Wilf Barber
Encyclopedia
Wilfred Barber, known as Wilf Barber (18 April 1901 – 10 September 1968), was a professional first-class cricket
er who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club
from 1926 to 1947. He played two Test matches
for England in 1935
against South Africa. An opening batsman with an excellent batting technique, Barber often batted in the middle order. He scored 16,402 runs
in first-class cricket at an average of 34.28 with 29 centuries
. Barber made his debut in 1926 and made several appearances over the next few seasons. Despite a sound defence, Barber did not secure a regular first team place until 1932. He scored a thousand runs for the first time that season, a feat he was to achieve eight times, while he scored over 2,000 runs in 1935. Until the Second World War broke out, Barber continued as a regular member of the Yorkshire side. After the war, he played one more full season before retiring in 1947. His career continued in club cricket and he went on to coach local sides before his death in 1968.
, Yorkshire
. He did not appear for the Yorkshire Second XI until he was 25, in 1926
, when he scored 600 runs, including a century, and averaged 40. The same season, he made his first-class debut for Yorkshire against Worcestershire
without playing a single innings. He was scheduled to bat later in the innings and was not needed to bat as Yorkshire completed an easy victory. In the next season, he was chosen to play three matches, with a top score of 18. For the next few years, he was unable to attain a regular spot in the Yorkshire side as there were many batsmen competing for places. In the 1928 season
, Barber played 16 matches, mainly when other batsmen were required in representative matches, passing fifty for the first time in an innings of 98 against the West Indians
, and followed this with two other fifties. Next season
, he scored his maiden first-class century against the South Africans
in an innings of 108, out of a team total of 335, with no other batsman reaching fifty. In total, he played on 22 occasions and scored 857 runs at an average of 30.60, including a second century, against Glamorgan
. However, Barber was in and out of the side over the next two seasons. He did not play 20 matches or reach 500 runs in either season and passed fifty only four times in total.
Matters changed for Barber in the 1932 season
, when Yorkshire's regular, long serving opening batsman Percy Holmes
began to suffer with illness. This left a batting place empty and enabled Barber to play more regularly. Wisden Cricketer's Almanack believed that he thoroughly deserved his place in the team as he scored exactly 1,000 runs at an average of 25.64, the first time he reached four figures in a season. He finished fifth in the Yorkshire batting averages, the first time he had been placed so high. His runs also played a part in Yorkshire winning the County Championship in his first full season. After this breakthrough, Barber steadily improved his total of runs and batting average, helping Yorkshire to win the County Championship twice in 1933 and 1935. In 1933
, he scored 1,595 runs at an average of 33.93, and in 1934
he scored 1,927 runs at an average of 40.14. In both seasons he finished fourth in the Yorkshire averages. However, Barber's best season statistically was the following season, 1935
, when he achieved his best aggregate of runs and highest average in an English season, passing 2,000 runs in a season for the only time in his career. He scored 2,147 runs at an average of 42.09 and finished third in the Yorkshire averages. These performances earned him selection for the Players against the Gentlemen
at Lord's Cricket Ground
for the only time in his career, where he scored 61 and 18 not out
.
Also in 1935, Barber was chosen to represent England in the Test series against South Africa. He played in the third and fourth Tests after England had lost the second match to be 1–0 down in the series. He was one of six Yorkshire players selected that season. He scored 83 runs in four innings with a highest score of 44 in the fourth Test but England only drew these matches and he was left out of the final game. He also took a wicket with his second (and final) ball in Test cricket, when the match was heading towards an obvious draw. Following these matches, he was chosen to go on the non-Test playing tour by the Marylebone Cricket Club
of Australia and New Zealand that winter under the captaincy of Errol Holmes
. He was the senior professional but was not as effective as had been expected in Australia. However, in New Zealand he scored 365 runs in the matches against a New Zealand representative team, at an average of 60.83. He scored 797 runs in all first-class matches, average 41.94, including two centuries.
Although Barber did not play any more Tests, his scoring was consistent in the four seasons up until World War II
. In all but 1936
(he scored 993 runs that year), he scored around 1,500 runs and in all but 1938 (he averaged just under 34), he averaged between 36 and 38. He was second in the Yorkshire batting averages in 1936, fourth in 1937
and 1939
but slipped to sixth in 1938
. Following the war, Barber played one more full season, scoring 1,170 runs at an average of 30.00 in 1946
to be fourth in the Yorkshire averages. It was the eighth and final time he passed 1,000 runs in a season. During these seasons, Barber's runs contributed to Yorkshire being County Champions in four consecutive seasons from 1937 to 1939 and then again after the war in 1946. He played a further three matches in 1947
to bring his career to a close. From 1932, when Barber became a regular player, until his last full season in 1946, he was part of a Championship winning side seven times.
, Maurice Leyland
and Arthur Mitchell
). A generally defensive batsman, he played carefully in the tradition of Yorkshire opening batsmen. Jim Kilburn said that Barber was "small in stature but upright in style". He was a good batsman on the off side and had a very good defensive technique, while his strength on the leg side
was noted on his Test debut. Although an opening batsman, he often went in lower down the batting order. He was more comfortable in normal circumstances than in a crisis and did not enjoy batting on difficult pitches. Bill Bowes
called him the most correct and orthodox batsman he had seen, even more so than Len Hutton
. Barber was a kind, modest man, who never believed that his contribution was good enough, even if he had scored a century. On his death, Wisden described him as having "rendered admirable service."
Barber's highest score was 255 against Surrey
in 1935. In this innings, he opened the batting and shared three successive century partnerships. Barber also scored 248 against Kent
in 1934. He had scored 73 in the first innings but Kent had built up a lead of 148 on the second day of the match. Barber, opening the batting with Len Hutton
, scored 248 and shared a stand of 267 for the first wicket. As a result, Yorkshire drew the game. Barber shared in seven other century opening partnerships Yorkshire, four of them with Arthur Mitchell
, and six other 200 partnerships. This included a stand of 346 in four and a half hours with Maurice Leyland
, against Middlesex
in 1932 which was a record for Yorkshire's second wicket. His fielding, generally done in the deep, was described by Wisden as "first rate". Bowes said that he once went for nearly three years without dropping a catch on the leg side boundary
from his bowling.
in the Central Yorkshire League between 1952 and 1955. There, he was the club's first professional once it reformed in 1952. During his time at the club, Barber scored eleven half centuries and won an award for his batting. After he left Mirfield, he became coach to the North Riding Educational Authorities, later working as coach and groundsman at a school in Harrogate. He died, aged 67, in a hospital in Bradford
after a short illness, on 10 September 1968.
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...
er who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club
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....
from 1926 to 1947. He played 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...
for England in 1935
1935 English cricket season
The 1935 English cricket season saw England beaten by South Africa who won the Test series 1-0 with four matches drawn.-Honours:*County Championship - Yorkshire*Minor Counties Championship - Middlesex II...
against South Africa. An opening batsman with an excellent batting technique, Barber often batted in the middle order. He scored 16,402 runs
Run (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a run is the basic unit of scoring. Runs are scored by a batsman, and the aggregate of the scores of a team's batsmen constitutes the team's score. A batsman scoring 50 or 100 runs , or any higher multiple of 50 runs, is considered a particular achievement...
in first-class cricket at an average of 34.28 with 29 centuries
Century (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a batsman reaches his century when he scores 100 or more runs in a single innings. The term is also included in "century partnership" which occurs when two batsmen add 100 runs to the team total when they are batting together. A century is regarded as a landmark score for...
. Barber made his debut in 1926 and made several appearances over the next few seasons. Despite a sound defence, Barber did not secure a regular first team place until 1932. He scored a thousand runs for the first time that season, a feat he was to achieve eight times, while he scored over 2,000 runs in 1935. Until the Second World War broke out, Barber continued as a regular member of the Yorkshire side. After the war, he played one more full season before retiring in 1947. His career continued in club cricket and he went on to coach local sides before his death in 1968.
Career
Barber was born on April 18, 1901 in CleckheatonCleckheaton
Cleckheaton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated south of Bradford, east of Brighouse, west of Batley and south-west of Leeds...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
. He did not appear for the Yorkshire Second XI until he was 25, in 1926
1926 English cricket season
The 1926 English cricket season saw England regain the Ashes. Lancashire overcame its eternal rivals and began a hat-trick sequence of county titles.-Honours:*County Championship - Lancashire*Minor Counties Championship - Durham...
, when he scored 600 runs, including a century, and averaged 40. The same season, he made his first-class debut for Yorkshire 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...
without playing a single innings. He was scheduled to bat later in the innings and was not needed to bat as Yorkshire completed an easy victory. In the next season, he was chosen to play three matches, with a top score of 18. For the next few years, he was unable to attain a regular spot in the Yorkshire side as there were many batsmen competing for places. In the 1928 season
1928 English cricket season
The 1928 English cricket season was notable for the first Test series in England by a West Indies team.-Honours:*County Championship - Lancashire*Minor Counties Championship - Berkshire...
, Barber played 16 matches, mainly when other batsmen were required in representative matches, passing fifty for the first time in an innings of 98 against the West Indians
West Indian cricket team in England in 1928
The West Indian cricket team that toured England in the 1928 season was the first to play Test cricket. The team was not very successful, losing all three Tests by an innings and winning only five of the 30 first-class matches played....
, and followed this with two other fifties. Next season
1929 English cricket season
The 1929 English cricket season featured a tour by the South African team. In domestic cricket, Nottinghamshire overcame their two northern rivals, Lancashire and Yorkshire, to win the County Championship.-Honours:*County Championship - Nottinghamshire...
, he scored his maiden first-class century against the South Africans
South African cricket team in England in 1929
The South African cricket team toured England in the 1929 season to play a five-match Test series against England.England won the series 2-0 with 3 matches drawn.-Test series summary:* [ 1st Test] at Edgbaston – match drawn...
in an innings of 108, out of a team total of 335, with no other batsman reaching fifty. In total, he played on 22 occasions and scored 857 runs at an average of 30.60, including a second century, 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...
. However, Barber was in and out of the side over the next two seasons. He did not play 20 matches or reach 500 runs in either season and passed fifty only four times in total.
Matters changed for Barber in the 1932 season
1932 English cricket season
The 1932 English cricket season saw the beginning of England's Test matches against India. A team known as "All-India" toured, with one Test played, 25 other first-class matches and 12 lesser games...
, when Yorkshire's regular, long serving opening batsman Percy Holmes
Percy Holmes
Percy Holmes was an English first-class cricketer, who played for Yorkshire and England.Holmes was born in Oakes, Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England...
began to suffer with illness. This left a batting place empty and enabled Barber to play more regularly. Wisden Cricketer's Almanack believed that he thoroughly deserved his place in the team as he scored exactly 1,000 runs at an average of 25.64, the first time he reached four figures in a season. He finished fifth in the Yorkshire batting averages, the first time he had been placed so high. His runs also played a part in Yorkshire winning the County Championship in his first full season. After this breakthrough, Barber steadily improved his total of runs and batting average, helping Yorkshire to win the County Championship twice in 1933 and 1935. In 1933
1933 English cricket season
In the 1933 English cricket season, Yorkshire's dominance continued with a third successive championship.-Honours:*County Championship - Yorkshire*Minor Counties Championship - undecided...
, he scored 1,595 runs at an average of 33.93, and in 1934
1934 English cricket season
The 1934 English cricket season saw England lose the Ashes they had won via Bodyline in 1932-3, with Don Bradman again the crucial difference between two very strong teams.-Honours:*County Championship - Lancashire...
he scored 1,927 runs at an average of 40.14. In both seasons he finished fourth in the Yorkshire averages. However, Barber's best season statistically was the following season, 1935
1935 English cricket season
The 1935 English cricket season saw England beaten by South Africa who won the Test series 1-0 with four matches drawn.-Honours:*County Championship - Yorkshire*Minor Counties Championship - Middlesex II...
, when he achieved his best aggregate of runs and highest average in an English season, passing 2,000 runs in a season for the only time in his career. He scored 2,147 runs at an average of 42.09 and finished third in the Yorkshire averages. These performances earned him 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...
for the only time in his career, where he scored 61 and 18 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...
.
Also in 1935, Barber was chosen to represent England in the Test series against South Africa. He played in the third and fourth Tests after England had lost the second match to be 1–0 down in the series. He was one of six Yorkshire players selected that season. He scored 83 runs in four innings with a highest score of 44 in the fourth Test but England only drew these matches and he was left out of the final game. He also took a wicket with his second (and final) ball in Test cricket, when the match was heading towards an obvious draw. Following these matches, he was chosen to go on the non-Test playing tour by 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...
of Australia and New Zealand that winter under the captaincy of Errol Holmes
Errol Holmes
Errol Reginald Thorold Holmes, born at Calcutta on 21 August 1905 and died in London on 16 August 1960, was a cricketer who played for Oxford University, Surrey and England....
. He was the senior professional but was not as effective as had been expected in Australia. However, in New Zealand he scored 365 runs in the matches against a New Zealand representative team, at an average of 60.83. He scored 797 runs in all first-class matches, average 41.94, including two centuries.
Although Barber did not play any more Tests, his scoring was consistent in the four seasons up until World War II
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...
. In all but 1936
1936 English cricket season
The 1936 English cricket season saw Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 1936 win its first-ever County Championship.-Honours:*County Championship - Derbyshire*Minor Counties Championship - Hertfordshire...
(he scored 993 runs that year), he scored around 1,500 runs and in all but 1938 (he averaged just under 34), he averaged between 36 and 38. He was second in the Yorkshire batting averages in 1936, fourth in 1937
1937 English cricket season
-Honours:*County Championship - Yorkshire*Minor Counties Championship - Lancashire II*Wisden - Tom Goddard, Joe Hardstaff, Leonard Hutton, Jim Parks senior, Eddie Paynter-Test series:England defeated New Zealand 1-0 with two matches drawn....
and 1939
1939 English cricket season
The 1939 English cricket season was the last before the Second World War and it was not until 1946 that first-class cricket could resume in England on a normal basis....
but slipped to sixth in 1938
1938 English cricket season
The 1938 English cricket season was notable for England's remarkable total at The Oval with Len Hutton contributing a record 364.-Honours:*County Championship - Yorkshire*Minor Counties Championship - Buckinghamshire...
. Following the war, Barber played one more full season, scoring 1,170 runs at an average of 30.00 in 1946
1946 English cricket season
The 1946 English cricket season was the first full season of first-class cricket to be played in England after World War II. It featured a three-match Test series between England and India, which was arranged at short notice...
to be fourth in the Yorkshire averages. It was the eighth and final time he passed 1,000 runs in a season. During these seasons, Barber's runs contributed to Yorkshire being County Champions in four consecutive seasons from 1937 to 1939 and then again after the war in 1946. He played a further three matches in 1947
1947 English cricket season
The 1947 English cricket season is remembered for the batting performances of Denis Compton and Bill Edrich who established seasonal records that, with the subsequent reduction in the number of first-class matches, will probably never be broken...
to bring his career to a close. From 1932, when Barber became a regular player, until his last full season in 1946, he was part of a Championship winning side seven times.
Style and achievements
Barber scored a total of 16,402 runs in his career with 29 hundreds and 182 catches, and was described by Gerald Howat as "the fourth pillar" of the Yorkshire batting in the mid 1930s (after Herbert SutcliffeHerbert 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...
, Maurice Leyland
Maurice Leyland
Maurice Leyland , christened 'Morris Leyland', was an English cricketer who played 41 Test matches between 1928 and 1938 and proved himself one of the best left-handers of his generation....
and Arthur Mitchell
Arthur Mitchell (cricketer)
Arthur "Ticker" Mitchell was an English first-class cricketer, who played both for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England....
). A generally defensive batsman, he played carefully in the tradition of Yorkshire opening batsmen. Jim Kilburn said that Barber was "small in stature but upright in style". He was a good batsman on the off side and had a very good defensive technique, while his strength on the leg side
Leg side
The leg side, or on side, is defined to be a particular half of the field used to play the sport of cricket.From the point of view of a right-handed batsman facing the bowler, it is the left hand side of the cricket field...
was noted on his Test debut. Although an opening batsman, he often went in lower down the batting order. He was more comfortable in normal circumstances than in a crisis and did not enjoy batting on difficult pitches. 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...
called him the most correct and orthodox batsman he had seen, even more so than 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...
. Barber was a kind, modest man, who never believed that his contribution was good enough, even if he had scored a century. On his death, Wisden described him as having "rendered admirable service."
Barber's highest score was 255 against Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
in 1935. In this innings, he opened the batting and shared three successive century partnerships. Barber also scored 248 against Kent
Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...
in 1934. He had scored 73 in the first innings but Kent had built up a lead of 148 on the second day of the match. Barber, opening the batting with Len Hutton
Len Hutton
Sir Leonard "Len" Hutton was an English Test cricketer, who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England in the years around the Second World War as an opening batsman. He was described by Wisden Cricketer's Almanack as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket...
, scored 248 and shared a stand of 267 for the first wicket. As a result, Yorkshire drew the game. Barber shared in seven other century opening partnerships Yorkshire, four of them with Arthur Mitchell
Arthur Mitchell (cricketer)
Arthur "Ticker" Mitchell was an English first-class cricketer, who played both for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England....
, and six other 200 partnerships. This included a stand of 346 in four and a half hours with Maurice Leyland
Maurice Leyland
Maurice Leyland , christened 'Morris Leyland', was an English cricketer who played 41 Test matches between 1928 and 1938 and proved himself one of the best left-handers of his generation....
, 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...
in 1932 which was a record for Yorkshire's second wicket. His fielding, generally done in the deep, was described by Wisden as "first rate". Bowes said that he once went for nearly three years without dropping a catch on the leg side boundary
Boundary (cricket)
Boundary has two distinct meanings in the sport of cricket:# the edge or boundary of the playing field, and# a manner of scoring runs.-Edge of the field:...
from his bowling.
Retirement
After his retirement, Barber played club cricket into his fifties, playing for Lidget Green and King Cross until 1952. He went on to play for MirfieldMirfield
Mirfield is a small town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It is located on the A644 road between Brighouse and Dewsbury...
in the Central Yorkshire League between 1952 and 1955. There, he was the club's first professional once it reformed in 1952. During his time at the club, Barber scored eleven half centuries and won an award for his batting. After he left Mirfield, he became coach to the North Riding Educational Authorities, later working as coach and groundsman at a school in Harrogate. He died, aged 67, in a hospital in Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
after a short illness, on 10 September 1968.