Close In 1976

By Gary Watton
September 15 2015

The maverick former England, Somerset, and Yorkshire all-rounder and captain Brian Close has reached the end of his ultimate innings, after accumulating an eventful eighty-four. Close will be remembered as much for his stoic resistance against the hostile short-pitched bowling of Michael Holding at Old Trafford in 1976 as for his many achievements and silverware. In that notorious encounter with the lethal Holding, Close was evading bouncers that almost literally whistled past his head, without the luxury of a helmet for protection. This episode spoke volumes for the defiance of Close - for whom no cause was ever lost when he played.

Close actually entered the record books when he was selected in the 1950s as England's youngest-ever player. He eventually graduated to the position of team captain. Although he never hit the heights in test cricket, he was a successful captain. Unfortunately, his win-at-all-costs skullduggery fell foul of the suits of the MCC, and Close was regrettably removed as captain of a winning team. He continued thereafter to flirt with controversy, having been educated at the Yorkshire CCC school of hard knocks. Close will go down in English cricket history as one of the great characters of Somerset and Yorkshire. He had both raw ability and an iron will to succeed. He was a one-off.