Bob Wyatt

Bob Wyatt

Personal information
Full name	Robert Elliott Storey Wyatt
Born	2 May 1901 Surrey, England
Died	20 April 1995 (aged 93) Truro, Cornwall, England
Batting style	Right-handed
Bowling style	Right arm medium
International information
National side	England
Test debut (cap 231)	24 December 1927 v South Africa
Last Test	3 March 1937 v Australia
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1923–1939	Warwickshire
1946–1951	Worcestershire
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class Matches 40 739 Runs scored 1,839 39,405 Batting average 31.70 40.04 100s/50s 2/12 85/208 Top score 149 232 Balls bowled 1,395 65,382 Wickets 18 901 Bowling average 35.66 32.84 5 wickets in innings 0 31 10 wickets in match 0 2 Best bowling 3/4 7/43 Catches/stumpings 16/– 415/1
Source: Cricinfo, 20 May 2009

Robert "Bob" Elliott Storey Wyatt (2 May 1901, Milford Heath House, Surrey, England – 20 April 1995, Treliske, Truro, Cornwall) was an English cricket player. He played for Warwickshire, Worcestershire, and the English cricket team.

A determined batsman and handy medium pace bowler, Wyatt made his first-class cricket debut in 1923. He played his first Test match against South Africa in Johannesburg in 1927. He was appointed captain for England's last Test against the dominant Australian touring team in 1930, but lost the role to Douglas Jardine for the next few years. Nevertheless, he was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1930.

Serving as Jardine's vice-captain on the 1932–33 tour of Australia, Wyatt was in charge of an early tour match that Jardine sat out of, and became the first captain to employ the controversial Bodyline tactic against the Australian team. After Jardine resigned following the political and administrative fallout caused by Bodyline, Wyatt was made captain again, and led England a further 15 times.

Wyatt was noted for sustaining several injuries during his career. Most famously, a ball bowled by West Indian bowler Manny Martindale hit him in the jaw during a match in Jamaica in 1935. He was carried unconscious from the field with his jaw broken in four places. When he regained consciousness in the dressing room, his first action was to signal for a pencil and paper – when these were supplied he wrote down an amended batting order for his team.

He played his last Test against Australia in Melbourne in 1937. He continued with a vigorous career in County cricket on both sides of World War II (in which he served in the Royal Air Force), playing his last first-class game in 1957, aged 56.

He lived to be 93 years old, and was England's oldest living Test cricketer before his death. He has a stand named after him at Warwickshire's home ground of Edgbaston.

Wyatt played 40 Tests for England, scoring 1,839 at an average of 31.70, and taking 18 wickets at an average of 35.66. In his first-class career he played 739 matches, scoring 39,405 runs at an average of 40.04, and taking 901 wickets at an average of 32.84.

He was the cousin of politician and broadcaster Woodrow Wyatt.^[1]

Notes

1. Martin-Jenkins, Christopher (1980). The Complete Who's Who of Test Cricketers (1st ed.). London: Orbis Publishing. p. 151. ISBN 0-85613-283-7.

External links

• Player profile: Bob Wyatt from CricketArchive
• Player profile: Bob Wyatt from ESPNcricinfo