The Twelfth Man 2016

14 His highest score for Yorkshire was an unbeaten 198 against Surrey at The Oval in 1960 and his best bowling figures were eight for 41 against Kent at Headingley in 1959. He scored 1,000-plus runs for Yorkshire in 13 seasons, his best being 1,821 in 1961. But for courting controversy with the authorities, Brian would have played in more than 22 Test matches for England – seven of which he was their captain and from which he emerged with the outstanding record of six wins and a draw. Perhaps he will best be remembered internationally for being recalled by England in 1976 at the age of 45 for the Old Trafford Test match and heroically fending off the West Indies' fearsome attack for 162 minutes before returning to the pavilion with his body a mass of bruises. England lost heavily, but Close’s bravery against brutal bowling was never forgotten. When he retired from all forms of first-class cricket after captaining his own XI against the New Zealanders at Scarborough in 1986, aged 55, his overall record read: 34,994 runs at 33.26 with 52 centuries, 1,171 wickets at 26.42, 813 catches, plus one stumping. It is probably true to say that his distinguished record could never have been achieved without the constant support of his dear wife, Vivien, who stood by him faithfully through thick and thin. Brian excelled at whatever sport took his fancy and he was on Leeds United’s books before transferring to Arsenal, later playing a few games for Bradford City until retirement was forced upon him by a knee injury. An England cricket selector for a while, Brian became actively involved with Yorkshire again once his first-class career was over and it was typical of the man that he should spend a season captaining the county club’s young Academy side at the age of 60, one of the up- and-coming youngsters being Ryan Sidebottom. A Bradford representative on the Yorkshire committee he served as cricket Chairman for a time during the difficult days of the early 1980s when the Club was split down the middle over the Boycott controversy. He was an early President of the Yorkshire CCC Players’ Association and he was a proud man when he was elected Club President for the years 2008 and 2009. Players past and present were deeply saddened by Brian’s death, none more so than his old friend and team-mate, Doug Padgett, who played alongside him throughout Brian’s Yorkshire career, and went on to become the Club’s first-team coach during half-a-century of service. “Brian was a terrific competitor who never knew when he was beaten and he was the sort of bloke you wanted in your side” said Doug. “He was an exceptional all-round cricketer with tremendous enthusiasm and a not-to-be beaten attitude. He was a magnificent character to play cricket with and very unselfish – a great team man who didn’t think of personal things but was 100 per cent for the team and 100 per cent Yorkshire.” Former England captain, Raymond Illingworth, also paid warm tribute to his close friend and county captain, as did virtually every other White Rose cricketer who had the privilege to play alongside him. There was a packed congregation for a Service of Thanksgiving for Brian which was held at St Chad’s Parish Church, Far Headingley. Moving tributes were paid by Bryan Stott, Sir Ian Botham and Colin Graves, Chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board. David Warner A TRIBUTE TO HERBERT JONES Herbert, as he was known, sadly passed away following a long illness on Sunday, 12th June 2016 aged 86. Herbert was well known in the Barnsley area as a long-standing stalwart at Monk Bretton Cricket Club, having played there for all but a couple of years from the age of 14. Of his 60 years playing at the club he had served the club both as a player and a supporter. For many years he captained the