Community hub
Recent from talks
Contribute something to knowledge base
Content stats: 0 posts, 0 articles, 1 media, 0 notes
Members stats: 0 subscribers, 0 contributors, 0 moderators, 0 supporters
Subscribers
Supporters
Contributors
Moderators
Herbert Sutcliffe
Herbert Sutcliffe (24 November 1894 – 22 January 1978) 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. His first-class debut was delayed by the First World War until 1919 and his career was effectively terminated in August 1939 when he was called up for military service in the imminent Second World War. He was the first cricketer to score 16 centuries in Test match cricket. He is most famous for being the partner of Jack Hobbs and the partnership between the two, Hobbs and Sutcliffe, is widely regarded as the greatest partnership of all time.
A right-handed batsman, Sutcliffe was noted for his concentration and determination, qualities which made him invaluable to his teams in adverse batting conditions; and he is remembered as one of the game's finest "bad wicket batsmen". His fame rests mainly in the great opening partnership he formed with Jack Hobbs for England between 1924 and 1930. He also formed notable opening partnerships at Yorkshire with Percy Holmes and, in his last few seasons, the young Len Hutton. During Sutcliffe's career, Yorkshire won the County Championship 12 times. Sutcliffe played in 54 Test matches for England and on three occasions he toured Australia, where he enjoyed outstanding success. His last tour in 1932–33 included the controversial "bodyline" series, in which Sutcliffe is perceived to have been one of Douglas Jardine's main supporters. Although close friends have stated that Sutcliffe did not approve of bodyline, he always acted out of fierce loyalty to his team captain and was committed to his team's cause. In statistical terms, Sutcliffe was one of the most successful Test batsmen ever; his completed career batting average was 60.73 which as of January 2026 is the highest by any English batsman and the sixth-highest worldwide (of Test batsmen with 20 completed innings) behind only Don Bradman, Kamindu Mendis (currently active), Adam Voges, Graeme Pollock and George Headley.
Sutcliffe became a successful businessman early in his first-class career by using the money he earned as a player to establish a sportswear shop in Leeds. When his playing career ended, he served on the club committee at Yorkshire for 21 years and for three years was an England Test selector. Among the honours accorded him have been the commemoration of a special set of gates in his name at Headingley, home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, and his induction into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
Herbert Sutcliffe was born in Summerbridge, Nidderdale, West Riding of Yorkshire on 24 November 1894 at his parents' home, a cottage in Gabblegate (now called East View). His parents were Willie and Jane Sutcliffe. Herbert was the second of three sons, his brothers being Arthur and Bob. Willie Sutcliffe, who worked at a sawmill in nearby Dacre Banks, was a keen club cricketer.
When Herbert was still a baby the family moved to Pudsey, where Willie's father was the landlord of the King's Arms. Willie worked in the pub and played cricket for the well-known Pudsey St Lawrence Cricket Club. He also played rugby football, and an injury sustained during a rugby match led to his premature death in 1898.
Jane Sutcliffe moved the family back to Nidderdale, where they lived in Darley, the boys enrolling at Darley School, and she remarried. Jane developed consumption, and she died in January 1904 at the age of 37, when Herbert was nine. Jane's second husband was a bootmaker called Tom Waller but he was not allowed custody of the brothers who moved back to Pudsey to be cared for by the Sutcliffe family. Willie Sutcliffe had three sisters, Sarah, Carrie and Harriet, who ran a bakery. They became the legal guardians of Arthur, Herbert and Bob, respectively.
As the three aunts were devoted members of the local Congregational Church, the three boys received religious instruction there and Herbert became a lifelong committed Christian. He was a Sunday School teacher as a young man and first came to notice as a cricketer when he played for a church team. The boys lived in the family house which contained the bakery and slept in a loft above the bakehouse itself.
Herbert left school in 1908 when he was 13, and was apprenticed to a boot and shoe company as a "clicker" who fastened boot soles to uppers. In 1911, his prowess at cricket earned him an offer of clerical employment in a local textile mill, where he learnt bookkeeping, a skill that served him well when he launched his own business career.
Herbert Sutcliffe
Herbert Sutcliffe (24 November 1894 – 22 January 1978) 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. His first-class debut was delayed by the First World War until 1919 and his career was effectively terminated in August 1939 when he was called up for military service in the imminent Second World War. He was the first cricketer to score 16 centuries in Test match cricket. He is most famous for being the partner of Jack Hobbs and the partnership between the two, Hobbs and Sutcliffe, is widely regarded as the greatest partnership of all time.
A right-handed batsman, Sutcliffe was noted for his concentration and determination, qualities which made him invaluable to his teams in adverse batting conditions; and he is remembered as one of the game's finest "bad wicket batsmen". His fame rests mainly in the great opening partnership he formed with Jack Hobbs for England between 1924 and 1930. He also formed notable opening partnerships at Yorkshire with Percy Holmes and, in his last few seasons, the young Len Hutton. During Sutcliffe's career, Yorkshire won the County Championship 12 times. Sutcliffe played in 54 Test matches for England and on three occasions he toured Australia, where he enjoyed outstanding success. His last tour in 1932–33 included the controversial "bodyline" series, in which Sutcliffe is perceived to have been one of Douglas Jardine's main supporters. Although close friends have stated that Sutcliffe did not approve of bodyline, he always acted out of fierce loyalty to his team captain and was committed to his team's cause. In statistical terms, Sutcliffe was one of the most successful Test batsmen ever; his completed career batting average was 60.73 which as of January 2026 is the highest by any English batsman and the sixth-highest worldwide (of Test batsmen with 20 completed innings) behind only Don Bradman, Kamindu Mendis (currently active), Adam Voges, Graeme Pollock and George Headley.
Sutcliffe became a successful businessman early in his first-class career by using the money he earned as a player to establish a sportswear shop in Leeds. When his playing career ended, he served on the club committee at Yorkshire for 21 years and for three years was an England Test selector. Among the honours accorded him have been the commemoration of a special set of gates in his name at Headingley, home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, and his induction into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
Herbert Sutcliffe was born in Summerbridge, Nidderdale, West Riding of Yorkshire on 24 November 1894 at his parents' home, a cottage in Gabblegate (now called East View). His parents were Willie and Jane Sutcliffe. Herbert was the second of three sons, his brothers being Arthur and Bob. Willie Sutcliffe, who worked at a sawmill in nearby Dacre Banks, was a keen club cricketer.
When Herbert was still a baby the family moved to Pudsey, where Willie's father was the landlord of the King's Arms. Willie worked in the pub and played cricket for the well-known Pudsey St Lawrence Cricket Club. He also played rugby football, and an injury sustained during a rugby match led to his premature death in 1898.
Jane Sutcliffe moved the family back to Nidderdale, where they lived in Darley, the boys enrolling at Darley School, and she remarried. Jane developed consumption, and she died in January 1904 at the age of 37, when Herbert was nine. Jane's second husband was a bootmaker called Tom Waller but he was not allowed custody of the brothers who moved back to Pudsey to be cared for by the Sutcliffe family. Willie Sutcliffe had three sisters, Sarah, Carrie and Harriet, who ran a bakery. They became the legal guardians of Arthur, Herbert and Bob, respectively.
As the three aunts were devoted members of the local Congregational Church, the three boys received religious instruction there and Herbert became a lifelong committed Christian. He was a Sunday School teacher as a young man and first came to notice as a cricketer when he played for a church team. The boys lived in the family house which contained the bakery and slept in a loft above the bakehouse itself.
Herbert left school in 1908 when he was 13, and was apprenticed to a boot and shoe company as a "clicker" who fastened boot soles to uppers. In 1911, his prowess at cricket earned him an offer of clerical employment in a local textile mill, where he learnt bookkeeping, a skill that served him well when he launched his own business career.
Recent media
Recent media