Ray Illingworth

Ray Illingworth

Source: CricInfo, 27 August 1973

Raymond ("Ray") Illingworth (born 8 June 1932 in Pudsey, Yorkshire) is a former English cricketer, cricket commentator and cricket administrator. He took over two thousand first-class wickets and scored more than twenty thousand runs. He played for Yorkshire (1951-68 and 1982-83), Leicestershire (1969-78) and England (1958-73) and was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1960.

He made his first-class debut at 19, was capped in 1955 and became a stalwart of the Yorkshire team in the sixties. He made his Test début as early as 1958 but struggled on his first tour, in the West Indies in 1959/60, taking just five wickets in five Test matches. After failing to make an impact in four Tests against South Africa he found himself struggling for a place. A good series against India in 1967 established him in the team. He joined Leicestershire, sharing in their win over Yorkshire in the first ever Benson & Hedges Cup final in 1972.

Ashes

When Colin Cowdrey pulled out of the England team with injury, Illingworth was handed the England captaincy, leading England to series wins over West Indies and New Zealand. After a series against a Rest of the World XI hastily assembled after the cancellation of a South African tour. He led England to a 2-0 Ashes victory in 1970-71, the only time a touring team has played a full test series in Australia without defeat.

Series wins over New Zealand and Pakistan followed and a despite a loss against India in 1971 he scored his second Test century and enjoyed bowling success. He revealed, in an interview with Shyam Bhatia, 30 years after the loss, that he regretted not bowling Brian Luckhurst's occasional left arm spin against the Indians on a sluggish pitch which had blunted Derek Underwood. He retained the Ashes at home in 1972. He was nearing 40, however, and defeat at the hands of the West Indies in 1973 convinced him the time was right to step down as England skipper, and Leicestershire benefited from his return, winning the Championship in 1975.

In all he captained England in 31 Test matches, winning 12, losing 5 and drawing 14. A prolific wicket-taker in county cricket, taking 2072 scalps, he sent down 408 balls without reward in the three Tests against New Zealand in 1973 but conceded only 1.91 runs an over in his Test career. He was not a sharp spinner of the ball, relying on accuracy and subtle variations of flight, but his arm ball was particularly effective with many of his victims being caught at slip, playing for spin that was not there.

His middle-order batting was based around stern defence; a fifth of his innings, mostly from number 6 or 7 in the order, finished not out. He scored 24,134 first-class runs in all, with a best of 162, at an average of 28.06. He played 787 first-class matches over nearly 33 years.

Return to the fray

After announcing his retirement from the first-class game in 1978 he returned to Headingley to manage the Yorkshire team, despite his testy relationship with Geoff Boycott. In 1982, faced with an under-performing team on the field, he made a return to the playing arena and replaced Chris Old as captain. The side won the Sunday League in his final season in 1983 but failed in the championship, finishing bottom for the first time ever. The title of the book he wrote about this era was The Tempestuous Years.

He left Yorkshire in 1984 and carved out a successful career as a media pundit, often fiercely critical of the England Test team. Eventually he became the Chairman of England's Board of Test Selectors and the England Cricket Coach in 1997. He clashed with England captain Mike Atherton over team selection.

He was awarded the CBE for services to cricket and made an honorary member of the MCC. He was the fourth cricketer to be elected to Yorkshire's 'Hall of Fame'.

References

• Ray Illingworth interview 2006
• India Interview

External links

• Ray Illingworth at ESPNcricinfo
• Player Profile: Ray Illingworth at Cricket Archive