Hedley Verity
Encyclopedia
Hedley Verity was a professional cricket
er 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. Named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year
in 1932, he is regarded as one of the most effective slow-left-arm bowlers to have played cricket. Never someone who spun the ball sharply, he achieved success through determination and accuracy.
Verity was born in Leeds and from an early age, wished to play professional cricket for Yorkshire. After establishing a good reputation in local cricket, he signed a contract as a professional cricketer playing in the Lancashire League. His first season was not a success, but after moving clubs he began to make a name for himself. Initially a medium paced bowler, he switched to bowling spin in an attempt to secure a place in the Yorkshire team. When Wilfred Rhodes
, the incumbent Yorkshire left-arm spinner, announced his retirement, Verity was given a successful trial in the team in 1930, when he led the national bowling averages. Chosen as Rhodes's replacement, Verity made an instant impression in County cricket. In his first full season, he took all ten wickets in an innings against Warwickshire County Cricket Club
, a rare feat, and in his second, took all ten wickets while conceding just ten runs, a record in first-class cricket which still remains (as of 2011). He established himself as part of a strong bowling unit which assisted Yorkshire to the County Championship
seven times in his ten seasons with the club. In that time, Verity was never lower than fifth in the bowling averages and took over 150 wickets in every year except his first.
In 1931, he was chosen to play for England for the first time and rose to prominence during a tour to Australia in 1932–33. Afterwards, he played regularly for England and the best performance of his career came when he took 15 wickets against Australia in a Test match at Lord's Cricket Ground
in 1934. However, critics claimed he was ineffective on good batting pitches and he was occasionally left out the England team over the next few years. Even so, he had one of the best records of any bowler against Donald Bradman
, regarded as the greatest batsman in the history of cricket. Verity continued to play for Yorkshire and England until 1939, when the outbreak of the Second World War ended his career.
Verity joined the Green Howards in 1939 and after training, he was posted overseas to India
, Persia
and Egypt
, achieving the rank of captain
. Taking part in the Allied invasion of Sicily
in 1943, Verity was severely wounded and captured by the Italians. Taken to Italy, he died in Caserta
from his injuries and was buried there.
, an area of Leeds
, on 18 May 1905. He was the eldest child of Hedley Verity and Edith Elwick; his mother was a Sunday school teacher and his father worked for a local coal company. Verity also had two sisters, Grace and Edith. The family moved to Armley
, then to the more rural location of Rawdon when Verity senior took over one his employer's businesses. From an early age, Verity became involved in cricket, watching Yorkshire
play County matches at Leeds and Bradford, as well as at Scarborough during family holidays. Later, at Yeadon and Guiseley Secondary School
, Verity became an important member of a strong school cricket team, bowling left-arm medium paced deliveries. Verity left school aged 14 to work for his father, who had established his own coal business in Guiseley
. He continued to play cricket for Rawdon, appearing in the cricket club's second team; on his first appearance for the first eleven, in a minor evening game shortly before he left school, he scored 47 runs and took seven wickets. Verity decided, with the support of his father, to pursue a career in cricket and attempt to play for Yorkshire. Although continuing to work for his father, he devoted increasing amounts of time to cricket practice. To develop his physique and increase his stamina, he also worked at a local railway depot, shovelling coal, and went skipping and running in the evenings.
At this stage of his career, apart from a brief, unsuccessful attempt to bowl left-arm spin
early in the 1922 season, Verity continued to bowl medium pace. He could bowl both inswinger
s and outswinger
s, in a style which Verity's biographer Alan Hill believes he may have copied from the Yorkshire and England bowlers George Hirst and Abe Waddington
. In 1921, Verity made his debut for Rawdon in league cricket; some of his performances attracted the notice of the local press and in total he took 29 wickets at an average of 13.80. The following season, he was spotted by Hirst and former England spinner Bobby Peel
, who were talent scouting
for Yorkshire. Verity was given a trial in the cricket nets
at Headingley cricket ground
. Peel realised Verity was an intelligent bowler who could control where he pitched the ball, but believed he was not fast enough to be an effective bowler for Yorkshire. Verity later recalled Peel asking him if he could bowl faster; on hearing he could not, Peel commented: "It's a pity; you're a good fast bowler wasted." At the time, some judges in Rawdon believed his future lay in batting, and his performances with the bat improved in 1923. After some accompanying good bowling figures, the Yorkshire Evening Post
described Verity as "one of the most promising cricketers in the Leeds district".
From 1924, Verity moved to play for Horsforth Hall Park. After a slow start, he produced some effective defensive batting performances in difficult situations and his batting became more productive than his bowling for a time. By 1926, when he scored 488 runs and took 62 wickets, winning the Yorkshire Council League prize for being the best junior bowler, his all-round potential earned a trial at Yorkshire. Receiving coaching from Hirst, Verity played several matches for the Yorkshire Colts. However, he was given little bowling to do, suggesting he was chosen more for his batting at this stage, and he was near the bottom of the team's bowling average
s. Hirst was nevertheless impressed by Verity. But at this time, Yorkshire allocated promising cricketers to local clubs where they played league cricket; this did not happen with Verity. Instead, Hirst recommended Verity to Accrington Cricket Club
, a team in the Lancashire League who were seeking a Yorkshire professional. After a trial, Verity signed a contract in September 1926.
Consequently, Verity signed a contract with Middleton, a club in the Central Lancashire Cricket League
. Middleton, who could not afford a big-name signing, paid Verity less than he had received at Accrington, but guaranteed his release to play for Yorkshire if selected. Inheriting a young team, Verity worked hard at coaching and developing team spirit. The professional made a modest start in his first season, and was initially rated as a useful all-rounder but not particularly impressive. At this time, Verity decided to change his bowling style. Wilfred Rhodes
, Yorkshire's main spinner since 1898, was considering retirement. While attending the Yorkshire nets, it was suggested to Verity by Rhodes and Hirst that he was more likely to achieve selection if he switched to spin bowling, as there was less competition for places among spinners. With the support of the Middleton team and committee, Verity started bowling spin at the beginning of the 1929 season. Beginning to attract more notice, Verity had an unsuccessful trial at Warwickshire
. While visiting Rawdon later in the summer, Verity went to Headingley to watch Yorkshire play but was asked to fill a vacancy in the Yorkshire Colts team. Verity took five wickets for seven runs in the second innings. By the end of the season, Verity had taken 100 wickets for Middleton and came top of the Central Lancashire League bowling averages.
For the 1930 season, Verity received lucrative contract offers from several Lancashire League clubs, worth more than three times his Middleton salary. The security of these offers may have tempted Verity, who had recently married. Although he was by now on the fringes of the county team, Yorkshire gave him little encouragement. He still wished to represent the county, but Verity seriously considered these offers, taking his time before rejecting them. In the event, Middleton allowed Verity to play for Yorkshire during 1930 and eventually released him from his contract. Cricket historian Derek Hodgson notes that Verity's years in the Lancashire Leagues "meant that he reached Yorkshire ... as a hardened and experienced performer".
match against Sussex
early in the season, during May. Rhodes, who missed the match, spent the game watching Verity and seemed convinced afterwards that his successor had been found. Bowling in two innings, Verity took three wickets for 96 in 46.1 overs
; in the process, he won praise from the press, particularly for preventing the batsmen from scoring. Rhodes returned for the next match; Verity appeared only once more in May, taking eight wickets in the match against Leicestershire
, and once in June. In his fourth game, he took nine for 60 in the second innings against Glamorgan
and twelve wickets in the match. The pitch was affected by rain
, making it difficult to bat against spinners and the batsmen struggled against Verity. After this, Verity played regularly alongside Rhodes, and helped by a succession of rain-affected pitches, took a total of 64 wickets in 12 games at an average of 12.42, figures which placed him top of the national bowling averages. His best performance came against Hampshire
when he took 13 wickets for 83 runs, including seven for 26 in the first innings.
This latter performance was criticised by team-mate and mentor Emmott Robinson
who believed Verity had bowled carelessly and would have been punished by better batsmen, making this a good performance only on paper; similarly, Robinson said Verity should not have given away as many as 60 runs in his nine wicket performance against Glamorgan. After every day's play, Robinson and Rhodes discussed tactics and analysed the errors of Verity and his friend and team-mate Bill Bowes
, insisting they had to study the game to be successful. Bowes believed they were demanding, with high standards, but were always proved correct. He wrote: "To Wilfred Rhodes and Emmott Robinson ... I owe most for what I learned of first-class cricket—and Hedley Verity shared my debt." Verity enjoyed long technical discussions with Rhodes and according to Hirst, took in the advice "like a sponge takes water".
At the end of the season, critics in the press seemed convinced a successor to Rhodes had been found, and Verity was spoken of as a certainty to become an England regular, although some harsher critics claimed he was flattered by performances against weaker counties. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
considered Verity's success that season was important to Yorkshire; the county's president, Lord Hawke
wrote that Verity, along with Bowes, were "the bright hopes of the future for Yorkshire and England".
(MCC) in Yorkshire's first match of the season and also took five for 42 against Cambridge University
. Then, in his fifth game, Verity became only the second man, after Alonzo Drake
, to take ten wickets in a single innings for Yorkshire. Against Warwickshire
, on his 26th birthday, Verity took ten for 36 in the second innings, having taken three wickets in the first innings, to give Yorkshire an innings victory. Verity remains the only Yorkshire bowler to take all ten wickets in an innings on two separate occasions.
Verity followed this performance with five for 54 against Lancashire, but a week after his ten wickets against Warwickshire, Frank Woolley
hit four sixes from Verity's bowling as the Yorkshire bowler conceded 70 runs from 12 overs without taking a wicket. The rest of his season was successful. Favoured by pitches made receptive to his bowling by rain, he recorded impressive performances, earning selection for the Players against the Gentlemen
at Lord's Cricket Ground
, where he took five wickets in the Gentlemen's first innings. He was also selected in the less prestigious Gentlemen v Players fixtures at The Oval
and Scarborough and was awarded his county cap by Yorkshire. Having been watched by England selectors, and after taking eleven wickets for Yorkshire in their match against the touring New Zealand team, Verity was selected in the final two Test matches
of the series between England and the tourists. The first match was the only one originally scheduled but was drawn after the New Zealand team performed above expectations and surprised England. Subsequently, two more matches were arranged and England brought in four new players, one of whom was Verity. On his debut, he took four wickets for 75 runs in the game. The Cricketer
noted room for improvements in his technique but observed he could spin the ball well. England won the match and Verity was retained for the final Test. However, rain heavily affected the match and he did not bowl. In his first full season of first-class cricket, Verity took 188 wickets at an average of 13.52, finishing on top of the Yorkshire bowling averages and second in the national averages. Yorkshire won the County Championship and according to Wisden, owed much of their success to Verity's bowling. Verity was selected as one of Wisden's Cricketers of the Year
for his performances in the season. However, the citation said that despite his success and ability, he needed to improve the variety in the pace and flight
of his bowling.
scored 152 runs and hit Verity for five sixes. Although Verity had figures of eight for 107, he was expected to be more successful as the pitch conditions were perfect for spin bowling. Neville Cardus
wrote that his figures were "bad for the pitch. He can spin the ball keenly enough, but lacks a plan in his control of length. Moreover, he seldom gets the batsman guessing while the ball is in the air." However, Yorkshire improved their form in the rest of the season to retain the County title. Between them, Verity and Bowes took 352 wickets in the season, and Verity took 162 wickets at an average of 13.88, to finish second in the national bowling averages. Verity's best performance of the season came at Headingley on 12 July, the third and final day of Yorkshire's match against Nottinghamshire
. After heavy rain on the second day, Brian Sellers
, the Yorkshire captain, closed
his team's innings when Nottinghamshire still led by 71 runs. Verity did not concede any runs from his first nine overs, before the pitch became difficult to bat on as it dried in the sun. He then took all ten wickets while ten runs were hit from his bowling. Making the ball spin sharply, he took seven wickets in 15 deliveries
, including a hat-trick. His bowling figures of ten for ten beat the previous record for fewest runs conceded while taking ten wickets, and this remains the best analysis recorded in first-class cricket in 2011. Yorkshire went on to win the match by an innings. Despite Verity's success, he was not selected for any Gentlemen v Players matches, nor in the Test match against India. His only representative cricket came in a Test trial at the end of July, in which he did not bowl as the match was washed out by rain.
Verity had been advised by his friends at the start of the season that he would need an exceptional performance to achieve selection on the 1932–33 Ashes
tour of Australia; Alan Hill believes the performance against Nottinghamshire guaranteed Verity would be chosen to tour. In the middle of August, Verity was one of the last men added to the Marylebone Cricket Club
(MCC) team which was captained by Douglas Jardine
.
had been successful on the previous MCC tour of Australia.
Verity had a successful start to the tour. Assisted by overnight rain, he took seven for 37, including the wicket of Don Bradman, against a Combined XI, comprising some of the best Australian players. In the following game, against South Australia
, Verity took eight wickets, including five for 42 in the second innings. By now, the press had begun to pay attention to Verity's achievements, and former Australian batsman Clem Hill
expressed his admiration for Verity. Jardine later commented that Verity quickly adapted his bowling to Australian pitches. In the final game before the Test matches began, Verity proved expensive against New South Wales
, conceding 18 runs to Stan McCabe
in one over. Chosen for the first Test on the strength of his early tour performances, Verity bowled just 17 overs in the game, mainly being used to give the fast bowlers a rest. He did not take any wickets and Verity himself believed he had bowled poorly. England won the match, using Bodyline
tactics which had first been used earlier in the tour. After the Test, the tourists travelled to Tasmania to play two matches against the state team
. Verity played in the second, and although rain interrupted play so that Verity bowled just five overs, he scored his first half-century in first-class cricket. However, he was left out of the team for the second Test and was replaced by Bill Bowes. England played four fast bowlers but Jardine had misjudged the playing surface; the Australian spinners were very effective on a slow-paced pitch and Australia levelled the series.
Verity regained his place in the team for the third Test, replacing Bowes. The report in Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
stated this was probably the most unpleasant match ever played. Controversy erupted over England's bowling tactics, following injuries to Australian players Bill Woodfull
and Bert Oldfield
, and the Australian Board of Control sent a telegram of protest to the MCC accusing the tourists of unsporting conduct. Verity's main contributions to the match came from his batting. In the first innings, he batted for two-and-a-half hours to score 45 runs and with Eddie Paynter
added 96 runs in an eighth-wicket partnership
. In the second innings, he scored 40 and shared a partnership of 98 with Les Ames
. Wisden noted the effectiveness of Verity's defence while he was batting. He took one wicket in the game; after 16 wicketless overs in the first innings, Verity took the wicket of Bradman, who had played an unusually aggressive innings of 66 runs. Bradman had attacked the bowling of Verity, conscious of the danger from the fast bowlers, but immediately after hitting him for six, Bradman hit the ball back at the bowler and Verity caught it. England won the match by 338 runs.
After the third Test, the MCC played New South Wales again. Rain before the beginning of the third day affected the pitch; Bradman, possibly irritated by a minor show of bravado from Verity, scored 71 in conditions which should have been perfect for the Yorkshireman, who took only two wickets. At this stage, there was doubt over the continuation of the tour as the MCC and the Australian Board of Control exchanged telegrams, but matters settled when the Australian Board withdrew the accusation of unsporting conduct. Verity again made little contribution with the ball to the fourth Test. Nevertheless, of his bowling in the first innings, Wisden noted: "Verity kept an uncommonly good length while having only 32 runs hit off twenty-two overs." Batting in their first innings, England had lost eight wickets and were still 76 runs behind Australia's score when Verity joined Paynter, who famously had left a hospital bed, where he was confined with tonsillitis, to assist his team. The two men scored 92 runs together to give England a small lead. Verity scored 23 not out
in two-and-three-quarter hours, although he was several times lucky not to be dismissed. The Wisden correspondent wrote that: "Verity kept up his end in manly fashion". Australia were bowled out in their second innings and Verity took two wickets; England scored the required runs to record a six wicket victory which ensured victory in the series—and the Ashes.
Verity's bowling was most successful in the final Test; to this point, he had been used in a defensive role but was here permitted to attack more. Although not used much on the first day, he took three for 62 in Australia's first innings. In the second innings, assisted by a worn pitch that helped him to spin the ball, Verity took five for 33. He dismissed Bradman, after a rapid 71, and later took two wickets with successive deliveries. In contrast, when England batted, Bert Ironmonger
, the Australian left-arm spinner was unsuccessful; journalist and former player Arthur Mailey
wrote that Verity's success must have come from poor batting as he considered Ironmonger a superior bowler. In the Test series, Verity totalled 11 wickets at an average of 24.65, second in the bowling averages to Larwood. Verity took three more wickets in four more matches of the tour, including his appearance in one of the two Tests against New Zealand at the end of the tour. In all first-class games in Australia, he took 44 wickets at 15.86, leading the first-class bowling averages for the tourists. Wisden's tour report noted Verity's "fine bowling record" and that he performed well. Jardine, in a letter to Verity's father, wrote: "Hedley has come through his first tour triumphantly, no mean feat to start with the stiffest tour, but particularly for a slow left-hander. On and off the field, Hedley has been a real friend and a grand help to me".
, who took 11 wickets in his only Test, but in other games against the tourists, Verity took 14 wickets in a match for Yorkshire, on a slow pitch probably prepared to negate the bowling of Learie Constantine
, and 10 wickets for Leveson-Gower's team at the Scarborough Festival
. Against Essex, Verity achieved another record by taking 17 wickets in a single day's play, the second of three players to achieve this feat, on a pitch damaged by rain. However, against Surrey, Yorkshire conceded 560 runs and Verity, frustrated at the lack of a declaration, first bowled extremely negatively and then bowled two underarm deliveries that the umpire called no ball
as he had not informed the batsmen of his intention. This was an unusually public reaction for Verity and his captain ordered him to resume normal bowling. That winter, an MCC team was selected to tour India and play Tests there for the first time. Jardine was chosen as captain, and Verity was the only other player from the Bodyline series to tour, although other players declined an invitation.
Although the tour was politically sensitive owing to the Indian independence movement
, and despite Jardine's love of India, the captain approached the tour with a competitive attitude and made thorough preparations. Jardine's biographer, Christopher Douglas, noted that the important games "were definitely played with the gloves off," and the fast bowlers on both sides caused several injuries to opposing batsmen. The touring party were extravagantly entertained by Indian and European dignitaries; distractions included frequent banquets and hunting wildlife. The attendances were high and the public followed the cricket very closely. Despite the high number of games giving the players a heavy workload, leaving several of them exhausted, Verity enjoyed the tour. He established a lasting friendship with Charlie Barnett
; Verity helped Barnett to overcome his homesickness and to develop his understanding of cricket.
Verity was the leading first-class wicket-taker on the tour, although he was second in the team averages, with 72 wickets at an average of 15.54; in the first match of the tour against Sind, he took six for 46 and ten wickets in the game. His best figures were seven for 37 against the Viceroy's XI and he took five wickets in an innings on five occasions. Against an Indian XI, he achieved his then-highest first-class score of 91 not out. On the same ground, in the second Test match, Verity took eight wickets in the drawn second game and scored 55 not out, his maiden Test fifty. As England had won the first Test, the third and final match would decide the series. Verity was again successful with the bat, scoring 42 and sharing a partnership of 97 with Jardine. Then with the ball, Verity took seven for 49 as the Indian batsmen struggled against his accuracy. Four wickets in the second innings, on a pitch that was crumbling, gave him eleven wickets for 153 in the match, the first time he had taken ten or more wickets in a Test match. In the three Tests, Verity took 23 wickets at an average of 16.82, leading the bowling averages for the series.
Jardine, who retired from regular first-class cricket after the tour, had little patience with his fast bowlers on the tour. On one occasion, when they were having difficulty in the heat, Jardine said: "Thank God we have one bowler in the side"—referring to Verity. Verity and Jardine admired each other greatly. Verity was impressed with the depth of Jardine's thinking on the game and his intelligence, enjoying tactical discussions with him on the voyage to Australia. According to Alan Hill, Verity did not relish the Bodyline tactics on that tour but supported his captain's stance completely and was shocked by the manoeuvres to remove Jardine as captain. Verity even named his second son Douglas after Jardine. Jardine, on the other hand, considered Verity to be the best slow-left-arm bowler of all time, writing: "I venture to doubt whether any other bowler of his type has proved such a master on all kinds of wickets ... No captain could have a greater asset on his side than Verity. He would make a great captain himself." Historian David Frith writes that Verity was "probably the cricketer [Jardine] admired above all others", while Bob Wyatt
believed the two men were very similar in outlook, temperament and desire to succeed. During the Dunkirk evacuation in the Second World War, Jardine was separated from his batman in the confusion; when the pair were reunited, they sailed home on the HMS Verity
and Jardine's batman said: "We're bound to be all right now, sir; she's called after your favourite bowler."
believed this was crucial to an England victory, or the home team would have batted in very difficult conditions. When Australia batted again, Verity took eight for 43, dismissing Bradman a second time, to give him match figures of 15 for 104; 14 of the wickets came on the third day. Cardus believed the Australian batsmen played very badly against Verity's spin, while the Wisden correspondent wrote: "This amazing achievement would probably have been only possible to a man possessed of such length and finger-spin as Verity ... Verity's length was impeccable and he made the ball come back and lift so abruptly that most of the Australians were helpless. The majority of them had had no experience in England of such a pitch, and they showed no ability or skill in dealing with bowling like that of Verity under these conditions their efforts at playing back were, to say the least, immature." Afterwards, this game became known in cricket circles as "Verity's match"; it was the only occasion in the 20th Century when England beat Australia at Lord's, and their last such win for 75 years.
The third match was played on a very good pitch for batting in extremely hot weather, and England did not have a strong bowling attack in the view of Wisden. England scored 627, of which Verity scored 60 not out; while Wisden commented that he batted well, it noted he batted slower than was necessary. Australia replied with 491 when they batted; Verity took four for 78 in 53 overs and was able to prevent the batsmen scoring quickly. The match was eventually drawn. Cardus, in criticising the English bowlers in the game, wrote: "Verity is apparently the only England bowler in existence at the present time—and he is not subtle on a hard wicket." Poor weather prevented an English defeat in the fourth Test, as Bradman and Bill Ponsford
shared a partnership of 388 runs; Verity took three wickets but, in doing so, gave away a lot of runs. The final, decisive game, was won by Australia, who therefore regained the Ashes. Bradman and Ponsford this time scored 451 runs together as their team totalled 701; Verity was wicketless in the match and conceded 166 runs. Cardus, assessing the English bowling, regretted that England did not have a bowler capable of flighting the ball
, a role usually performed by left-arm spinners. Verity took 24 wickets in the series at 24.00, finishing second in the averages. Reviewing the series, Wisden editor Sydney Southerton wrote, "Verity, apart from his one amazing performance at Lord's, could be complimented upon his steadiness rather than upon his effectiveness on hard wickets.". Verity also made other representative appearances in the season, playing twice for the Players against the Gentlemen, appearing in Leveson-Gower's team against the Australians and representing the "Rest of England" against Lancashire, the County Champions; Yorkshire had dropped to sixth position, handicapped by the limited appearances by four key players who were regularly selected by England. However, future England captain Len Hutton
made his debut, and Verity supported and encouraged him in his first seasons.
hit 30 runs from a single over bowled by Verity. Even after each of his first three deliveries had been struck for four, Verity continued to bowl in an attacking style. In similar situations, bowlers usually bowled defensively to avoid giving away more runs. Arthur Wood, the Yorkshire wicket-keeper
, commented during the over: "Go on, Hedley, you have him in two minds. He doesn't know whether to hit you for four or six!" South Africa won the second Test match, their first such win in England, although Verity took six wickets in the match. In the third game, Verity had bowling figures of two wickets for nine runs from 25 overs in the match and in the fourth, he took one for 72 from 40 overs. These two games were drawn, leaving England needing a victory in the final match. By now, Verity had acquired a reputation for being unable to take wickets on good batting pitches. In the report on the fourth Test, Wisden's correspondent observed: "Verity again failed to worry South Africa's batsmen". With victory essential, Verity was dropped for the last match. He was replaced by off-spinner
Johnnie Clay
, regarded by critics as effective at flighting the ball.
The Times correspondent wrote: "Verity has not been impressive on firm wickets: he seems to have checked suddenly in a career which promised so well three seasons ago, and it is not surprising that he has been left out of this side." Nevertheless, he took 12 wickets at 20.83, leading the Test bowling averages for England. Verity was not selected in any other representative cricket that season apart from a festival match against the MCC team which toured the West Indies the previous winter.
The Yorkshire team toured Jamaica in early 1936, at the request of the Jamaica Cricket Association, playing three first-class matches. Yorkshire won the first game, Jamaica's first defeat at home in a first-class game for ten years. Verity took ten for 106 in 57 overs; Herbert Sutcliffe
, Verity's Yorkshire and England team-mate, believed that Verity bowled better here than on the previous Australian tour. Yorkshire bowled defensively at Jamaica's key batsman, George Headley
, frustrating him into making a mistake and losing his wicket. The other matches, played on very good batting wickets, were drawn. In the final game, Verity scored 101. Batting aggressively, he hit ten fours and his second fifty runs came in just over an hour. In total, Verity took 16 wickets, averaging 22.50, and scored 195 runs at 48.75.
In the 1936 English season, Verity once more passed 200 wickets. With 216 wickets at an average of 13.18, he reached the highest total of wickets of his career and finished second in the national averages. His best bowling figures were nine wickets for 12 runs against Kent, who were bowled out for 39 runs; in total, he took 15 wickets in the game, one of seven games in which he took ten or more wickets. In addition, he scored his highest aggregate of runs, accumulating 855 runs at an average of 31.66; at one point in the season, Verity was leading the Yorkshire batting averages. Yorkshire were second in the County Championship to Derbyshire
, suffering from an over-reliance on the bowling of Verity and a slightly-unfit Bowes. Playing for his county against the Indian touring team, Verity achieved his highest first-class innings in England with 96 not out. He played in all three Test matches against India, a team which failed to live up to expectations and suffered internal divisions. The Indian batsmen struggled to bat for the long periods required, unaccustomed to batting for more than three hours. Gubby Allen
, the England captain, won the toss in the first Test and bowled first on the advice of Verity, who predicted India would be all out by lunch on a difficult pitch. However, batting was never as difficult as expected and Verity was unable to bowl a good length
. Allen later described this as one of the few occasions he saw Verity bowl poorly. India established a first innings lead, but were bowled out for 93 in their second innings by Allen and Verity and easily lost the match; bowling more effectively, Verity took four for 17. The second Test was a draw in which Verity took four for 41 in the first innings and scored 66, his highest Test score. However, the Indian batsmen saved the match, partly by aggressive hitting against the slow bowlers. England won the final Test to take the series 1–0; Verity took four wickets in the game. In total, Verity took 15 wickets at an average of 15.20, finishing top of the England bowling averages. Verity also appeared for the Players against the Gentlemen and in a Test trial for the North against the South. Regarded as a certainty to tour Australia in the winter, Verity was among the first seven players selected and his name was announced before the second Test against India.
, his only five wicket haul of the Australian leg of the tour. England won the first two Tests of the series, assisted by poor weather altering pitch conditions in their favour. In the first match, England scored 358 and bowled Australia out for 234. Allen and Bill Voce
took most wickets, but although Verity took just one wicket, Wisden's correspondent praised him, reporting: "Among the bowlers, apart from the two who clinched victory, Verity must not be forgotten. In the first innings he bowled in his best form and contributed to many of Voce's wickets... So difficult was Verity to score from that batsmen in desperation tried to get runs off Voce, with disastrous results to themselves." After England set Australia 381 to win, rain damaged the pitch; Allen and Voce bowled the home team out for 58 and although conditions were ideal for Verity's bowling, he was not used. Allen later stated he did not wish to give the Australians the experience of facing Verity on a rain-affected pitch. In the second Test, England won by an innings, again assisted by rain. Verity took three wickets in the match, including that of Bradman.
The turning point of the series was the third Test. On the first day, Verity again dismissed Bradman and the England bowlers performed well in good batting conditions before rain altered the state of the pitch. Australia declared their innings closed at 200 for nine and after losing nine wickets for 76, England also declared, hoping to make Australia bat on a still-difficult pitch. As the pitch became easier to bat on, Australia made 564 of which Bradman scored 270 and shared a partnership of 346 with Jack Fingleton
. Verity bowled nearly 38 eight-ball overs and took three for 79. Cardus wrote: "Verity was magnificent ... In his absence Bradman might have scored another 100 runs. Nothing but consummate length and flight could have checked Bradman, in circumstances made for Bradman ... Every run from Verity had to be earnt. It was beautiful bowling, delightful to the eye and intellect." Wisden's report said: "Voce and Verity were outstanding England bowlers. The latter kept an immaculate length and allowed no batsman to take liberties with him." England were bowled out for 323 and lost the game.
Throughout the tour, England were hampered by the lack of an effective opening partner for Charlie Barnett. For the fourth Test, Verity was promoted to open the batting. After Australia were bowled out for 288, Verity and Barnett put on 53 runs together, England's best opening partnership of the series. Wisden praised Verity's defence but said he had not solved the problem of Barnett's partner. In two innings, he scored 19 and 17. England scored 330 but Australia's second innings of 433 left England needing 392. Barnett and Verity began with a stand of 45, but England made just 243 to lose by 148 runs. Verity was wicketless in the match; injuries to other bowlers left him with a heavy workload and he made it difficult for Australia to score runs. Having levelled the series, Australia won the final match by a large margin to take the series 3–2. Verity had figures of one for 127. Wisden observed he had "poor figures, on paper, but he put up a remarkable feat of endurance." In the series, Verity took 10 wickets at an average of 45.50; in all first-class matches in Australia, he captured 28 wickets at 30.75 and he secured 10 wickets at 18.20 in two matches in New Zealand at the end of the tour. The Wisden report on the tour said: "Verity admirably performed the task of keeping one end closed and took high honours for his consistently good work." The Times correspondent, noting the failure of the wrist spinners selected to tour, wrote: "Australia ... beat us because they have spin bowlers who make the ball truly spin. Verity certainly never had a wicket on which to demonstrate his art, so exposing the fact that real spin bowling does not at the moment exist in England."
During the 1937 season, Verity played only one out of the three Tests against the touring New Zealanders. He took two wickets, and although batsmen found it difficult to score from his bowling, he did not look dangerous and was left out of the remaining Tests in an attempt to strengthen the English bowling attack. He was not selected for the Players and his only other representative cricket was for the North against the South and for teams selected from the touring party of the previous winter. Nevertheless, he once again passed 200 wickets, taking 202 at 15.67 which placed him third in the bowling averages. The season ended with a challenge match, the proceeds to go to charity, between Yorkshire, who were once again County Champions, and Middlesex, who finished second. Yorkshire won comfortably after rain; Verity took eight for 43 in the second innings after Middlesex followed-on.
, believing he could make Australia follow-on, decided to keep Verity in reserve; he bowled just 45 balls in the innings; the last of these ended an innings of 232 runs by Stan McCabe
. Australia did follow-on, and in the second innings, Verity bowled 62 overs to take three wickets for 102, bowling very accurately, but the batsmen played him skilfully and the match was drawn. Although England had a chance of victory until late in the match, Charlie Barnett, who played in the game but disliked Hammond, later said that Hammond overlooked Verity in the first innings simply through poor captaincy and that it adversely affected England's prospects.
In the second match, Verity took four for 103 out of an Australian total of 422, in reply to England's 494. After Verity had taken two wickets in eight balls, Australia were in danger of having to follow-on, but Bill O'Reilly
struck him for two consecutive sixes to remove the possibility. Verity took two wickets in the second innings, but the match was drawn. After the third match was abandoned owing to rain, Australia won the fourth by five wickets to ensure the Ashes were retained. Wisden commented that: "At no time was the wicket easy for batting and Australia won largely because they possessed better spin bowling." Verity took two wickets in the match, but some critics believed his bowling could have won the match had Hammond used him more effectively. According to Barnett, the team believed Verity and Bowes should have done most of the bowling, with Bowes used to stop the batsmen scoring and Verity to take wickets. Bowes recommended the use of Verity or Wright to Hammond during the match, but Hammond ignored his advice. Later, Bowes publicly contrasted Hammond's tactics with those Yorkshire would have employed, comments the press interpreted as criticism. In a match where the Australian spinner O'Reilly took ten wickets, Hammond used his fast bowlers Bowes and Ken Farnes
for the majority of both innings. Critics believed Hammond over-used his fast bowlers; Cardus wrote: "Hammond's faith in fast bowling rather exceeded his faith in the arts of Verity and Wright. The result was sad disillusionment." Barnett also said that Hammond refused to allow Verity to alter his bowling tactics, when the Yorkshire bowled wished to aim for a worn area on the pitch.
The final match of the series was to be played to a finish, no matter how long it took. England scored a record 903 runs and Australia were heavily defeated. Verity, one of five Yorkshire players in the team, bowled 12 overs in the game, taking two wickets. However, he played a part in the achievement of Len Hutton, who scored 364 runs, breaking the record for the highest innings in a Test match. As Hutton's innings began to assume epic proportions, Verity stayed with Hutton throughout the intervals, helping him to maintain concentration. On the Sunday of the match, when there was no play, Verity arranged for Hutton to have a break by the sea to relax away from cricket. Hutton commented: "I owe [Verity] the kind of debt that one can never fully repay ... His quiet, natural dignity was an immense source of strength to me throughout those long hours". The series was drawn; Verity took 14 wickets at an average of 25.28, finishing second in the England bowling averages, behind Bowes. Verity played no other representative cricket that season, but appeared once more against the Australians for H. D. G. Leveson-Gower's team which defeated the tourists by ten wickets.
Verity's final first-class cricket came in the 1939 season which was overshadowed and curtailed by the incipient war. Yorkshire won their third successive County Championship and the seventh of Verity's career. Verity took 191 wickets at an average of 13.13, to top the bowling averages for the only time apart from his debut season. Verity's only representative cricket came in the first Test match against West Indies, when he took two wickets in the match. He was subsequently left out of the team for the second Test in favour of Tom Goddard
, and did not play any more Test matches. However, Wisden's report on the third Test commented that his absence and that of several other bowlers left the English attack weaker. In 40 Tests, Verity took 144 wickets at an average of 24.37 and scored 669 runs at an average of 20.90. With much of the end of the cricket season abandoned prior to the expected outbreak of war, Verity played his last match against Sussex. In the second innings, Verity took seven wickets for nine runs on a rain-affected pitch to bowl Sussex out for 33 and take Yorkshire to a win, although the match was played in a strained, tense atmosphere. This was Verity's last performance in first-class cricket. In total, he had taken 1,956 wickets at an average of 14.90 and scored 5,603 runs at 18.07.
, a cricket writer and journalist, wrote "He is a scholarly bowler ... He is tall, and much stronger than his pace needs. His run up, longer than most of his kind, has a measured delicacy that you would expect from this fastidious and nearly prim craftsman. Only his delivery has a grace which mathematics can't explain." His main asset as a bowler was an ability to bowl straight and with great accuracy, on a good length. He could also make the ball bounce higher than the batsman expected. The most effective type of delivery he bowled was one which curved through the air to pitch on middle and leg stump before spinning away from the batsman, who often edged the ball into the slips
. On a rain affected pitch, he bowled more slowly and was almost unplayable at times. However, the period in which Verity played was notorious for providing a succession of good batting wickets, and batsmen often dominated. In these conditions, he prevented batsmen scoring runs and constantly tried new strategies to try to take wickets. Verity believed he was good enough to get any player out, and that it was possible for a bowler to dominate a batsman.
According to E. W. Swanton
, "on good pitches, he worked away, tireless, determined, and in length immaculate, relying on subtle variations of pace and angle of delivery." Verity also used different types of delivery to keep batsmen uncertain: he could bowl at a slower and faster pace to his normal style and occasionally bowled a much faster ball which regularly took wickets.
Verity never spun the ball very far, particularly after his second tour to Australia, but his contemporaries considered this an asset, while the bowler himself thought a good length was more important than the distance the ball turned. However, critics did not think that Verity posed enough of a threat to batsmen and could be dull to watch. By the middle of his career, he had a reputation for being ineffective on good batting pitches, and was occasionally dropped for his lack of effectiveness, although after his debut, he was only left out of one match against Australia and one against South Africa, the two strongest Test playing teams. Yet Verity believed his performances in unfavourable conditions for his bowling had greater merit than his successes in favourable ones. He once said: "Do not praise me when I have taken 8 for 20 on a sticky wicket, but when I have got 2 for 100 on a perfect wicket." At times, Verity almost seemed bored when bowling and performed less effectively, particularly if his side were winning without needing his contribution. Bowes once told the Yorkshire captain, Brian Sellers, that the way to get the best out of Verity was to tell him that everything depended on him.
Verity earned the respect of Bradman, generally regarded as the greatest batsman to have played cricket, and enjoyed bowling at him. Bradman described Verity as a great cricketer and wrote that throughout their respective careers, he "grew more and more to respect [Verity] both as a gentleman and as a player." Robertson-Glasgow thought that Verity was "one of only three or four bowlers who came to the battle with Bradman on not unequal terms". During the 17 Tests in which they faced each other, Verity bowled 932 balls at Bradman, conceded 401 runs, and took his wicket eight times, more than any other bowler. Robertson-Glasgow believed that, but for Verity, Bradman would have averaged over 150 in Tests instead of his actual batting average. In all first-class cricket, Verity dismissed Bradman ten times in total, on two occasions twice in the same game. Only Clarrie Grimmett
equalled ten first-class dismissals of Bradman. However, Bradman once said: "I think I know all about Clarrie ( Grimmett), but with Hedley I am never sure. You see, there's no breaking-point with him."
Verity is often cited as one of the greatest slow-left-arm spinners to play the game. Robertson-Glasgow dismissed any criticism of the bowler, and wrote: "We can only say that, in his own short time, he was the best of his kind." The writer considered Verity may not quite have achieved the heights of some other great bowlers of his type, but "as a workman-artist, he will take some beating." Douglas Jardine rated him higher than any previous Yorkshire spinners, and Les Ames considered him the best left-arm spinner he had played against. Bradman wrote: "Undoubtedly he was one of the greatest slow left-handed spinners of all time. His record testifies to that. No Australian left-hander of that type was Verity's equal and of the Englishmen I saw ... there is no doubt that Hedley was as good or better than the others."
As a batsman, Verity occasionally showed potential to become good, but concentrated his energy on bowling. He modelled his batting on Herbert Sutcliffe, and Robertson-Glasgow wrote: "As a batsman, he looks like Sutcliffe gone stale. That is, pretty good."
in Guiseley until Bowes' wife gave birth, they attempted to join the infantry
. However, Bowes was hampered by an old knee complaint and later became a gunnery officer. After serving as a sapper
in the Royal Engineers
, Verity was commissioned in January 1940 as a Second Lieutenant
in the Green Howards, and later promoted to Captain
. Following a spell at the Infantry Training Centre, he was posted to the 1st Battalion. He served at the regimental depot in Richmond, North Yorkshire
where he was responsible for training recruits. In the spring of 1941, the battalion moved to Omagh
in Northern Ireland for further training. Verity's Yorkshire and England team-mate Norman Yardley
was also in the 1st Battalion, and the fame of these cricketers made an impression on the local population. Playing several cricket matches, Verity frequently took wickets on rough pitches that were unsuitable for batting. There was even time for his appearance in a charity match at Lord's. At the end of the summer, he returned to England and after a spell in London, he was posted overseas.
The first battalion of the Green Howards went early in 1942 to Ranchi
in India, where the climate badly affected Verity's health. After suffering from dysentery, he was weak and his doctors wished to send him home. However, he resumed his position and by the end of the year his battalion was sent to Persia
. In March 1943, the battalion was posted to Kibrit Air Base in Egypt
for training and then to Qatana
in Syria
. Here, preparations were finalised for the Allied invasion of Sicily
. Verity remained below peak fitness and was struggling a little owing to his age. After the Sicily campaign was completed, his commanding officers planned to withdraw him from front-line fighting and move him to the staff at headquarters.
. The German forces put up a strong resistance and the Green Howards, as part of the 15th Brigade made a night attack on 19 July. However, conditions were more difficult than expected and the brigade came under heavy fire. Verity commanded B Company, which lost its position in the confusion and became surrounded. Attempting to secure the position, Verity was hit in the chest and had to be left behind as the company retreated. The last order he gave was "Keep going".
Severely wounded and subsequently captured by the Germans, Verity was taken to a field hospital and underwent an operation. Taken by boat across the Strait of Messina
to Italy, Verity first went to a hospital in Reggio Calabria
and was then transported for two days by train to Naples
. The German hospital was full so Verity was sent to the Italian hospital at Caserta
. By this stage, Verity was very ill and had another operation to relieve pressure from his rib onto his lung. The operation seemed successful but Verity deteriorated rapidly over the following three days, bleeding heavily. He died on 31 July, and was buried with full military honours. His grave was later moved from the town's cemetery to the military cemetery established by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
. Several Yorkshire players later visited the grave; some members of the MCC team under Len Hutton's captaincy in 1954–55, including Hutton, journalists and former Yorkshire player Abe Waddington paid tribute at Verity's grave while stopping en route for Australia.
Shortly before the outbreak of the war, Kathleen began to suffer from poor health, and the family planned a trip to South Africa in the winter of 1939 to aid her recovery and so Verity could take up one of several offers of a coaching job. In the last summer before Verity went overseas during the war, Kathleen joined him in Omagh and spent some time together which she was later grateful for. She also joined him in London just before he went away.
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 who played 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...
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....
and England between 1930 and 1939. A slow left arm orthodox
Left-arm orthodox spin
Left-arm orthodox spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket.Left-arm orthodox spin is bowled by a left arm bowler using the fingers to spin the ball from right to left of the cricket pitch...
bowler, he took 1,956 wickets in first-class cricket at an average
Bowling average
Bowling average is a statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the sport of cricket.A bowler's bowling average is defined as the total number of runs conceded by the bowlers divided by the number of wickets taken by the bowler, so the lower the average the better. It is similar to earned...
of 14.90 and in 40 Tests he took 144 wickets at an average of 24.37. Named as 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"...
in 1932, he is regarded as one of the most effective slow-left-arm bowlers to have played cricket. Never someone who spun the ball sharply, he achieved success through determination and accuracy.
Verity was born in Leeds and from an early age, wished to play professional cricket for Yorkshire. After establishing a good reputation in local cricket, he signed a contract as a professional cricketer playing in the Lancashire League. His first season was not a success, but after moving clubs he began to make a name for himself. Initially a medium paced bowler, he switched to bowling spin in an attempt to secure a place in the Yorkshire team. When Wilfred Rhodes
Wilfred Rhodes
Wilfred Rhodes was an English professional cricketer who played 58 Test matches for England between 1899 and 1930. In Tests, Rhodes took 127 wickets in and scored 2,325 runs, becoming the first Englishman to complete the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in Test matches...
, the incumbent Yorkshire left-arm spinner, announced his retirement, Verity was given a successful trial in the team in 1930, when he led the national bowling averages. Chosen as Rhodes's replacement, Verity made an instant impression in County cricket. In his first full season, he took all ten wickets in an innings against Warwickshire County Cricket Club
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...
, a rare feat, and in his second, took all ten wickets while conceding just ten runs, a record in first-class cricket which still remains (as of 2011). He established himself as part of a strong bowling unit which assisted Yorkshire to the County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
seven times in his ten seasons with the club. In that time, Verity was never lower than fifth in the bowling averages and took over 150 wickets in every year except his first.
In 1931, he was chosen to play for England for the first time and rose to prominence during a tour to Australia in 1932–33. Afterwards, he played regularly for England and the best performance of his career came when he took 15 wickets against Australia in a Test match at Lord's Cricket Ground
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...
in 1934. However, critics claimed he was ineffective on good batting pitches and he was occasionally left out the England team over the next few years. Even so, he had one of the best records of any bowler against Donald Bradman
Donald Bradman
Sir Donald George Bradman, AC , often referred to as "The Don", was an Australian cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time...
, regarded as the greatest batsman in the history of cricket. Verity continued to play for Yorkshire and England until 1939, when the outbreak of the Second World War ended his career.
Verity joined the Green Howards in 1939 and after training, he was posted overseas to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Persia
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, achieving the rank of captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
. Taking part in the Allied invasion of Sicily
Allied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...
in 1943, Verity was severely wounded and captured by the Italians. Taken to Italy, he died in Caserta
Caserta
Caserta is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. It is an important agricultural, commercial and industrial comune and city. Caserta is located on the edge of the Campanian plain at the foot of the Campanian Subapennine mountain range...
from his injuries and was buried there.
Early years
Verity was born in HeadingleyHeadingley
Headingley is a suburb of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road...
, an area of Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, on 18 May 1905. He was the eldest child of Hedley Verity and Edith Elwick; his mother was a Sunday school teacher and his father worked for a local coal company. Verity also had two sisters, Grace and Edith. The family moved to Armley
Armley
Armley is a district in the west of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It starts less than a mile from Leeds city centre. Like much of Leeds, Armley grew in the industrial revolution and had several mills, one of which is now the Armley Mills museum...
, then to the more rural location of Rawdon when Verity senior took over one his employer's businesses. From an early age, Verity became involved in cricket, watching 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....
play County matches at Leeds and Bradford, as well as at Scarborough during family holidays. Later, at Yeadon and Guiseley Secondary School
Aireborough Grammar School
Aireborough Grammar School was an English state Grammar school situated on the Yeadon / Guiseley border in Aireborough, West Yorkshire. The school was founded in 1910 and closed in 1991.-History:...
, Verity became an important member of a strong school cricket team, bowling left-arm medium paced deliveries. Verity left school aged 14 to work for his father, who had established his own coal business in Guiseley
Guiseley
Guiseley is a small town in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Situated south of Otley and Menston, it is a suburb of north west Leeds. At the 2001 census, Guiseley together with Rawdon had a population of over 21,000. The A65, which passes through the town, is the...
. He continued to play cricket for Rawdon, appearing in the cricket club's second team; on his first appearance for the first eleven, in a minor evening game shortly before he left school, he scored 47 runs and took seven wickets. Verity decided, with the support of his father, to pursue a career in cricket and attempt to play for Yorkshire. Although continuing to work for his father, he devoted increasing amounts of time to cricket practice. To develop his physique and increase his stamina, he also worked at a local railway depot, shovelling coal, and went skipping and running in the evenings.
At this stage of his career, apart from a brief, unsuccessful attempt to bowl left-arm spin
Left-arm orthodox spin
Left-arm orthodox spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket.Left-arm orthodox spin is bowled by a left arm bowler using the fingers to spin the ball from right to left of the cricket pitch...
early in the 1922 season, Verity continued to bowl medium pace. He could bowl both inswinger
Inswinger
An inswinger is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. It is bowled by swing bowlers.-Grip:An inswinger is bowled by holding the cricket ball with the seam vertical and the first two fingers slightly across the seam so that it is angled a little to the leg side...
s and outswinger
Outswinger
An outswinger is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. It is bowled by swing bowlers.An outswinger is bowled by holding the cricket ball with the seam at an angle and the first two fingers running along either side of the seam...
s, in a style which Verity's biographer Alan Hill believes he may have copied from the Yorkshire and England bowlers George Hirst and Abe Waddington
Abe Waddington
Abraham "Abe" Waddington, sometimes known as Abram Waddington , was a professional cricketer for Yorkshire, who played in two Test matches for England against Australia in 1920–21. Between 1919 and 1927 Waddington made 255 appearances for Yorkshire, and in all first-class cricket played in 266...
. In 1921, Verity made his debut for Rawdon in league cricket; some of his performances attracted the notice of the local press and in total he took 29 wickets at an average of 13.80. The following season, he was spotted by Hirst and former England spinner Bobby Peel
Bobby Peel
Robert "Bobby" Peel was a Yorkshire and England cricketer: a left-arm spinner who ranks as one of the finest bowlers of the 1890s. He was also a capable batsman, who once hit 210 not out...
, who were talent scouting
Scout (sport)
In professional sports, scouts are trained talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout's organization...
for Yorkshire. Verity was given a trial in the cricket nets
Cricket nets
Cricket nets are practice nets used by batsmen and bowlers to warm up and/or improve their cricketing techniques. Cricket nets consist of a cricket pitch which is enclosed by cricket nets on either side, to the rear and optionally the roof. The bowling end of the net is left open...
at Headingley cricket ground
Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....
. Peel realised Verity was an intelligent bowler who could control where he pitched the ball, but believed he was not fast enough to be an effective bowler for Yorkshire. Verity later recalled Peel asking him if he could bowl faster; on hearing he could not, Peel commented: "It's a pity; you're a good fast bowler wasted." At the time, some judges in Rawdon believed his future lay in batting, and his performances with the bat improved in 1923. After some accompanying good bowling figures, the Yorkshire Evening Post
Yorkshire Evening Post
The Yorkshire Evening Post is a daily evening publication published by Yorkshire Post Newspapers Ltd in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
described Verity as "one of the most promising cricketers in the Leeds district".
From 1924, Verity moved to play for Horsforth Hall Park. After a slow start, he produced some effective defensive batting performances in difficult situations and his batting became more productive than his bowling for a time. By 1926, when he scored 488 runs and took 62 wickets, winning the Yorkshire Council League prize for being the best junior bowler, his all-round potential earned a trial at Yorkshire. Receiving coaching from Hirst, Verity played several matches for the Yorkshire Colts. However, he was given little bowling to do, suggesting he was chosen more for his batting at this stage, and he was near the bottom of the team's bowling average
Bowling average
Bowling average is a statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the sport of cricket.A bowler's bowling average is defined as the total number of runs conceded by the bowlers divided by the number of wickets taken by the bowler, so the lower the average the better. It is similar to earned...
s. Hirst was nevertheless impressed by Verity. But at this time, Yorkshire allocated promising cricketers to local clubs where they played league cricket; this did not happen with Verity. Instead, Hirst recommended Verity to Accrington Cricket Club
Accrington Cricket Club
Accrington Cricket Club are a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which play their home games at Thorneyholme Road in Accrington. For the 2011 season their captain is Jimmy Hayhurst and their professional is Ashar Zaidi....
, a team in the Lancashire League who were seeking a Yorkshire professional. After a trial, Verity signed a contract in September 1926.
Professional cricketer
Verity was unsuccessful during the 1927 season, his only one with Accrington. His predecessor, Charlie Llewellyn was an experienced spinner who was able to exploit the soft pitches common in the Lancashire League. Verity was expected to bowl in the same way and with similar success but was unable to do so at the time. Containing players far more experienced than Verity, the team was unsympathetic and offered him little support on the field. Verity failed as a batsman, despite an advanced technique, and his batting average for the season was 5.25, considered poor for a professional. His problems were compounded by an arm injury in the middle of the season which, along with a loss of form, affected his bowling and restricted him to 14 wickets in June. The other players at the club, much older than the professional, were not impressed by him. Verity faced criticism from spectators and club members, and at the end of the season, the Accrington secretary wrote: "Our choice of professional, so very bright at the opening, did not turn out to be quite the success we had thought. It was very discouraging to the players and undoubtedly had an effect on their play." Even so, the club were prepared to offer Verity an improved contract for 1928, but he declined after hearing that Accrington had once refused to release their professional to play county cricket; Verity still aimed to play for Yorkshire and wished to be released should the county ever select him.Consequently, Verity signed a contract with Middleton, a club in the Central Lancashire Cricket League
Central Lancashire Cricket League
The Central Lancashire League is a fifteen team cricket league, traditionally based in Lancashire, England. It is now based around Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire. The league runs competitions at First Team, Second Team, Third Team, Under 18, Under 15, Under 13 and Under 11 levels.The...
. Middleton, who could not afford a big-name signing, paid Verity less than he had received at Accrington, but guaranteed his release to play for Yorkshire if selected. Inheriting a young team, Verity worked hard at coaching and developing team spirit. The professional made a modest start in his first season, and was initially rated as a useful all-rounder but not particularly impressive. At this time, Verity decided to change his bowling style. Wilfred Rhodes
Wilfred Rhodes
Wilfred Rhodes was an English professional cricketer who played 58 Test matches for England between 1899 and 1930. In Tests, Rhodes took 127 wickets in and scored 2,325 runs, becoming the first Englishman to complete the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in Test matches...
, Yorkshire's main spinner since 1898, was considering retirement. While attending the Yorkshire nets, it was suggested to Verity by Rhodes and Hirst that he was more likely to achieve selection if he switched to spin bowling, as there was less competition for places among spinners. With the support of the Middleton team and committee, Verity started bowling spin at the beginning of the 1929 season. Beginning to attract more notice, Verity had an unsuccessful trial at 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...
. While visiting Rawdon later in the summer, Verity went to Headingley to watch Yorkshire play but was asked to fill a vacancy in the Yorkshire Colts team. Verity took five wickets for seven runs in the second innings. By the end of the season, Verity had taken 100 wickets for Middleton and came top of the Central Lancashire League bowling averages.
For the 1930 season, Verity received lucrative contract offers from several Lancashire League clubs, worth more than three times his Middleton salary. The security of these offers may have tempted Verity, who had recently married. Although he was by now on the fringes of the county team, Yorkshire gave him little encouragement. He still wished to represent the county, but Verity seriously considered these offers, taking his time before rejecting them. In the event, Middleton allowed Verity to play for Yorkshire during 1930 and eventually released him from his contract. Cricket historian Derek Hodgson notes that Verity's years in the Lancashire Leagues "meant that he reached Yorkshire ... as a hardened and experienced performer".
First-class debut
Early in 1930, Wilfred Rhodes announced that he intended to retire from first-class cricket at the end of the season. Several spin bowlers were considered as his replacement and bowled in the nets; George Hirst, who watched them all, considered Verity the most impressive. Verity made his first-class debut in a non-ChampionshipCounty Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
match 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...
early in the season, during May. Rhodes, who missed the match, spent the game watching Verity and seemed convinced afterwards that his successor had been found. Bowling in two innings, Verity took three wickets for 96 in 46.1 overs
Over (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, an over is a set of six consecutive balls bowled in succession. An over is normally bowled by a single bowler. However, in the event of injury preventing a bowler from completing an over, it is completed by a teammate....
; in the process, he won praise from the press, particularly for preventing the batsmen from scoring. Rhodes returned for the next match; Verity appeared only once more in May, taking eight wickets in the match against Leicestershire
Leicestershire County Cricket Club
Leicestershire 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 Leicestershire. It has also been representative of the county of Rutland....
, and once in June. In his fourth game, he took nine for 60 in the second innings against Glamorgan
Glamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan 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 Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County...
and twelve wickets in the match. The pitch was affected by rain
Sticky wicket
Sticky wicket is a metaphor used to describe a difficult circumstance; it originates from difficult circumstances in the sport of cricket.-Origins:...
, making it difficult to bat against spinners and the batsmen struggled against Verity. After this, Verity played regularly alongside Rhodes, and helped by a succession of rain-affected pitches, took a total of 64 wickets in 12 games at an average of 12.42, figures which placed him top of the national bowling averages. His best performance came against Hampshire
Hampshire County Cricket Club
Hampshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Hampshire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1863 as a successor to the Hampshire county cricket teams and has played at the Antelope Ground from then until 1885, before moving to the County Ground where it...
when he took 13 wickets for 83 runs, including seven for 26 in the first innings.
This latter performance was criticised by team-mate and mentor Emmott Robinson
Emmott Robinson
Emmott Robinson was an English first-class cricketer, who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1919 to 1931. He was awarded his county cap in 1920. Robinson was a right-handed batsman who bowled right-arm fast-medium pace.-Life and career:Robinson was born in Keighley, Yorkshire, England...
who believed Verity had bowled carelessly and would have been punished by better batsmen, making this a good performance only on paper; similarly, Robinson said Verity should not have given away as many as 60 runs in his nine wicket performance against Glamorgan. After every day's play, Robinson and Rhodes discussed tactics and analysed the errors of Verity and his friend and team-mate Bill 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...
, insisting they had to study the game to be successful. Bowes believed they were demanding, with high standards, but were always proved correct. He wrote: "To Wilfred Rhodes and Emmott Robinson ... I owe most for what I learned of first-class cricket—and Hedley Verity shared my debt." Verity enjoyed long technical discussions with Rhodes and according to Hirst, took in the advice "like a sponge takes water".
At the end of the season, critics in the press seemed convinced a successor to Rhodes had been found, and Verity was spoken of as a certainty to become an England regular, although some harsher critics claimed he was flattered by performances against weaker counties. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
considered Verity's success that season was important to Yorkshire; the county's president, Lord Hawke
Martin Hawke, 7th Baron Hawke
Martin Bladen Hawke, 7th Baron Hawke of Towton , generally known as Lord Hawke, was an English amateur cricketer who played major roles in the sport's administration....
wrote that Verity, along with Bowes, were "the bright hopes of the future for Yorkshire and England".
Test debut
When the 1931 season started, many critics and journalists watched Verity closely to see how he compared to Rhodes. Their initial impressions were favourable as Verity took five for 42 against the Marylebone Cricket ClubMarylebone 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...
(MCC) in Yorkshire's first match of the season and also took five for 42 against Cambridge University
Cambridge University Cricket Club
Cambridge University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team. It now plays all but one of its first-class cricket matches as part of the Cambridge University Centre of Cricketing Excellence , which includes Anglia Ruskin University...
. Then, in his fifth game, Verity became only the second man, after Alonzo Drake
Alonzo Drake
Alonzo Drake was an English first-class cricketer who played 157 matches for Yorkshire between 1909 and 1914...
, to take ten wickets in a single innings for Yorkshire. Against 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...
, on his 26th birthday, Verity took ten for 36 in the second innings, having taken three wickets in the first innings, to give Yorkshire an innings victory. Verity remains the only Yorkshire bowler to take all ten wickets in an innings on two separate occasions.
Verity followed this performance with five for 54 against Lancashire, but a week after his ten wickets against Warwickshire, Frank Woolley
Frank Woolley
Frank Edward Woolley was an English cricketer, one of the finest all-rounders the game has seen. In a career lasting more than thirty years, he scored more first-class runs than anyone but Sir Jack Hobbs, and took over 2,000 wickets at an average of under 20...
hit four sixes from Verity's bowling as the Yorkshire bowler conceded 70 runs from 12 overs without taking a wicket. The rest of his season was successful. Favoured by pitches made receptive to his bowling by rain, he recorded impressive performances, earning selection for the Players against the 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...
at Lord's Cricket Ground
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...
, where he took five wickets in the Gentlemen's first innings. He was also selected in the less prestigious Gentlemen v Players fixtures 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...
and Scarborough and was awarded his county cap by Yorkshire. Having been watched by England selectors, and after taking eleven wickets for Yorkshire in their match against the touring New Zealand team, Verity was selected in the final two Test matches
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...
of the series between England and the tourists. The first match was the only one originally scheduled but was drawn after the New Zealand team performed above expectations and surprised England. Subsequently, two more matches were arranged and England brought in four new players, one of whom was Verity. On his debut, he took four wickets for 75 runs in the game. The Cricketer
The Cricketer
The Cricketer was an English cricket magazine published between 1921 and 2003 when it was merged with Wisden Cricket Monthly and relaunched as The Wisden Cricketer....
noted room for improvements in his technique but observed he could spin the ball well. England won the match and Verity was retained for the final Test. However, rain heavily affected the match and he did not bowl. In his first full season of first-class cricket, Verity took 188 wickets at an average of 13.52, finishing on top of the Yorkshire bowling averages and second in the national averages. Yorkshire won the County Championship and according to Wisden, owed much of their success to Verity's bowling. Verity was selected as one of Wisden's 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"...
for his performances in the season. However, the citation said that despite his success and ability, he needed to improve the variety in the pace and flight
Flight (cricket)
Flight, also known as Loop, is a description of a kind of delivery in cricket, when a bowler makes the ball rise above eyeline, before it descends once again on its trajectory towards the batsman.Flight is a key weapon of spin bowlers...
of his bowling.
World record
Yorkshire made a poor start to the 1932 season, winning few games—mainly owing to poor weather shortening playing time—and dropping low in the championship table. The team lost heavily to Lancashire, for whom Eddie PaynterEddie Paynter
Edward "Eddie" Paynter was an English cricketer: an attacking batsman and excellent fielder. His Test batting average of 59.23 is the fifth highest of all time, and second only to Herbert Sutcliffe amongst Englishmen; against Australia alone Paynter averaged an extraordinary 84.42.Born in...
scored 152 runs and hit Verity for five sixes. Although Verity had figures of eight for 107, he was expected to be more successful as the pitch conditions were perfect for spin bowling. 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 that his figures were "bad for the pitch. He can spin the ball keenly enough, but lacks a plan in his control of length. Moreover, he seldom gets the batsman guessing while the ball is in the air." However, Yorkshire improved their form in the rest of the season to retain the County title. Between them, Verity and Bowes took 352 wickets in the season, and Verity took 162 wickets at an average of 13.88, to finish second in the national bowling averages. Verity's best performance of the season came at Headingley on 12 July, the third and final day of Yorkshire's match against 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...
. After heavy rain on the second day, Brian Sellers
Brian Sellers
Arthur Brian Sellers was an English amateur first-class cricketer, who played in 334 first-class matches for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1932 and 1948, and later became a prominent administrator at the club....
, the Yorkshire captain, closed
Declaration and forfeiture
In the sport of cricket a declaration occurs when a captain declares his team's innings closed and a forfeiture is when a captain chooses to forfeit an innings. Declaration and forfeiture are covered in Law 14 of the Laws of cricket...
his team's innings when Nottinghamshire still led by 71 runs. Verity did not concede any runs from his first nine overs, before the pitch became difficult to bat on as it dried in the sun. He then took all ten wickets while ten runs were hit from his bowling. Making the ball spin sharply, he took seven wickets in 15 deliveries
Delivery (cricket)
A delivery or ball in cricket is a single action of bowling a cricket ball towards the batsman.During play of the game, a member of the fielding team is designated as the bowler, and bowls deliveries towards the batsman...
, including a hat-trick. His bowling figures of ten for ten beat the previous record for fewest runs conceded while taking ten wickets, and this remains the best analysis recorded in first-class cricket in 2011. Yorkshire went on to win the match by an innings. Despite Verity's success, he was not selected for any Gentlemen v Players matches, nor in the Test match against India. His only representative cricket came in a Test trial at the end of July, in which he did not bowl as the match was washed out by rain.
Verity had been advised by his friends at the start of the season that he would need an exceptional performance to achieve selection on the 1932–33 Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
tour of Australia; Alan Hill believes the performance against Nottinghamshire guaranteed Verity would be chosen to tour. In the middle of August, Verity was one of the last men added to the Marylebone Cricket Club
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...
(MCC) team which was captained by Douglas Jardine
Douglas Jardine
Douglas Robert Jardine was an English cricketer and captain of the England cricket team from 1931 to 1933–34.When describing cricket seasons, the convention used is that a single year represents an English cricket season, while two years represent a southern hemisphere cricket season because it...
.
Bodyline tour
During the 31-day boat voyage to Australia, Jardine met Verity to discuss tactics, outlining his plan for Verity to bowl with the aim of conceding as few runs as possible, while the fast bowlers in the team were resting. However, Verity was not expected to be a big success on the tour. The good batting conditions, the aggressive Australian approach to playing spin bowlers and Verity's lack of experience led critics to dismiss Verity's potential contribution to the English bowling attack, even though fellow left-arm spinner Jack WhiteJack White (cricketer)
John Cornish White, known as "Farmer" or "Jack", was an English cricketer who played for Somerset and England. White was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1929...
had been successful on the previous MCC tour of Australia.
Verity had a successful start to the tour. Assisted by overnight rain, he took seven for 37, including the wicket of Don Bradman, against a Combined XI, comprising some of the best Australian players. In the following game, against South Australia
Southern Redbacks
The South Australia cricket team, nicknamed the Southern Redbacks and known as the West End Redbacks due to their sponsorship agreement with local brewers West End, are an Australian first class cricket team based in Adelaide, South Australia, and represent the state of South Australia...
, Verity took eight wickets, including five for 42 in the second innings. By now, the press had begun to pay attention to Verity's achievements, and former Australian batsman Clem Hill
Clem Hill
Clement "Clem" Hill was an Australian cricketer who played 49 Test matches as a specialist batsman between 1896 and 1912. He captained the Australian team in ten Tests, winning five and losing five...
expressed his admiration for Verity. Jardine later commented that Verity quickly adapted his bowling to Australian pitches. In the final game before the Test matches began, Verity proved expensive against New South Wales
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
, conceding 18 runs to Stan McCabe
Stan McCabe
Stanley Joseph McCabe was an Australian cricketer who played 39 Test matches for Australia from 1930 to 1938. A short, stocky right-hander,...
in one over. Chosen for the first Test on the strength of his early tour performances, Verity bowled just 17 overs in the game, mainly being used to give the fast bowlers a rest. He did not take any wickets and Verity himself believed he had bowled poorly. England won the match, using Bodyline
Bodyline
Bodyline, also known as fast leg theory bowling, was a cricketing tactic devised by the English cricket team for their 1932–33 Ashes tour of Australia, specifically to combat the extraordinary batting skill of Australia's Don Bradman...
tactics which had first been used earlier in the tour. After the Test, the tourists travelled to Tasmania to play two matches against the state team
Tasmanian Tigers
The Tasmanian cricket team, nicknamed the Tigers, represents the Australian state of Tasmania in cricket tournaments. They compete annually in the Australian domestic senior men's cricket season, which currently consists of the first-class Sheffield Shield, the limited overs Ford Ranger Cup, and...
. Verity played in the second, and although rain interrupted play so that Verity bowled just five overs, he scored his first half-century in first-class cricket. However, he was left out of the team for the second Test and was replaced by Bill Bowes. England played four fast bowlers but Jardine had misjudged the playing surface; the Australian spinners were very effective on a slow-paced pitch and Australia levelled the series.
Verity regained his place in the team for the third Test, replacing Bowes. The report in Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
stated this was probably the most unpleasant match ever played. Controversy erupted over England's bowling tactics, following injuries to Australian players Bill Woodfull
Bill Woodfull
William Maldon "Bill" Woodfull OBE was an Australian cricketer of the 1920s and 1930s. He captained both Victoria and Australia, and was best known for his dignified and moral conduct during the tumultuous bodyline series in 1932–33 that almost saw the end of Anglo-Australian cricketing ties...
and Bert Oldfield
Bert Oldfield
William Albert Stanley "Bert" Oldfield was an Australian cricket player. He played for New South Wales and the Australian cricket team as wicket-keeper....
, and the Australian Board of Control sent a telegram of protest to the MCC accusing the tourists of unsporting conduct. Verity's main contributions to the match came from his batting. In the first innings, he batted for two-and-a-half hours to score 45 runs and with Eddie Paynter
Eddie Paynter
Edward "Eddie" Paynter was an English cricketer: an attacking batsman and excellent fielder. His Test batting average of 59.23 is the fifth highest of all time, and second only to Herbert Sutcliffe amongst Englishmen; against Australia alone Paynter averaged an extraordinary 84.42.Born in...
added 96 runs in an eighth-wicket partnership
Partnership (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, two batsmen always bat in partnership, although only one is on strike at any time. The partnership between two batsmen will come to an end when one of them is dismissed or retires, or the innings comes to a close In the sport of cricket, two batsmen always bat in...
. In the second innings, he scored 40 and shared a partnership of 98 with Les Ames
Les Ames
Leslie Ethelbert George Ames, CBE was an outstanding wicket-keeper and batsman for the England cricket team and Kent County Cricket Club. In his obituary, the Wisden of 1991 described him as the greatest wicket-keeper-batsman of all time...
. Wisden noted the effectiveness of Verity's defence while he was batting. He took one wicket in the game; after 16 wicketless overs in the first innings, Verity took the wicket of Bradman, who had played an unusually aggressive innings of 66 runs. Bradman had attacked the bowling of Verity, conscious of the danger from the fast bowlers, but immediately after hitting him for six, Bradman hit the ball back at the bowler and Verity caught it. England won the match by 338 runs.
After the third Test, the MCC played New South Wales again. Rain before the beginning of the third day affected the pitch; Bradman, possibly irritated by a minor show of bravado from Verity, scored 71 in conditions which should have been perfect for the Yorkshireman, who took only two wickets. At this stage, there was doubt over the continuation of the tour as the MCC and the Australian Board of Control exchanged telegrams, but matters settled when the Australian Board withdrew the accusation of unsporting conduct. Verity again made little contribution with the ball to the fourth Test. Nevertheless, of his bowling in the first innings, Wisden noted: "Verity kept an uncommonly good length while having only 32 runs hit off twenty-two overs." Batting in their first innings, England had lost eight wickets and were still 76 runs behind Australia's score when Verity joined Paynter, who famously had left a hospital bed, where he was confined with tonsillitis, to assist his team. The two men scored 92 runs together to give England a small lead. Verity scored 23 not out
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
in two-and-three-quarter hours, although he was several times lucky not to be dismissed. The Wisden correspondent wrote that: "Verity kept up his end in manly fashion". Australia were bowled out in their second innings and Verity took two wickets; England scored the required runs to record a six wicket victory which ensured victory in the series—and the Ashes.
Verity's bowling was most successful in the final Test; to this point, he had been used in a defensive role but was here permitted to attack more. Although not used much on the first day, he took three for 62 in Australia's first innings. In the second innings, assisted by a worn pitch that helped him to spin the ball, Verity took five for 33. He dismissed Bradman, after a rapid 71, and later took two wickets with successive deliveries. In contrast, when England batted, Bert Ironmonger
Bert Ironmonger
Herbert Ironmonger was a Victorian and Australian cricketer....
, the Australian left-arm spinner was unsuccessful; journalist and former player Arthur Mailey
Arthur Mailey
Arthur Alfred Mailey was an Australian cricketer who played in 21 Test matches between 1920 and 1926....
wrote that Verity's success must have come from poor batting as he considered Ironmonger a superior bowler. In the Test series, Verity totalled 11 wickets at an average of 24.65, second in the bowling averages to Larwood. Verity took three more wickets in four more matches of the tour, including his appearance in one of the two Tests against New Zealand at the end of the tour. In all first-class games in Australia, he took 44 wickets at 15.86, leading the first-class bowling averages for the tourists. Wisden's tour report noted Verity's "fine bowling record" and that he performed well. Jardine, in a letter to Verity's father, wrote: "Hedley has come through his first tour triumphantly, no mean feat to start with the stiffest tour, but particularly for a slow left-hander. On and off the field, Hedley has been a real friend and a grand help to me".
Tour of India
In the 1933 season, when Yorkshire won their third consecutive County Championship, Verity took 190 wickets at an average of 13.43 to be fifth in the national averages; in eight matches, he took ten or more wickets and achieved five wickets in an innings 18 times. In seven consecutive innings, he secured a total of 50 wickets, only the third player to achieve this feat in first-class cricket. He also scored over 600 runs with three fifties, his highest aggregate to date and his first fifties in English first-class cricket. During the season, Verity represented the Players against the Gentlemen and played in the first two of three Tests against the West Indies, taking four for 45 in the first match and capturing seven wickets at an average of 21.85 in the series. He was left out of the final game in favour of Charles MarriottCharles Marriott
-Life and career:Marriott was one of the best leg break and googly bowlers of the 1920s and 1930s. Born in Lancashire, he went to school at St Columba's in Ireland, coming back to Lancashire to play in his first first-class match in 1919. He then went on to Cambridge, winning blues in 1920 and 1921...
, who took 11 wickets in his only Test, but in other games against the tourists, Verity took 14 wickets in a match for Yorkshire, on a slow pitch probably prepared to negate the bowling of Learie Constantine
Learie Constantine
Learie Nicholas Constantine, Baron Constantine MBE was a West Indian cricketer who played 18 Test matches before the Second World War. He took West Indies' first wicket in Test cricket and was the team's leading all-rounder and opening bowler for the entirety of his career...
, and 10 wickets for Leveson-Gower's team at the Scarborough Festival
Scarborough Festival
The Scarborough Festival is an end of season series of cricket matches featuring Yorkshire County Cricket Club which has been held in Scarborough, on the east coast of Yorkshire, since 1876. The ground, at North Marine Road, sees large crowds of holiday makers watching a mixture of first class...
. Against Essex, Verity achieved another record by taking 17 wickets in a single day's play, the second of three players to achieve this feat, on a pitch damaged by rain. However, against Surrey, Yorkshire conceded 560 runs and Verity, frustrated at the lack of a declaration, first bowled extremely negatively and then bowled two underarm deliveries that the umpire called no ball
No ball
In the sport of cricket a no ball is a penalty against the fielding team, usually as a result of an illegal delivery by the bowler. The delivery of a no ball results in one run to be added to the batting team's score, and an additional ball must be bowled...
as he had not informed the batsmen of his intention. This was an unusually public reaction for Verity and his captain ordered him to resume normal bowling. That winter, an MCC team was selected to tour India and play Tests there for the first time. Jardine was chosen as captain, and Verity was the only other player from the Bodyline series to tour, although other players declined an invitation.
Although the tour was politically sensitive owing to the Indian independence movement
Indian independence movement
The term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...
, and despite Jardine's love of India, the captain approached the tour with a competitive attitude and made thorough preparations. Jardine's biographer, Christopher Douglas, noted that the important games "were definitely played with the gloves off," and the fast bowlers on both sides caused several injuries to opposing batsmen. The touring party were extravagantly entertained by Indian and European dignitaries; distractions included frequent banquets and hunting wildlife. The attendances were high and the public followed the cricket very closely. Despite the high number of games giving the players a heavy workload, leaving several of them exhausted, Verity enjoyed the tour. He established a lasting friendship with Charlie Barnett
Charlie Barnett (cricketer)
Charles John Barnett was an English cricketer, who played in 20 Tests from 1933 to 1948...
; Verity helped Barnett to overcome his homesickness and to develop his understanding of cricket.
Verity was the leading first-class wicket-taker on the tour, although he was second in the team averages, with 72 wickets at an average of 15.54; in the first match of the tour against Sind, he took six for 46 and ten wickets in the game. His best figures were seven for 37 against the Viceroy's XI and he took five wickets in an innings on five occasions. Against an Indian XI, he achieved his then-highest first-class score of 91 not out. On the same ground, in the second Test match, Verity took eight wickets in the drawn second game and scored 55 not out, his maiden Test fifty. As England had won the first Test, the third and final match would decide the series. Verity was again successful with the bat, scoring 42 and sharing a partnership of 97 with Jardine. Then with the ball, Verity took seven for 49 as the Indian batsmen struggled against his accuracy. Four wickets in the second innings, on a pitch that was crumbling, gave him eleven wickets for 153 in the match, the first time he had taken ten or more wickets in a Test match. In the three Tests, Verity took 23 wickets at an average of 16.82, leading the bowling averages for the series.
Jardine, who retired from regular first-class cricket after the tour, had little patience with his fast bowlers on the tour. On one occasion, when they were having difficulty in the heat, Jardine said: "Thank God we have one bowler in the side"—referring to Verity. Verity and Jardine admired each other greatly. Verity was impressed with the depth of Jardine's thinking on the game and his intelligence, enjoying tactical discussions with him on the voyage to Australia. According to Alan Hill, Verity did not relish the Bodyline tactics on that tour but supported his captain's stance completely and was shocked by the manoeuvres to remove Jardine as captain. Verity even named his second son Douglas after Jardine. Jardine, on the other hand, considered Verity to be the best slow-left-arm bowler of all time, writing: "I venture to doubt whether any other bowler of his type has proved such a master on all kinds of wickets ... No captain could have a greater asset on his side than Verity. He would make a great captain himself." Historian David Frith writes that Verity was "probably the cricketer [Jardine] admired above all others", while Bob Wyatt
Bob Wyatt
Robert "Bob" Elliott Storey Wyatt was an English cricket player. He played for Warwickshire, Worcestershire, and the English cricket team....
believed the two men were very similar in outlook, temperament and desire to succeed. During the Dunkirk evacuation in the Second World War, Jardine was separated from his batman in the confusion; when the pair were reunited, they sailed home on the HMS Verity
HMS Verity (D63)
HMS Verity was an Admiralty modified W class destroyer of the Royal Navy which saw service in, and survived, World War Two. Her pennant number was originally D63 but was changed to I63 in May 1940.-Convoy Defence:...
and Jardine's batman said: "We're bound to be all right now, sir; she's called after your favourite bowler."
Series against Australia in 1934
In the 1934 season, Verity took 150 wickets at an average of 17.63, placing him third in the national averages. However, this was the lowest total of wickets and highest bowling average he achieved in a full English season. At the start of the season, Verity only reached five wickets in an innings once before his selection for a Test trial. That year, the Australians toured England and Verity was selected for the all five Test matches. Australia won the first game—Verity took two wickets. At Lord's, in the second match, England scored 440 in their first innings but after the second day's play, Australia were well placed to equal or surpass that score, having reached 192 for two wickets. Verity was the only bowler to trouble the batsmen and caught and bowled Bradman, who had scored a quick 36 runs. After rain fell overnight, the pitch changed to become helpful to spin; Wisden reported that: "although the wicket certainly helped [Verity] considerably it could scarcely be described as genuinely sticky except for one period after lunch." On the third day, Australia lost their last eight wickets while scoring 92 runs. Verity took six of the wickets to achieve bowling figures of seven for 61. The tourists just failed to score enough runs to make England bat again and were forced to follow on: Cardus wrote: "Verity settled the issue like a great bowler". England wicket-keeper Les AmesLes Ames
Leslie Ethelbert George Ames, CBE was an outstanding wicket-keeper and batsman for the England cricket team and Kent County Cricket Club. In his obituary, the Wisden of 1991 described him as the greatest wicket-keeper-batsman of all time...
believed this was crucial to an England victory, or the home team would have batted in very difficult conditions. When Australia batted again, Verity took eight for 43, dismissing Bradman a second time, to give him match figures of 15 for 104; 14 of the wickets came on the third day. Cardus believed the Australian batsmen played very badly against Verity's spin, while the Wisden correspondent wrote: "This amazing achievement would probably have been only possible to a man possessed of such length and finger-spin as Verity ... Verity's length was impeccable and he made the ball come back and lift so abruptly that most of the Australians were helpless. The majority of them had had no experience in England of such a pitch, and they showed no ability or skill in dealing with bowling like that of Verity under these conditions their efforts at playing back were, to say the least, immature." Afterwards, this game became known in cricket circles as "Verity's match"; it was the only occasion in the 20th Century when England beat Australia at Lord's, and their last such win for 75 years.
The third match was played on a very good pitch for batting in extremely hot weather, and England did not have a strong bowling attack in the view of Wisden. England scored 627, of which Verity scored 60 not out; while Wisden commented that he batted well, it noted he batted slower than was necessary. Australia replied with 491 when they batted; Verity took four for 78 in 53 overs and was able to prevent the batsmen scoring quickly. The match was eventually drawn. Cardus, in criticising the English bowlers in the game, wrote: "Verity is apparently the only England bowler in existence at the present time—and he is not subtle on a hard wicket." Poor weather prevented an English defeat in the fourth Test, as Bradman and Bill Ponsford
Bill Ponsford
William Harold "Bill" Ponsford MBE was an Australian cricketer. Usually playing as an opening batsman, he formed a successful and long-lived partnership opening the batting for Victoria and Australia with Bill Woodfull, his friend and state and national captain...
shared a partnership of 388 runs; Verity took three wickets but, in doing so, gave away a lot of runs. The final, decisive game, was won by Australia, who therefore regained the Ashes. Bradman and Ponsford this time scored 451 runs together as their team totalled 701; Verity was wicketless in the match and conceded 166 runs. Cardus, assessing the English bowling, regretted that England did not have a bowler capable of flighting the ball
Flight (cricket)
Flight, also known as Loop, is a description of a kind of delivery in cricket, when a bowler makes the ball rise above eyeline, before it descends once again on its trajectory towards the batsman.Flight is a key weapon of spin bowlers...
, a role usually performed by left-arm spinners. Verity took 24 wickets in the series at 24.00, finishing second in the averages. Reviewing the series, Wisden editor Sydney Southerton wrote, "Verity, apart from his one amazing performance at Lord's, could be complimented upon his steadiness rather than upon his effectiveness on hard wickets.". Verity also made other representative appearances in the season, playing twice for the Players against the Gentlemen, appearing in Leveson-Gower's team against the Australians and representing the "Rest of England" against Lancashire, the County Champions; Yorkshire had dropped to sixth position, handicapped by the limited appearances by four key players who were regularly selected by England. However, future England captain 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...
made his debut, and Verity supported and encouraged him in his first seasons.
Career in the mid-1930s
During the 1935 season Yorkshire regained the County Championship, and Verity passed 200 wickets for the first time in his career, taking 211 at an average of 14.36 to finish third in the national averages. He took five wickets in an innings 22 times and had ten or more wickets in seven matches. England played South Africa in a five-Test series that summer; the tourists won a Test in England for the first time and won the series 1–0. Verity was selected in the first four games. In the first match, his figures were three for 52 in 41 overs on a pitch which assisted spin bowlers. England were in a position of dominance when rain ruined the game. Following this game, the tourists defeated Yorkshire; in the second innings, Jock CameronJock Cameron
Jock Cameron was a South African cricketer of the 1920s and 1930s...
hit 30 runs from a single over bowled by Verity. Even after each of his first three deliveries had been struck for four, Verity continued to bowl in an attacking style. In similar situations, bowlers usually bowled defensively to avoid giving away more runs. Arthur Wood, the Yorkshire wicket-keeper
Wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike...
, commented during the over: "Go on, Hedley, you have him in two minds. He doesn't know whether to hit you for four or six!" South Africa won the second Test match, their first such win in England, although Verity took six wickets in the match. In the third game, Verity had bowling figures of two wickets for nine runs from 25 overs in the match and in the fourth, he took one for 72 from 40 overs. These two games were drawn, leaving England needing a victory in the final match. By now, Verity had acquired a reputation for being unable to take wickets on good batting pitches. In the report on the fourth Test, Wisden's correspondent observed: "Verity again failed to worry South Africa's batsmen". With victory essential, Verity was dropped for the last match. He was replaced by off-spinner
Off spin
Off spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket which is bowled by an off spinner, a right-handed spin bowler who uses his or her fingers and/or wrist to spin the ball from a right-handed batsman's off side to the leg side...
Johnnie Clay
Johnnie Clay
John Charles Clay was a cricketer who played for Glamorgan County Cricket Club. Clay also played one Test match for England....
, regarded by critics as effective at flighting the ball.
The Times correspondent wrote: "Verity has not been impressive on firm wickets: he seems to have checked suddenly in a career which promised so well three seasons ago, and it is not surprising that he has been left out of this side." Nevertheless, he took 12 wickets at 20.83, leading the Test bowling averages for England. Verity was not selected in any other representative cricket that season apart from a festival match against the MCC team which toured the West Indies the previous winter.
The Yorkshire team toured Jamaica in early 1936, at the request of the Jamaica Cricket Association, playing three first-class matches. Yorkshire won the first game, Jamaica's first defeat at home in a first-class game for ten years. Verity took ten for 106 in 57 overs; Herbert Sutcliffe
Herbert Sutcliffe
Herbert Sutcliffe was an English professional cricketer who represented Yorkshire and England as an opening batsman. Apart from one match in 1945, his first-class career spanned the period between the two World Wars...
, Verity's Yorkshire and England team-mate, believed that Verity bowled better here than on the previous Australian tour. Yorkshire bowled defensively at Jamaica's key batsman, George Headley
George Headley
George Alphonso Headley was a West Indian cricketer who played 22 Test matches, mostly before the Second World War. Considered one of the best batsmen to play for West Indies and one of the greatest cricketers of all time, Headley also represented Jamaica and played professional club cricket in...
, frustrating him into making a mistake and losing his wicket. The other matches, played on very good batting wickets, were drawn. In the final game, Verity scored 101. Batting aggressively, he hit ten fours and his second fifty runs came in just over an hour. In total, Verity took 16 wickets, averaging 22.50, and scored 195 runs at 48.75.
In the 1936 English season, Verity once more passed 200 wickets. With 216 wickets at an average of 13.18, he reached the highest total of wickets of his career and finished second in the national averages. His best bowling figures were nine wickets for 12 runs against Kent, who were bowled out for 39 runs; in total, he took 15 wickets in the game, one of seven games in which he took ten or more wickets. In addition, he scored his highest aggregate of runs, accumulating 855 runs at an average of 31.66; at one point in the season, Verity was leading the Yorkshire batting averages. Yorkshire were second in the County Championship to Derbyshire
Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Derbyshire...
, suffering from an over-reliance on the bowling of Verity and a slightly-unfit Bowes. Playing for his county against the Indian touring team, Verity achieved his highest first-class innings in England with 96 not out. He played in all three Test matches against India, a team which failed to live up to expectations and suffered internal divisions. The Indian batsmen struggled to bat for the long periods required, unaccustomed to batting for more than three hours. 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...
, the England captain, won the toss in the first Test and bowled first on the advice of Verity, who predicted India would be all out by lunch on a difficult pitch. However, batting was never as difficult as expected and Verity was unable to bowl a good length
Good length ball
A good length ball is a type of delivery in cricket that pitches at a distance from the batsman that makes it difficult to score runs. Furthermore, such a delivery is difficult for the batsman to judge whether to play on the back-foot or on the front-foot...
. Allen later described this as one of the few occasions he saw Verity bowl poorly. India established a first innings lead, but were bowled out for 93 in their second innings by Allen and Verity and easily lost the match; bowling more effectively, Verity took four for 17. The second Test was a draw in which Verity took four for 41 in the first innings and scored 66, his highest Test score. However, the Indian batsmen saved the match, partly by aggressive hitting against the slow bowlers. England won the final Test to take the series 1–0; Verity took four wickets in the game. In total, Verity took 15 wickets at an average of 15.20, finishing top of the England bowling averages. Verity also appeared for the Players against the Gentlemen and in a Test trial for the North against the South. Regarded as a certainty to tour Australia in the winter, Verity was among the first seven players selected and his name was announced before the second Test against India.
Second tour to Australia
Under the captaincy of Gubby Allen, the MCC tour aimed to restore good relations between England and Australia after the difficulties caused by the Bodyline series. Verity took 16 wickets before the Tests began with best figures of five for 50 against QueenslandQueensland Bulls
The Queensland cricket team, nicknamed the Bulls, are the Brisbane-based Queensland representative cricket team in Australia's domestic cricket tournaments:*Sheffield Shield, 4-day matches with first-class status, since the 1926/27 season...
, his only five wicket haul of the Australian leg of the tour. England won the first two Tests of the series, assisted by poor weather altering pitch conditions in their favour. In the first match, England scored 358 and bowled Australia out for 234. Allen and Bill Voce
Bill Voce
Bill Voce was an English cricketer. He played for the Nottinghamshire and England, and was an instrumental part of England's infamous Bodyline tour of Australia in 1932–1933.-Life and career:...
took most wickets, but although Verity took just one wicket, Wisden's correspondent praised him, reporting: "Among the bowlers, apart from the two who clinched victory, Verity must not be forgotten. In the first innings he bowled in his best form and contributed to many of Voce's wickets... So difficult was Verity to score from that batsmen in desperation tried to get runs off Voce, with disastrous results to themselves." After England set Australia 381 to win, rain damaged the pitch; Allen and Voce bowled the home team out for 58 and although conditions were ideal for Verity's bowling, he was not used. Allen later stated he did not wish to give the Australians the experience of facing Verity on a rain-affected pitch. In the second Test, England won by an innings, again assisted by rain. Verity took three wickets in the match, including that of Bradman.
The turning point of the series was the third Test. On the first day, Verity again dismissed Bradman and the England bowlers performed well in good batting conditions before rain altered the state of the pitch. Australia declared their innings closed at 200 for nine and after losing nine wickets for 76, England also declared, hoping to make Australia bat on a still-difficult pitch. As the pitch became easier to bat on, Australia made 564 of which Bradman scored 270 and shared a partnership of 346 with Jack Fingleton
Jack Fingleton
John "Jack" Henry Webb Fingleton OBE was an Australian cricketer who was trained as a journalist and became a political and cricket commentator after the end of his playing career...
. Verity bowled nearly 38 eight-ball overs and took three for 79. Cardus wrote: "Verity was magnificent ... In his absence Bradman might have scored another 100 runs. Nothing but consummate length and flight could have checked Bradman, in circumstances made for Bradman ... Every run from Verity had to be earnt. It was beautiful bowling, delightful to the eye and intellect." Wisden's report said: "Voce and Verity were outstanding England bowlers. The latter kept an immaculate length and allowed no batsman to take liberties with him." England were bowled out for 323 and lost the game.
Throughout the tour, England were hampered by the lack of an effective opening partner for Charlie Barnett. For the fourth Test, Verity was promoted to open the batting. After Australia were bowled out for 288, Verity and Barnett put on 53 runs together, England's best opening partnership of the series. Wisden praised Verity's defence but said he had not solved the problem of Barnett's partner. In two innings, he scored 19 and 17. England scored 330 but Australia's second innings of 433 left England needing 392. Barnett and Verity began with a stand of 45, but England made just 243 to lose by 148 runs. Verity was wicketless in the match; injuries to other bowlers left him with a heavy workload and he made it difficult for Australia to score runs. Having levelled the series, Australia won the final match by a large margin to take the series 3–2. Verity had figures of one for 127. Wisden observed he had "poor figures, on paper, but he put up a remarkable feat of endurance." In the series, Verity took 10 wickets at an average of 45.50; in all first-class matches in Australia, he captured 28 wickets at 30.75 and he secured 10 wickets at 18.20 in two matches in New Zealand at the end of the tour. The Wisden report on the tour said: "Verity admirably performed the task of keeping one end closed and took high honours for his consistently good work." The Times correspondent, noting the failure of the wrist spinners selected to tour, wrote: "Australia ... beat us because they have spin bowlers who make the ball truly spin. Verity certainly never had a wicket on which to demonstrate his art, so exposing the fact that real spin bowling does not at the moment exist in England."
During the 1937 season, Verity played only one out of the three Tests against the touring New Zealanders. He took two wickets, and although batsmen found it difficult to score from his bowling, he did not look dangerous and was left out of the remaining Tests in an attempt to strengthen the English bowling attack. He was not selected for the Players and his only other representative cricket was for the North against the South and for teams selected from the touring party of the previous winter. Nevertheless, he once again passed 200 wickets, taking 202 at 15.67 which placed him third in the bowling averages. The season ended with a challenge match, the proceeds to go to charity, between Yorkshire, who were once again County Champions, and Middlesex, who finished second. Yorkshire won comfortably after rain; Verity took eight for 43 in the second innings after Middlesex followed-on.
Ashes series of 1938
Verity took 158 first-class wickets in 1938, fewer than the previous season but at an identical average of 15.38, placing him third once more in the national averages; with Bowes second in the list, Yorkshire retained the Championship. After appearing in a trial match, Verity played in all four Tests against Australia, during a series which was tied 1–1. In the first match, England scored 658 and according to Wisden, the new England captain Wally HammondWally Hammond
Walter Reginald "Wally" Hammond was an English Test cricketer who played for Gloucestershire in a career that lasted from 1920 to 1951. Beginning his career as a professional, he later became an amateur and was appointed captain of England...
, believing he could make Australia follow-on, decided to keep Verity in reserve; he bowled just 45 balls in the innings; the last of these ended an innings of 232 runs by Stan McCabe
Stan McCabe
Stanley Joseph McCabe was an Australian cricketer who played 39 Test matches for Australia from 1930 to 1938. A short, stocky right-hander,...
. Australia did follow-on, and in the second innings, Verity bowled 62 overs to take three wickets for 102, bowling very accurately, but the batsmen played him skilfully and the match was drawn. Although England had a chance of victory until late in the match, Charlie Barnett, who played in the game but disliked Hammond, later said that Hammond overlooked Verity in the first innings simply through poor captaincy and that it adversely affected England's prospects.
In the second match, Verity took four for 103 out of an Australian total of 422, in reply to England's 494. After Verity had taken two wickets in eight balls, Australia were in danger of having to follow-on, but Bill O'Reilly
Bill O'Reilly (cricketer)
William Joseph "Bill" O'Reilly , often known as Tiger O'Reilly, was an Australian cricketer, rated as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. Following his retirement from playing, he became a well-respected cricket writer and broadcaster.O'Reilly was one of the best spin bowlers to...
struck him for two consecutive sixes to remove the possibility. Verity took two wickets in the second innings, but the match was drawn. After the third match was abandoned owing to rain, Australia won the fourth by five wickets to ensure the Ashes were retained. Wisden commented that: "At no time was the wicket easy for batting and Australia won largely because they possessed better spin bowling." Verity took two wickets in the match, but some critics believed his bowling could have won the match had Hammond used him more effectively. According to Barnett, the team believed Verity and Bowes should have done most of the bowling, with Bowes used to stop the batsmen scoring and Verity to take wickets. Bowes recommended the use of Verity or Wright to Hammond during the match, but Hammond ignored his advice. Later, Bowes publicly contrasted Hammond's tactics with those Yorkshire would have employed, comments the press interpreted as criticism. In a match where the Australian spinner O'Reilly took ten wickets, Hammond used his fast bowlers Bowes and Ken Farnes
Ken Farnes
Kenneth Farnes was an English cricketer. He played in 15 Tests from 1934 to 1939.Farnes was born in Leytonstone, Essex, and was educated at the Royal Liberty School in Gidea Park. He made his first-class debut for Essex in 1930, aged only 19. He took 5-36 in his second county match against Kent...
for the majority of both innings. Critics believed Hammond over-used his fast bowlers; Cardus wrote: "Hammond's faith in fast bowling rather exceeded his faith in the arts of Verity and Wright. The result was sad disillusionment." Barnett also said that Hammond refused to allow Verity to alter his bowling tactics, when the Yorkshire bowled wished to aim for a worn area on the pitch.
The final match of the series was to be played to a finish, no matter how long it took. England scored a record 903 runs and Australia were heavily defeated. Verity, one of five Yorkshire players in the team, bowled 12 overs in the game, taking two wickets. However, he played a part in the achievement of Len Hutton, who scored 364 runs, breaking the record for the highest innings in a Test match. As Hutton's innings began to assume epic proportions, Verity stayed with Hutton throughout the intervals, helping him to maintain concentration. On the Sunday of the match, when there was no play, Verity arranged for Hutton to have a break by the sea to relax away from cricket. Hutton commented: "I owe [Verity] the kind of debt that one can never fully repay ... His quiet, natural dignity was an immense source of strength to me throughout those long hours". The series was drawn; Verity took 14 wickets at an average of 25.28, finishing second in the England bowling averages, behind Bowes. Verity played no other representative cricket that season, but appeared once more against the Australians for H. D. G. Leveson-Gower's team which defeated the tourists by ten wickets.
Tour to South Africa and final season
In the winter of 1938–39, Verity toured South Africa with the MCC team under Hammond's captaincy. The cricket on the tour was played in a harmonious manner and Verity enjoyed the experience, as well as offering support and guidance to the younger members of the touring team. He took 47 wickets at 19.93 in first-class games. In the first game of the tour, Verity took 11 wickets against Griqualand West. In the Test matches, the batsmen played in a negative fashion, despite pitches that were very good for batting. High scoring games left the bowlers with expensive figures and Verity had the best bowling average on either side, bowling accurately and reliably. He played in all five Test matches, taking 19 wickets at 29.05. The first two matches were drawn: in the first innings of the opening Test, he took four for 61 in 44 eight-ball overs; in the first innings of the second Test, he took five for 70 in nearly 37 overs. England won the third match, the only result in the series and the fourth was also drawn. The final game was to be played without a time limit until there was a winner; after ten days it had to be abandoned as the MCC had to catch a boat home. The match established a record at the time for the total number of runs scored in a first-class game, as both teams combined to post an aggregate of 1,981 runs. Verity took four wickets and bowled 766 balls in the game, establishing a new record for deliveries in a first-class game. It proved difficult to score runs from Verity's bowling and the batsmen generally were very cautious.Verity's final first-class cricket came in the 1939 season which was overshadowed and curtailed by the incipient war. Yorkshire won their third successive County Championship and the seventh of Verity's career. Verity took 191 wickets at an average of 13.13, to top the bowling averages for the only time apart from his debut season. Verity's only representative cricket came in the first Test match against West Indies, when he took two wickets in the match. He was subsequently left out of the team for the second Test in favour of Tom Goddard
Tom Goddard
Tom Goddard was the fifth highest wicket taker in first-class cricket....
, and did not play any more Test matches. However, Wisden's report on the third Test commented that his absence and that of several other bowlers left the English attack weaker. In 40 Tests, Verity took 144 wickets at an average of 24.37 and scored 669 runs at an average of 20.90. With much of the end of the cricket season abandoned prior to the expected outbreak of war, Verity played his last match against Sussex. In the second innings, Verity took seven wickets for nine runs on a rain-affected pitch to bowl Sussex out for 33 and take Yorkshire to a win, although the match was played in a strained, tense atmosphere. This was Verity's last performance in first-class cricket. In total, he had taken 1,956 wickets at an average of 14.90 and scored 5,603 runs at 18.07.
Style and technique
Verity had a well-balanced seven-pace approach to the bowling crease and delivered the ball at almost medium pace, faster than usual for a spin bowler. R. C. Robertson-GlasgowR. C. Robertson-Glasgow
Raymond Charles 'Crusoe' Robertson-Glasgow was a British cricketer and cricket writer....
, a cricket writer and journalist, wrote "He is a scholarly bowler ... He is tall, and much stronger than his pace needs. His run up, longer than most of his kind, has a measured delicacy that you would expect from this fastidious and nearly prim craftsman. Only his delivery has a grace which mathematics can't explain." His main asset as a bowler was an ability to bowl straight and with great accuracy, on a good length. He could also make the ball bounce higher than the batsman expected. The most effective type of delivery he bowled was one which curved through the air to pitch on middle and leg stump before spinning away from the batsman, who often edged the ball into the slips
Slip (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a slip fielder is placed behind the batsman on the off side of the field. They are placed with the aim of catching an edged ball which is beyond the wicket-keeper's reach. Many teams employ two or three slips...
. On a rain affected pitch, he bowled more slowly and was almost unplayable at times. However, the period in which Verity played was notorious for providing a succession of good batting wickets, and batsmen often dominated. In these conditions, he prevented batsmen scoring runs and constantly tried new strategies to try to take wickets. Verity believed he was good enough to get any player out, and that it was possible for a bowler to dominate a batsman.
According to E. W. Swanton
E. W. Swanton
Ernest William Swanton CBE is chiefly known for being a cricket writer and commentator under his initials, E. W. Swanton. He worked as a sports journalist for The Daily Telegraph and as a broadcaster for BBC Radio for 30 years. He was a regular commentator on Test Match Special, easily recognised...
, "on good pitches, he worked away, tireless, determined, and in length immaculate, relying on subtle variations of pace and angle of delivery." Verity also used different types of delivery to keep batsmen uncertain: he could bowl at a slower and faster pace to his normal style and occasionally bowled a much faster ball which regularly took wickets.
Verity never spun the ball very far, particularly after his second tour to Australia, but his contemporaries considered this an asset, while the bowler himself thought a good length was more important than the distance the ball turned. However, critics did not think that Verity posed enough of a threat to batsmen and could be dull to watch. By the middle of his career, he had a reputation for being ineffective on good batting pitches, and was occasionally dropped for his lack of effectiveness, although after his debut, he was only left out of one match against Australia and one against South Africa, the two strongest Test playing teams. Yet Verity believed his performances in unfavourable conditions for his bowling had greater merit than his successes in favourable ones. He once said: "Do not praise me when I have taken 8 for 20 on a sticky wicket, but when I have got 2 for 100 on a perfect wicket." At times, Verity almost seemed bored when bowling and performed less effectively, particularly if his side were winning without needing his contribution. Bowes once told the Yorkshire captain, Brian Sellers, that the way to get the best out of Verity was to tell him that everything depended on him.
Verity earned the respect of Bradman, generally regarded as the greatest batsman to have played cricket, and enjoyed bowling at him. Bradman described Verity as a great cricketer and wrote that throughout their respective careers, he "grew more and more to respect [Verity] both as a gentleman and as a player." Robertson-Glasgow thought that Verity was "one of only three or four bowlers who came to the battle with Bradman on not unequal terms". During the 17 Tests in which they faced each other, Verity bowled 932 balls at Bradman, conceded 401 runs, and took his wicket eight times, more than any other bowler. Robertson-Glasgow believed that, but for Verity, Bradman would have averaged over 150 in Tests instead of his actual batting average. In all first-class cricket, Verity dismissed Bradman ten times in total, on two occasions twice in the same game. Only Clarrie Grimmett
Clarrie Grimmett
Clarence Victor "Clarrie" Grimmett was a cricketer; although born in New Zealand, he played most of his cricket in Australia. He is thought by many to be one of the finest early spin bowlers, and usually credited as the developer of the flipper.Grimmett was born in Caversham a suburb of Dunedin,...
equalled ten first-class dismissals of Bradman. However, Bradman once said: "I think I know all about Clarrie ( Grimmett), but with Hedley I am never sure. You see, there's no breaking-point with him."
Verity is often cited as one of the greatest slow-left-arm spinners to play the game. Robertson-Glasgow dismissed any criticism of the bowler, and wrote: "We can only say that, in his own short time, he was the best of his kind." The writer considered Verity may not quite have achieved the heights of some other great bowlers of his type, but "as a workman-artist, he will take some beating." Douglas Jardine rated him higher than any previous Yorkshire spinners, and Les Ames considered him the best left-arm spinner he had played against. Bradman wrote: "Undoubtedly he was one of the greatest slow left-handed spinners of all time. His record testifies to that. No Australian left-hander of that type was Verity's equal and of the Englishmen I saw ... there is no doubt that Hedley was as good or better than the others."
As a batsman, Verity occasionally showed potential to become good, but concentrated his energy on bowling. He modelled his batting on Herbert Sutcliffe, and Robertson-Glasgow wrote: "As a batsman, he looks like Sutcliffe gone stale. That is, pretty good."
Training with the Green Howards
Since around 1937, Verity had expected the outbreak of the Second World War and had prepared for it through reading military literature. He and Bowes decided to enlist together, and after briefly serving in the Air Raid PrecautionsAir Raid Precautions
Air Raid Precautions was an organisation in the United Kingdom set up as an aid in the prelude to the Second World War dedicated to the protection of civilians from the danger of air-raids. It was created in 1924 as a response to the fears about the growing threat from the development of bomber...
in Guiseley until Bowes' wife gave birth, they attempted to join the infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
. However, Bowes was hampered by an old knee complaint and later became a gunnery officer. After serving as a sapper
Sapper
A sapper, pioneer or combat engineer is a combatant soldier who performs a wide variety of combat engineering duties, typically including, but not limited to, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, demolitions, field defences, general construction and building, as well as road and airfield...
in the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
, Verity was commissioned in January 1940 as a Second Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
in the Green Howards, and later promoted to Captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
. Following a spell at the Infantry Training Centre, he was posted to the 1st Battalion. He served at the regimental depot in Richmond, North Yorkshire
Richmond, North Yorkshire
Richmond is a market town and civil parish on the River Swale in North Yorkshire, England and is the administrative centre of the district of Richmondshire. It is situated on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and serves as the Park's main tourist centre...
where he was responsible for training recruits. In the spring of 1941, the battalion moved to Omagh
Omagh
Omagh is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers Drumragh and Camowen meet to form the Strule. The town, which is the largest in the county, had a population of 19,910 at the 2001 Census. Omagh also contains the headquarters of Omagh District Council and...
in Northern Ireland for further training. Verity's Yorkshire and England team-mate Norman Yardley
Norman Yardley
Norman Walter Dransfield Yardley was an English cricketer who played for Cambridge University, Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England, as a right-handed batsman and occasional bowler. An amateur, he captained Yorkshire from 1948 to 1955 and England on fourteen occasions between 1947 and 1950,...
was also in the 1st Battalion, and the fame of these cricketers made an impression on the local population. Playing several cricket matches, Verity frequently took wickets on rough pitches that were unsuitable for batting. There was even time for his appearance in a charity match at Lord's. At the end of the summer, he returned to England and after a spell in London, he was posted overseas.
The first battalion of the Green Howards went early in 1942 to Ranchi
Ranchi
-Climate:Ranchi has a humid subtropical climate. However, due to its position and the forests around the city, it is known for its pleasant climate. Its climate is the primary reason why Ranchi was once the summer capital of the undivided State of Bihar...
in India, where the climate badly affected Verity's health. After suffering from dysentery, he was weak and his doctors wished to send him home. However, he resumed his position and by the end of the year his battalion was sent to Persia
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. In March 1943, the battalion was posted to Kibrit Air Base in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
for training and then to Qatana
Qatana
Qatana is a Syrian city administratively belonging to Rif Dimashq. Qatana has an altitude of 879 meters. It has a population of 18,465....
in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
. Here, preparations were finalised for the Allied invasion of Sicily
Allied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...
. Verity remained below peak fitness and was struggling a little owing to his age. After the Sicily campaign was completed, his commanding officers planned to withdraw him from front-line fighting and move him to the staff at headquarters.
Death
The Allied landings were initially successful until the Allied forces reached the plains outside CataniaCatania
Catania is an Italian city on the east coast of Sicily facing the Ionian Sea, between Messina and Syracuse. It is the capital of the homonymous province, and with 298,957 inhabitants it is the second-largest city in Sicily and the tenth in Italy.Catania is known to have a seismic history and...
. The German forces put up a strong resistance and the Green Howards, as part of the 15th Brigade made a night attack on 19 July. However, conditions were more difficult than expected and the brigade came under heavy fire. Verity commanded B Company, which lost its position in the confusion and became surrounded. Attempting to secure the position, Verity was hit in the chest and had to be left behind as the company retreated. The last order he gave was "Keep going".
Severely wounded and subsequently captured by the Germans, Verity was taken to a field hospital and underwent an operation. Taken by boat across the Strait of Messina
Strait of Messina
The Strait of Messina is the narrow passage between the eastern tip of Sicily and the southern tip of Calabria in the south of Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian Sea with the Ionian Sea, within the central Mediterranean...
to Italy, Verity first went to a hospital in Reggio Calabria
Reggio Calabria
Reggio di Calabria , commonly known as Reggio Calabria or Reggio, is the biggest city and the most populated comune of Calabria, southern Italy, and is the capital of the Province of Reggio Calabria and seat of the Council of Calabrian government.Reggio is located on the "toe" of the Italian...
and was then transported for two days by train to Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
. The German hospital was full so Verity was sent to the Italian hospital at Caserta
Caserta
Caserta is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. It is an important agricultural, commercial and industrial comune and city. Caserta is located on the edge of the Campanian plain at the foot of the Campanian Subapennine mountain range...
. By this stage, Verity was very ill and had another operation to relieve pressure from his rib onto his lung. The operation seemed successful but Verity deteriorated rapidly over the following three days, bleeding heavily. He died on 31 July, and was buried with full military honours. His grave was later moved from the town's cemetery to the military cemetery established by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves, and places of commemoration, of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars...
. Several Yorkshire players later visited the grave; some members of the MCC team under Len Hutton's captaincy in 1954–55, including Hutton, journalists and former Yorkshire player Abe Waddington paid tribute at Verity's grave while stopping en route for Australia.
Personal life
Verity married Kathleen Alice Metcalfe, a bookbinder and the daughter of a sales agent, on 7 March 1929. The couple had known each other as children in Headingley and met again at a Rawdon youth club social event. They had two sons, first Wilfred who was named after Wilfred Rhodes, and then Douglas, named after Douglas Jardine.Shortly before the outbreak of the war, Kathleen began to suffer from poor health, and the family planned a trip to South Africa in the winter of 1939 to aid her recovery and so Verity could take up one of several offers of a coaching job. In the last summer before Verity went overseas during the war, Kathleen joined him in Omagh and spent some time together which she was later grateful for. She also joined him in London just before he went away.