Len Hopwood
Encyclopedia
John Leonard Hopwood was a Lancashire
cricketer who was the focal point of the county's last Championship win in 1934. During this period he was an effective if unattractive all-rounder
and played twice for England, but no critic expected him to do well given the circumstances under which he had to perform and he proved a failure with both bat and ball.
Hopwood began playing for Lancashire in the 1920s as a solid right-hand batsman, but after playing fairly often for the first team in 1924 and 1925 he dropped out until 1928. In that year, however, he helped the team to their finest record ever in the County Championship with a number of surprising performances as an accurate left arm spinner, the best of which was nine for 74 against Middlesex
, five for 71 against Derbyshire
and six for 20 against Wales. He also hit a century against Worcestershire
.
1929 saw Hopwood establish a regular place he held until the war
and with Hallows declining and rule changes reducing what had previously been remarkable run-scoring, he became of great value to the team even if he was very slow and ungraceful with a backlift consistently compared with Bill Woodfull
. 1930 saw Lancashire return to the top of the table and Hopwood had a major role with 949 runs and 63 wickets. His best figures were five for 18 against Essex
at Leyton and five for 40 against Northamptonshire
at Old Trafford.
The next two years were ordinary, but in the dry summer of 1933 Hopwood suddenly jumped to the top of the tree, scoring over 1,900 runs and revealing himself one of the soundest and most patient opening batsmen in the game. Late in the season he confirmed his skill as a bowler by taking eleven wickets on a good pitch against Middlesex and then completing the match double against Leicestershire
with a return of nine for 33, which was a surprising leap from his previous best 7 for 91. Although Hopwood had been prior to that used mainly as a defensive bowler with six men on the leg side, this match showed he could be as deadly as Verity
on a sticky pitch.
1934 was Hopwood's greatest year, however. His batting was not quite so good as in 1933, but with 220 against Gloucestershire
and his skill as a bowler he was seen as too good to miss a place in the Test team
. However, with the likes of C.F. Walters and the incomparable Herbert Sutcliffe
to fill Hopwood's natural place as an opener, there was little hope he would be successful trying to play a game foreign to his nature. As for his bowling, nobody believed he could get wickets against batsmen with the superlative footwork of Bradman, Kippax
or Ponsford
on good pitches, whilst on bad pitches Verity would - as at Lord's - do everything that was required. Thus it was unsurprising when Hopwood scored only twelve runs in two innings and set a record for bowling the most balls in Test cricket without taking a wicket. His economy in the Old Trafford Test on a featherbed pitch, however, drew praise form the critics even if it was clear he did not have Verity's cleverness. Nonetheless, for Lancashire Hopwood had three deadly matches on worn or sticky pitches:
1935 saw Hopwood maintain his all-round form and do the "double" of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets for the second successive year, but after a few good performances early in 1936 his bowling declined severely. Hopwood did maintain his batting until the war despite dropping down the order, but by 1937 his spin and accuracy as a bowler had completely gone - a savage loss for Lancashire who had a high frequency of rainy weather and wet wickets that required a spin bowler of the standard Hopwood was at between late 1933 and the end of 1935.
Though aged forty-three, Hopwood intended to resume his career after the war but a major illness put paid to such ambitions.
Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then...
cricketer who was the focal point of the county's last Championship win in 1934. During this period he was an effective if unattractive all-rounder
All-rounder
An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a few batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are considered specialists...
and played twice for England, but no critic expected him to do well given the circumstances under which he had to perform and he proved a failure with both bat and ball.
Hopwood began playing for Lancashire in the 1920s as a solid right-hand batsman, but after playing fairly often for the first team in 1924 and 1925 he dropped out until 1928. In that year, however, he helped the team to their finest record ever in the County Championship with a number of surprising performances as an accurate left arm spinner, the best of which was nine for 74 against Middlesex
Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex 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 Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...
, five for 71 against 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...
and six for 20 against Wales. He also hit a century against Worcestershire
Worcestershire County Cricket Club
Worcestershire 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 Worcestershire...
.
1929 saw Hopwood establish a regular place he held until the war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and with Hallows declining and rule changes reducing what had previously been remarkable run-scoring, he became of great value to the team even if he was very slow and ungraceful with a backlift consistently compared with 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...
. 1930 saw Lancashire return to the top of the table and Hopwood had a major role with 949 runs and 63 wickets. His best figures were five for 18 against Essex
Essex County Cricket Club
Essex 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 Essex. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles, their team colours this season are blue.The club plays most of its home games...
at Leyton and five for 40 against Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club
Northamptonshire 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 Northamptonshire. Its limited overs team is called the Northants Steelbacks. The traditional club colour is Maroon. During the...
at Old Trafford.
The next two years were ordinary, but in the dry summer of 1933 Hopwood suddenly jumped to the top of the tree, scoring over 1,900 runs and revealing himself one of the soundest and most patient opening batsmen in the game. Late in the season he confirmed his skill as a bowler by taking eleven wickets on a good pitch against Middlesex and then completing the match double 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....
with a return of nine for 33, which was a surprising leap from his previous best 7 for 91. Although Hopwood had been prior to that used mainly as a defensive bowler with six men on the leg side, this match showed he could be as deadly as Verity
Hedley Verity
Hedley Verity was a professional cricketer 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...
on a sticky pitch.
1934 was Hopwood's greatest year, however. His batting was not quite so good as in 1933, but with 220 against Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Gloucestershire. Its limited overs team is called the Gloucestershire Gladiators....
and his skill as a bowler he was seen as too good to miss a place in the Test team
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...
. However, with the likes of C.F. Walters and the incomparable 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...
to fill Hopwood's natural place as an opener, there was little hope he would be successful trying to play a game foreign to his nature. As for his bowling, nobody believed he could get wickets against batsmen with the superlative footwork of Bradman, Kippax
Alan Kippax
Alan Falconer Kippax was a cricketer for New South Wales and Australia. Regarded as one of the great stylists of Australian cricket during the era between the two World Wars, Kippax overcame a late start to Test cricket to become a regular in the Australian team between the 1928–29 and...
or 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...
on good pitches, whilst on bad pitches Verity would - as at Lord's - do everything that was required. Thus it was unsurprising when Hopwood scored only twelve runs in two innings and set a record for bowling the most balls in Test cricket without taking a wicket. His economy in the Old Trafford Test on a featherbed pitch, however, drew praise form the critics even if it was clear he did not have Verity's cleverness. Nonetheless, for Lancashire Hopwood had three deadly matches on worn or sticky pitches:
- nine for 69 and six for 43 against Worcestershire
- on a pitch that crumbled
- seven for 13 and five for 55 against GlamorganGlamorgan County Cricket ClubGlamorgan 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...
- five for 32 and eight for 58 against Derbyshire
- both on rain-affected wickets that were rare in a dry summer
1935 saw Hopwood maintain his all-round form and do the "double" of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets for the second successive year, but after a few good performances early in 1936 his bowling declined severely. Hopwood did maintain his batting until the war despite dropping down the order, but by 1937 his spin and accuracy as a bowler had completely gone - a savage loss for Lancashire who had a high frequency of rainy weather and wet wickets that required a spin bowler of the standard Hopwood was at between late 1933 and the end of 1935.
Though aged forty-three, Hopwood intended to resume his career after the war but a major illness put paid to such ambitions.