The Twelfth Man 2016

13 greater number of stories and anecdotes, almost all of them having more than a grain of truth about them. Possibly his greatest attribute, however, was that he was loved by virtually all who played under him. He was revered by his team-mates and talked about with a fondness that few other captains have been able to experience. He was his own man and he knew his own mind but at the same time he was able to remain “one of the boys” among those who made up that great Yorkshire team of the 1960s. Educated at Aireborough Grammar School, where, unsurprisingly, he was captain of both cricket and football, Brian at 11 years of age played for Rawdon Cricket Club where the likes of Hedley Verity and Bryan Stott also made their mark. He was in the same Yorkshire Federation side as Fred Trueman and Raymond Illingworth and he made his Yorkshire debut as an 18-year-old against Cambridge University at Fenner’s in 1949, Trueman and Frank Lowson, who also went on to play for England, also making their first appearances in that game. So rich was Brian’s talent that he scored 1,098 first-class runs and claimed 113 wickets in that initial season and in the same summer he made his England Test debut against New Zealand at Old Trafford. He was just 18-years- and-149-days old and his record of being England's youngest ever Test play still stands. At Melbourne in 1950/51 he became the youngest to represent England against Australia, aged 19-years-and-301-days. Brian succeeded Vic Wilson as Yorkshire captain in 1963 and was immediately successful in retaining the County Championship title. He had taken the reins during a golden period of Yorkshire cricket and his side went on to notch a hat-trick of Championship title wins from 1966- 1968 – a feat which current captain, Andrew Gale, will attempt to equal this summer. Most fittingly, in the days immediately following his death, Yorkshire were playing Hampshire at Southampton and Andrew Gale scored a splendid century which enabled his side to win the match. They had already retained the Championship title for the first time since Brian’s team had done so in the 1960s. Although Brian did not favour the introduction one-day cricket to the county calendar, he fought just as hard in the limited overs arena as in any first class battle and he led Yorkshire to Gillette Cup triumphs at Lord’s in 1965 and 1969. It was his perceived attitude to one-day cricket, however, that caused him to fall out of favour with cricket Chairman, Brian Sellers, who captained the great Yorkshire side leading up to the 1939-45 war. Sellers unwisely sacked Brian at the end of the 1970 season with Geoffrey Boycott taking over the captaincy. It was an act which Sellers came to regret and Close was so upset when he was given the news at Headingley that he was physically sick while driving to his home, then at Tong Park, near Baildon. Brian departed Yorkshire for Somerset where he became a cult figure in that county, also, and he mentored several of their leading young players, including Ian Botham who became a firm friend, as did the great Viv Richards. He made his debut for Somerset against Leicestershire at Grace Road in 1971 and under his captaincy they went on to enjoy one of their most fruitful periods. He was there until the end of the 1977 season, playing in 142 matches and topping 1,000 runs on five occasions Brian loved his time at Somerset, but his heart was always in his native Yorkshire for whom he played in 536 first-class matches, scoring 22,650 runs with 33 centuries and capturing 967 wickets at 24.29 runs apiece. Perhaps the greatest and most fearless of all short-leg fielders he also held on to 564 catches, many of them only a few feet from the bat.