke about the tragedy to his team mates during his playing career, and only revealed the truth in his book, No Coward Soul, written with Stephen Chalke.
In adulthood, Appleyard lost his son, Ian, to leukaemia and later his grandson, John, to the same disease. As a young cricketer Appleyard spent eleven months in hospital after being diagnosed with advanced tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. Whilst in hospital, Appleyard kept his fingers strong by squeezing a cricket ball
Cricket ball
A cricket ball is a hard, solid leather ball used to play cricket. Constructed of cork and leather, a cricket ball is heavily regulated by cricket law at first class level...
under the bed covers. He had to learn to walk again and had the upper half of his left lung removed
According to his biography on Cricinfo, "Appleyard became a successful business rep and he was working for the British Printing Corporation in 1981 when it was taken over by Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Ian Robert Maxwell MC was a Czechoslovakian-born British media proprietor and former Member of Parliament , who rose from poverty to build an extensive publishing empire...
. Appleyard quickly saw Maxwell for the crook that he was and when Maxwell dismissed him on the strength of trumped up allegations, Appleyard battled for a fair settlement and won, shrewdly taking his money out of the BPC pension fund at the same time". Cricket commentator, Colin Bateman, also noted that Appleyard won an out-of-court settlement from Maxwell, whom Appleyard had threatened to sue.
In cricketing terms, perhaps his greatest achievement was to change from the swing and cut bowler of English conditions, to one who could control the ball in the air, and deceive batsmen on length, in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Appleyard said: "I never discussed what I was doing 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...
, but I knew I had to change. You have to adapt to different conditions and try different things and those are the sort of things missing from the modern game. Today's bowlers are stereotyped and they really should experiment more with different types of delivery." .
After pronounced success in local cricket within Yorkshire, Appleyard was engaged by the county in 1950 at the age of 26 and played three games for the county, taking six wickets in two County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
games against Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
and 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....
.
With Alec Coxon
Alec Coxon
Alexander "Alec" Coxon is a former English cricketer who played for Yorkshire. He also played one Test match for England in 1948. Cricket writer, Colin Bateman stated, "Coxon's Test career was abrupt - much like the man himself...
departing for league cricket and Brian Close
Brian Close
Dennis Brian Close , usually known as Brian Close, is a former cricketer who is the youngest man ever to play Test cricket for England. He was picked for the Test team to play against New Zealand, in July 1949, when he was 18 years old. Close went on to play 22 Test matches for England,...
on military service, it was thought that Yorkshire would have an ordinary season in 1951, yet Appleyard's bowling, which saw him take the first 200 wicket aggregate for four years, ensured they remained near the top of the table. His wickets that season cost an average of 14 a piece. A big man at about 188 centimetres (6 feet one and half inches) and 97 kilograms (over 15 stone
Stone (weight)
The stone is a units of measurement that was used in many North European countries until the advent of metrication. It value, which ranged from 3 kg to 12 kg, varied from city to city and also often from commodity to commodity...
), Appleyard was able to bowl both as a paceman and as a spinner with no apparent changes of action, so that he could go through an innings with little rest and possess sting under all conditions of weather and wicket. He was chosen as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year but did not gain representative honours.
However, after one match in 1952 a chronic illness kept Appleyard off the field for the rest of that year and all of 1953. Even at the beginning of 1954, Appleyard was not expected to play again, but a surprising recovery saw him second in the averages after Brian Statham
Brian Statham
John Brian "George" Statham, CBE was one of the leading English fast bowlers in 20th-century English cricket. Initially a bowler of a brisk fast-medium pace, Statham was able to remodel his action to generate enough speed to become genuinely fast...
and bowling with skill on a perfect pitch at Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge is a Test, One-day international and County cricket ground located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England and is also the headquarters of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. As well as International cricket and Nottinghamshire's home games, the ground has hosted the Finals Day of...
in his first 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...
. In the words of Wisden: "His mixture of in-swingers, off-spinners and leg-cutters; his variations of flight and pace, bore the make of a highly-skilled craftsman". As a consequence, Appleyard was chosen for the Ashes tour ahead of 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 under Hutton's captaincy. He again bowled with skill on unusually erratic Australian wickets, most notably in the extreme heat at Adelaide in the Fourth Test, which clinched the Ashes.
Appleyard enjoyed the more English conditions as the tour moved on to New Zealand, and played a leading role the dismissal of New Zealand at Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
in March for the lowest score in the history of Test cricket. On a rain-affected pitch, he took 4 for 7, as New Zealand were rolled for 26.
In 1955, now almost exclusively bowling spinners, Appleyard was almost unplayable on the wet wickets early in the summer, but a knee injury wiped out almost all his cricket after the middle of June. However, he recovered his form well enough in 1956 to regain his Test place for the first match as Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge is a Test, One-day international and County cricket ground located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England and is also the headquarters of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. As well as International cricket and Nottinghamshire's home games, the ground has hosted the Finals Day of...
but did not bowl well enough to challenge Jim Laker for the rest of the summer. Indeed, in a summer when the vast majority of pitches favoured spin, Appleyard's average was not exceptional. Then, in 1957, Appleyard declined so badly that Yorkshire often left him out of their team: he seemed unable to show his old versatility when asked to open again with 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 was not gaining as much penetration on rain-affected surfaces. Appleyard decline continued in 1958, and Yorkshire dropped him for good in early June, and he never did well enough for the second eleven for them to consider retaining him.
He became a successful businessman after retirement from the game and founded a cricket school in Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
. He has raised over a million pounds for youth cricket, working with the Sir Leonard Hutton Foundation Scheme for young cricketers. His proceeds from his biography were donated to this fund. In 1997, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Bradford
University of Bradford
The University of Bradford is a British university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The University received its Royal Charter in 1966, making it the 40th University to be created in Britain, but its origins date back to the early 1800s...
. He served as President of Yorkshire into his eighties, and remains as an Honorary Life Member of the club.
With the death of Alf Gover
Alf Gover
Alfred Richard Gover MBE was an English Test cricketer. He was the mainstay of the Surrey bowling attack during the 1930s and played four Tests before and after the Second World War...
in 2001, Appleyard became the sole survivor amongst the twenty eight bowlers who have taken 200 wickets, or more, in an English cricket season (the last case of which was 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 1957).