Bob Appleyard

Infobox Historic Cricketer


nationality = English
country = England
country abbrev = Eng
name = Bob Appleyard
picture = Cricket_no_pic.pngbatting style = Right-handed batsman (RHB)
bowling style = Off-break (OB); Right-arm fast-medium (RFM)
tests = 9
test runs = 51
test bat avg = 17.00
test 100s/50s = 0/0
test top score = 19 not out
test balls = 1,596
test wickets = 31
test bowl avg = 17.87
test 5s = 1
test 10s = 0
test best bowling = 5/51
test catches/stumpings = 4/0
FCs = 152
FC runs = 776
FC bat avg = 8.52
FC 100s/50s = 0/1
FC top score = 63 not out
FC balls = 29,980
FC wickets = 708
FC bowl avg = 15.48
FC 5s = 57
FC 10s = 17
FC best bowling = 8/76
FC catches/stumpings = 80/0
debut date = July 1
debut year = 1954
last date = June 7
last year = 1956
source = http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Players/0/989/989.html

Bob Appleyard (Robert Appleyard; born June 27 1924, Wibsey, Bradford, Yorkshire, England) was one of the best English bowlers of the 1950s, a decade which saw England develop its strongest bowling attack of the twentieth century. Able to bowl fast-medium swingers or seamer and off-spinners with almost exactly the same action, Appleyard was a tragic figure whose career was almost destroyed by injury and illness after an amazing first full season in 1951.

He had a desperately sad start in life, walking into the bathroom of his home in Bradford to find the bodies of his father John Appleyard, his stepmother, and his two little sisters Wendy and Brenda, in a room thick with gas. Bob, who had been sent to stay overnight at his grandmother's, ran for assistance and the police were called. At the inquest, it was stated simply that John Appleyard had been greatly disturbed following the recent outbreak of the Second World War.

In his own words, "It is difficult even now to recall the details. I think I'd been spending some nights at my grandma's. She was on her own, and I spent quite a bit of time with her." [cite book|title=No Coward Soul|first=Stephen|last=Chalke|coauthors=and Derek Hodgson|publisher=Fairfield Books|year=2003|id=ISBN 0-953-11969-6] Bob's own mother had left home when he was aged just seven, while his sister Margaret died of diphtheria.

Following the terrible discovery at Bradford, he was taken in by his stepmother's parents. He never spoke about the tragedy to his team mates during his playing career and only revealed the truth in his book 'No Coward Soul.

In adulthood Appleyard lost his son, Ian, to leukaemia and later his grandson, John, to the same disease,, and as a young cricketer spent 11 months in hospital after being diagnosed with advanced tuberculosis. While in hospital Appleyard kept his fingers strong by squeezing a cricket ball under the covers.

In cricketing terms, perhaps his greatest achievement was to change from the swing and cut bowler of English conditions to one who could control the ball in the air and deceive batsmen on length in Australia.

Appleyard said: "I never discussed what I was doing with Len Hutton, but I knew I had to change. You have to adapt to different conditions and try different things and those are the sort of things missing from the modern game.

"Today's bowlers are stereotyped and they really should experiment more with different types of delivery." He had to learn to walk again and had the upper half of his left lung removed.

After pronounced success in local cricket within Yorkshire, Bob Appleyard was engaged by the county in 1950 at the age of 26 and played three games for the county, but taking only six wickets in two County Championship games against Surrey and Gloucestershire.

With Alec Coxon departing for league cricket and Brian Close on military service, it was thought that Yorkshire would have an ordinary season in 1951, yet Appleyard's amazing bowling, which saw him take the first 200 wicket aggregate for four years, ensured they remained near the top of the table all by himself. A big man at about 188 centimetres (6 feet one and half inches) and 97 kilograms (over 15 stone), Appleyard was able to bowl both as a paceman and as a spinner with no apparent changes of action, so that he could go through an innings with little rest and possess sting under all conditions of weather and wicket. He was an automatic choice as a "Wisden Cricketer of the Year" but did not gain representative honours - though these were expected.

However, after one match in 1952 a chronic illness kept Appleyard off the field for the rest of that year and all of 1953. Even at the beginning of 1954, Appleyard was not expected to play again, but a surprising recovery saw him second in the averages after Brian Statham and bowling with superb skill on a perfect pitch at Trent Bridge in his first Test. In the words of "Wisden": [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/f/20/f20284.html "His mixture of in-swingers, off-spinners and leg-cutters; his variations of flight and pace, bore the make of a highly-skilled craftsman"] . As a consequence Appleyard was chosen for the Ashes tour under Len Hutton. He again bowled with superb skill on unusually erratic Australian wickets, most notably in extreme heat at Adelaide in the Fourth Test which clinched the Ashes.

Appleyard enjoyed the more English conditions as the tour moved on to New Zealand and played a leading role the dismissal of New Zealand at Wellington in March for the lowest score in the long history of Test cricket. On a rain-affected pitch he took 4 for 7 as New Zealand were rolled for 26.

In 1955, now almost exclusively bowling spinners, Appleyard was almost unplayable on the wet wickets early in the summer, but unfortunately a knee injury wiped out almost all his cricket after the middle of June. However, he recovered his form well enough in 1956 to regain his Test place for the first match as Trent Bridge but did not bowl nearly well enough to challenge Jim Laker for the rest of the summer. Indeed, in a summer when the vast majority of pitches favoured spin, Appleyard's average was not exceptional. Then, 1957 saw Appleyard decline so badly that Yorkshire often left him out of their team: he seemed unable to show his old versatility when asked to open again with Trueman and was not gaining as much penetration on rain-affected surfaces. In fact, Appleyard declined so badly in 1958 that Yorkshire dropped him for good after early June and he never did well enough for the second eleven for them to consider retaining him, giving a sad end to a short but still brilliant career.

He became a highly successful business man after retirement from the game and founded a cricket school in Bradford. He has raised over a million pounds for youth cricket, working with the Sir Leonard Hutton Foundation Scheme for young cricketers. His proceeds from his book are donated to this fund. He was involved in a court case with Robert Maxwell over pension funds and won a large settlement. In 1997 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Bradford. [cite book|first = Derek A J|last= Lister|title=Bradford's Own|publisher=Sutton|year=2004|id=ISBN 0-7509-3826-9] . He was proud to serve as President of Yorkshire County Cricket Club into his eighties.

Trivia

* With the death of Alf Gover in 2001, Appleyard became the sole survivor among the 28 bowlers who have taken 200 wickets or more in an English cricket season (the last case was Tony Lock in 1957).

References

External links

* [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Players/0/989/t_Bowling_by_Season.html Test bowling]
* [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Players/0/989/f_Bowling_by_Season.html First-Class bowling]

Persondata
NAME=Appleyard, Bob
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Appleyard, Robert
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Cricketer
DATE OF BIRTH=27 June 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH=Bradford, England
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=