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Abe Waddington

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Abe Waddington
Personal information
Full name
Abraham Waddington
NicknameAbe
BattingRight-hand bat
BowlingLeft-arm fast-medium
RoleBowler
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 184)17 December 1920 v Australia
Last Test11 February 1921 v Australia
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1919–1927Yorkshire
Career statistics
Competition Tests First-class
Matches 2 266
Runs scored 16 2527
Batting average 4.00 12.89
100s/50s -/- 1/4
Top score 7 114
Balls bowled 276 39842
Wickets 1 852
Bowling average 119.00 19.75
5 wickets in innings - 51
10 wickets in match - 10
Best bowling 1/35 8/34
Catches/stumpings 1/- 232/-
Source: Cricinfo, 12 September 2010

Abraham "Abe" Waddington, sometimes known as Abram Waddington (4 February 1893 – 28 October 1959), was a professional cricketer who played in two Test matches for England in 1920 and 1921. He made 255 appearances for Yorkshire County Cricket Club in first-class cricket and played 266 first-class matches in total between 1919 and 1927. In total, he took 852 wickets with his left arm fast-medium bowling.

Waddington first played for Yorkshire after the First World War when the team had been weakened by injuries and retirements. Making an immediate impression, he took 100 wickets in his first season, and a successful second season resulted in his selection for the Test match tour of Australia in 1920–21. However, the England team were outclassed, and used in an unfamiliar tactical role, Waddington took just one wicket in two Tests. He never played for England again. His reputation as a hostile, uncompromising opponent was cemented by incidents in 1924, and a succession of injuries reduced his effectiveness until his retirement from first-class cricket in 1927. He continued to play at a lower level and worked for the family business, maintaining his connection with Yorkshire cricket. He accompanied Len Hutton's England team to Australia in 1954–55. Waddington was successful in other sports, notably golf and football.

Early life

Abraham Waddington[notes 1] was born in Clayton, Bradford on 4 February 1893, the eldest of three brothers.[2] The family owned a fat refining business which his father managed. Once he left school, Waddington joined the family firm as a lorry driver and occasionally working in the factory. By the age of 11, he was playing cricket for Crossley Hall in the West Bradford League. Later, as a teenager, he played in the Bradford League as a fast-medium bowler, building a local reputation. In the years before the First World War, Waddington played for Lidget Green then Laisterdyke, winning the League championship in 1913.[2] For the 1914 season, he moved to Wakefield, taking 98 wickets at an average of 12.00.[3] His form earned him selection in a Yorkshire Second XI match in August 1914, where he played alongside future First XI teammates Herbert Sutcliffe and Cec Tyson. Waddington was unsuccessful, conceding 54 runs in the match in nine overs without taking a wicket,[4][5] and the outbreak of the war prevented him making any further appearances.[2]

On the outbreak of war, Waddington volunteered for Lord Kitchener's New Army, joining the Bradford Pals battalion of the West Yorkshire Regiment.[3][6] He first served overseas as part of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force from 30 December 1915.[7] He subsequently took part in the opening day of the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916. He was wounded by shrapnel at Serre, and took shelter in a crater in no man's land with other wounded soldiers.[3][6] One of these was the Yorkshire cricketer Major Booth, who was critically wounded. Waddington comforted Booth and the cricketer died in his arms, an experience which haunted Waddington for the rest of his life.[6] After recovering, Waddington transferred to the Royal Flying Corps.[3][7]

First-class cricketer

County debut

Roy Kilner and Arthur Dolphin were also wounded at the Somme, and it is believed that having seen Waddington taking part in some cricket matches in the army, recommended him to Yorkshire after the war.[6] Yorkshire's bowling attack was severely depleted when cricket resumed in 1919. Of the team's previously successful bowlers, Booth had been killed in the war, Alonzo Drake died from illness in 1919, Schofield Haigh had retired and George Hirst was past his best. Although Wilfred Rhodes was able to ease the shortfall by resuming his career as a frontline bowler, Yorkshire needed to recruit new bowlers, particularly pacemen.[6][8]

Having returned to play for Laisterdyke in the Bradford League,[3] Waddington was called into the Yorkshire side half-way through the 1919 English cricket season for the County Championship match against Derbyshire. On his first-class debut, he took four wickets for 26 runs in 26 overs, and after missing the next match, he followed up with nine wickets against Essex in his second game, taking his first five wicket haul in the second innings of that match.[3][5] Regularly taking three or more wickets in an innings, his performances peaked with twelve wickets in the match against Gloucestershire. Although Waddington's performances tailed off towards the end of the season, when he often went wicketless or took only one wicket in several innings, he finished his first season as a first-class cricketer with 100 wickets at an average of 18.74, with eight five-wicket returns.[9] Waddington's bowling played a large part in Yorkshire winning the Championship that year.[3]

Waddington continued the productive start to his career in 1920. Yorkshire had no effective opening bowlers to support him, but Waddington took 141 wickets at an average of 16.79, taking five or more wickets in an innings 13 times.[9] He took 28 wickets in the first four matches, but his most productive spells came in late June and throughout July. He took seven for 25 against Leicestershire, ending the match with 12 wickets. He was particularly successful against Northamptonshire. He took 11 wickets in the first game. In the second, he took four wickets in the space of five balls including a hat-trick and bowled throughout both innings to take 13 wickets for 48 runs, including seven for 18 in the second innings.[5][10] His season concluded with selection for the Players against the Gentlemen in the end of season Scarborough Festival, although he took just one wicket in the match.[11] Although Yorkshire fell to fourth in the County Championship, and lacked effective support for Waddington and Rhodes, Waddington was one of four players from the county chosen to tour Australia that winter with the Marylebone Cricket Club (M.C.C.).[12]

Test selection

The 1920–21 tour to Australia was unsuccessful for the tourists. In the Test matches, England were overwhelmed by Australia, losing all five games.[13] The M.C.C. had been reluctant to go ahead with the tour so soon after the war, and before it began, critics believed the bowling would be weak on Australian wickets. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack stated that the "chief cause of failure was the bowling".[13]

Before the first-class matches began, Waddington was forced to have an operation for abscesses at the beginning of November and missed more than a month of cricket.[5][14] Waddington played only one first-class match before the first Test, but took wickets in several minor matches.[5] He played in the first Test, and took the wicket of Charlie Macartney, the first wicket to fall in the game. However, he failed to take another wicket in the match while conceding 88 runs, although he was hampered by a leg injury in the later stages.[15][16] He did not play another Test until the fourth, where he bowled just five overs for 31 runs.[5] Waddington ended the tour with seven wickets at an average of 46.71, but had just one Test wicket at a cost of 119 runs.[5][9]

In all matches, Waddington headed the bowling averages, but was frustrated that most of his appearances came in the non-first-class country matches, many of which took place against opponents with more than eleven players in an attempt to make the games more even. For Yorkshire, Waddington was used as a strike bowler, bowling short bursts to take wickets. However, the M.C.C. captain, Johnny Douglas, used him as a stock bowler, someone used to bowl a large number of overs with the prime objective of preventing the opposition from scoring runs. Waddington was not suited to performing such a task and throughout the tour, Douglas received criticism from the press for the way he used bowlers.[17] After the tour, Waddington did not play for England again and was never seriously considered for a recall.[17]

In 1921, Waddington took 105 wickets at an average of 18.94, not reaching ten wickets in any of the matches he played.[9] He took time to find his form, taking only seven wickets in eight innings in the first four matches. He took 28 wickets in four matches at the beginning July, but in the last part of the season, took no more than a single wicket in several innings.[5] However, the introduction of George Macaulay into the team gave him more support than he had previously enjoyed.[17] Yorkshire were third in the Championship, but after this point, won four successive titles.[18] Waddington made another slow start to the 1922 season, bowling 46 overs in the first three matches and taking just six wickets. However, in the next two matches, he took seven for 31 against Derbyshire, collecting 11 wickets in the game, and eight for 34 against Northamptonshire, the best figures of his career. He failed to surpass two wickets in an innings for the next six games but took 34 wickets in the four subsequent matches, including 11 against Kent. Waddington took wickets regularly for the rest of the season. Further success came when he took seven wickets for six runs in a Sussex total of 20, ten wickets in the second game against Kent, and eight for 35 against Hampshire. His season ended with festival games at Eastbourne, representing the North against the South and playing for a team of ex-Royal Air Force servicemen.[5] In all first-class games, Waddington took 133 wickets at an average of 16.08, an improvement on his average and aggregate in 1921.[9]

Injury and controversy

Waddington began the 1923 season by taking only three wickets in his first five matches, and after eight matches he had 12 wickets. His performances improved with six wickets against Cambridge University and ten wickets in the match against Northamptonshire.[5] By the middle of July, he had taken 65 wickets at an average of 17.92.[5][9] However, he injured his shoulder while fielding against Leicestershire.[19] This kept him out of cricket for the rest of the season, apart from an abortive comeback against Lancashire when he bowled just six wicketless overs.[3][5] Although Waddington returned in the following season, the injury affected the remainder of his career and his bowling was not subsequently as effective.[3][20]

On his return in the 1924 season, Waddington bowled only 36 overs in his first five matches, taking one wicket.[5] However, he was used more in Yorkshire's defeat against Middlesex at Lord's Cricket Ground. He bowled 42 overs to take three for 116. Yorkshire were missing several players who were engaged in representative matches, but the game had consequences later in the season.[21][22] In the return match at Bramall Lane, Sheffield in July, the Yorkshire players seemed determined to have revenge for the defeat but could only secure a draw. The Yorkshire bowlers were considered by critics to appeal excessively to the umpires and the Middlesex players were barracked by the crowd. Journalist Alfred Pullin described the match as "a sorry exhibition of ill feeling and bad manners."[22] The umpires reported Waddington to the Cricket committee of the M.C.C., believing the crowd to have been incited by his appeals and gestures of displeasure when the batsmen were not given out. Although Waddington claimed to be innocent, the M.C.C. report supported the umpires and judged Waddington guilty of dissent.[22][23] Yorkshire president Lord Hawke persuaded Waddington to write a letter of apology to the M.C.C. secretary.[22] Following the game, Middlesex threatened to cancel their matches against Yorkshire in the following seasons, while there were rumours that the Yorkshire captain Geoffrey Wilson had offered to resign and that Waddington would be dropped. However, intervention by Rockley Wilson caused Middlesex to withdraw the threat, and the Yorkshire–Middlesex match at Leeds the following season was set aside for Roy Kilner's benefit, a match which raised more money than any previously.[20] Geoffrey Wilson resigned at the end of the season,[24] but Waddington continued in the team. However, the consequences of the match probably cost Macaulay a place in the England Test team.[25] Rumours continued to circulate. Bill Bowes later recalled that Waddington was accused of having deliberately tripped and injured a Middlesex player, J. W. Hearne, around this period, although he did not specify if it was the 1924 Sheffield match.[26] Waddington ended the season with 69 wickets at an average of 21.55, but passed five wickets in only three innings and appeared less effective than before his injury.[9][27]

Decline

Waddington took more than 100 wickets in a season for the final time in 1925. Although his form was mixed, he achieved some good performances.[28] He took ten wickets in the match against Glamorgan, while he took five wickets in an innings on four occasions. In total, he took 109 wickets at an average of 20.24.[5][9] Over the next two seasons, Waddington's bowling declined. In 1926 he took 78 wickets at an average of 23.30, and after coaching in India in the winter of 1926–27, he took 45 wickets at 32.02 in his final season of 1927. On many occasions, he was expensive, and he took five wickets on just three occasions over the two seasons.[9][29] However, in his last season, he scored his only first-class century, 114 against Worcestershire.[20] His final first-class appearance was for the North against the South at the Folkestone Festival, where he bowled 16 overs without taking a wicket.[30] At the end of the season, Waddington was offered a new contract despite his decline in bowling and continuing problems from his injured shoulder. However, Waddington declined, ending his county cricket career.[20] In all first-class matches, Waddington took 852 wickets at an average of 19.75 and scored 2,527 runs at an average of 12.89 with four fifties as well as the century.[1]

Style and personality

Waddington bowled with control, maintaining a good length while his action made the ball swing away from the batsman. For variation, he bowled an off cutter. Furthermore, he bowled in such a way that the ball seemed to increase its speed after bouncing.[10][31] He often bowled around the wicket. His run-up began from the on side of the wicket, and he ran behind the umpire before bowling the ball from the corner of the bowling crease, creating a sharp angle for the batsman to face, sometimes using short pitched bowling with a leg trap (ring of leg side fielders).[32] Waddington modelled his bowling on that of George Hirst, who also acted as a coach and mentor to him in his early career.[33] His bowling action was noted for its excellence and perfection.[3] Neville Cardus described it as "gloriously rhythmical",[34] and "so lovely that one simply cannot deny he is a good bowler."[32]

Waddington resented the class divisions in English cricket, his feelings fuelled by experiences of officers in the war and possibly his tour to Australia in 1920–21. He questioned the decisions of umpires and sledged opposing batsmen, both of which were unusual at the time.[17] His Times obituary noted that some disagreements came because Waddington played to win and was an enthusiastic appealer, although he was unlikely to win many appeals for leg before wicket because of the angle at which he bowled.[33] Cardus noted that he was "ever raising hopes that real greatness will come from him, only to disappoint again and again".[32] Although Waddington scored a first-class century in his final season, Waddington did not live up to his batting potential despite a good batting style; Herbert Sutcliffe believed he could have been a leading batsman, but did not possess the patience to build an innings.[17] Anthony Woodhouse describes him as a "wild and irresponsible ... quick-tempered individual".[3] However, cricket writer Jim Kilburn wrote that "at his best, he was a magnificently hostile bowler with one of the most beautiful actions ever seen in cricket, and his pace and break-back were a problem for the greatest of batsmen".[35]

Later life

Once Waddington had retired from Yorkshire, he fully took over the family business. He played league cricket for Bradford in 1928 and for Accrington in 1929 and 1930. He remained close to members of the Yorkshire team and was a pallbearer at Kilner's funeral in 1928. In 1954–55, Yorkshire player and England captain Len Hutton invited Waddington to accompany the M.C.C. team to Australia and Waddington visited the grave of Hedley Verity, the Yorkshire bowler who was killed in the Second World War.[20]

Waddington had success in other sports, especially as an amateur football goalkeeper. He was with Bradford City in the 1920–21 football season, but did not play a match for them. For the 1921–22 season, he played for Halifax Town, making seven appearances in the Football League.[2][3][36] He was a good enough golfer to represent Yorkshire, to partner Henry Cotton and to play in the qualifying rounds of the Open Championship in 1935 and 1939.[2][3][37][38] However, one Bradford golf club banned him after he poured a glass of beer over the captain, who Waddington believed had used inappropriate language in front of a woman. A motorcycling enthusiast, he regularly attended the Isle of Man TT, although his love of fast cars brought him trouble from the police at times.[2][3]

After a long illness, Waddington died in a Scarborough nursing home on 28 October 1959 aged 65. He was cremated in Bradford.[35][39]

Notes

  1. ^ Waddington's first name is variously given as Abraham or Abram. Wisden and CricketArchive give Abraham.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "Abe Waddington Player Profile". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Howe, p. 72.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Woodhouse, p. 303.
  4. ^ "East Riding v Yorkshire Second XI in 1914". CricketArchive. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Player Oracle (A Waddington)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  6. ^ a b c d e Howe, p. 73.
  7. ^ a b "Medal card of Waddington, Abraham" (fee usually required to download pdf image of original medal card). DocumentsOnline. The National Archives. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  8. ^ Rogerson, Sidney (1960). Wilfred Rhodes. London: Hollis and Carter. pp. 120–21.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i "First-class Bowling in Each Season by Abe Waddington". CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  10. ^ a b "Abe Waddington". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. John Wisden & Co. 1960. Retrieved 4 September 2010. Cite error: The named reference "obit" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  11. ^ "Gentlemen v Players in 1920". CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  12. ^ Woodhouse, p. 310.
  13. ^ a b "M.C.C. Team in Australia 1920–21". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. John Wisden & Co. 1922. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  14. ^ "Illness of Waddington (subscription required)[[Category:Pages containing links to subscription-only content]]". The Times. London. 11 November 1920. p. 6. Retrieved 30 August 2010. {{cite news}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  15. ^ "Australia v England in 1920/21 (first Test)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  16. ^ "The First Test Match (subscription required)[[Category:Pages containing links to subscription-only content]]". The Times. London. 22 December 1920. p. 5. Retrieved 30 August 2010. {{cite news}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  17. ^ a b c d e Howe, p. 74.
  18. ^ "LV County Championship: County Championship Final Positions 1890–2010". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (2010 ed.). John Wisden & Co. p. 575.
  19. ^ "Yorkshire win (subscription required)[[Category:Pages containing links to subscription-only content]]". The Times. London. 21 July 1923. p. 6. Retrieved 4 September 2010. {{cite news}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  20. ^ a b c d e Howe, p. 76.
  21. ^ Woodhouse, p. 327.
  22. ^ a b c d Howe, p. 75.
  23. ^ "The Waddington Inquiry (subscription required)[[Category:Pages containing links to subscription-only content]]". The Times. London. 28 July 1924. p. 5. Retrieved 4 September 2010. {{cite news}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  24. ^ Woodhouse, p. 332.
  25. ^ Pardon, Sydney (1925). "Notes by the Editor". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. John Wisden & Co. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
  26. ^ Marshall, Michael (1987). Gentlemen and Players. Conversations with Cricketers. London: Grafton Books. p. 16. ISBN 0246118741.
  27. ^ Woodhouse, p. 333
  28. ^ Woodhouse, p. 338.
  29. ^ Woodhouse, p. 345.
  30. ^ "South v North in 1927". CricketArchive. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
  31. ^ Cardus, p. 31.
  32. ^ a b c Cardus, p. 73.
  33. ^ a b Whitfield, B. G. (30 October 1959). "Mr A Waddington (Obituary) (subscription required)[[Category:Pages containing links to subscription-only content]]". The Times. London. p. 15. Retrieved 12 September 2010. {{cite news}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  34. ^ Cardus, p. 54.
  35. ^ a b Howe, p. 77.
  36. ^ Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Soccerdata. ISBN 1-8994-6867-6. {{cite book}}: Text "page 267" ignored (help)
  37. ^ "Golf: Open Championship(subscription required)[[Category:Pages containing links to subscription-only content]]". The Times. London. 26 June 1935. p. 7. Retrieved 12 September 2010. {{cite news}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  38. ^ "Golf: Open Championship(subscription required)[[Category:Pages containing links to subscription-only content]]". The Times. London. 4 July 1939. p. 7. Retrieved 12 September 2010. {{cite news}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  39. ^ Woodhouse, p. 304.

Bibliography

  • Cardus, Neville (1982). The Roses Matches 1919–1939. London: Souvenir Press. ISBN 0285625209.
  • Howe, Martin. "True Man of Action in Cricket and War". The Yorkshire County Cricket Club Yearbook (2010 ed.). Ilkley: Great Northern Books. pp. 72–79. ISBN 9781905080755.
  • Woodhouse, Anthony (1989). The History of Yorkshire County Cricket Club. London: Christopher Helm. ISBN 0747034087.

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