Brian Close
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| Full name | Dennis Brian Close, CBE | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
24 February 1931 Rawdon, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
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| Died | 13 September 2015 (aged 84) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting style | Left-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling style | Right-arm off break, Right-arm medium | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | All-rounder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Test debut (cap 344) | 26 July 1949 v New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 8 July 1976 v West Indies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI debut (cap 14) | 24 August 1972 v Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last ODI | 28 August 1972 v Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1949–70 | Yorkshire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1950–67 | MCC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1971–77 | Somerset | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Association football career
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| Source: cricketarchive, 18 August 2007 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
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| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1949–1950 | Leeds United | 0 | (0) |
| 1950–1952 | Arsenal | 0 | (0) |
| 1952–1953 | Bradford City | 6 | (2) |
| National team | |||
| 1948 | England U18 | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Dennis Brian Close, CBE (24 February 1931 – 13 September 2015) was an English cricketer, the youngest man ever to play Test cricket for England. He was picked to play against New Zealand in July 1949, when he was 18 years old. Close went on to play 22 Test matches for England, captaining them seven times (six wins, one draw). Close also captained Yorkshire to four county championship titles – the main domestic trophy in English cricket. He later went on to captain Somerset, where he is widely credited with developing the county into a hard-playing team, and helping to mould Viv Richards and Ian Botham into the successful players they became.
Throughout his cricket career, which lasted from 1948 until the 1977 season, Close was one of the most charismatic and well-known cricketers. He scored almost 35,000 runs as a batsman, including 52 centuries with a highest innings score of 198. He also took 1,168 dismissals as a bowler, and over 800 catches as a fielder (and one stumping, as a stand-in wicket-keeper). At just over six feet (1.83 m) tall he was a noticeable presence on the field, often fielding at the short leg position, close to the batsman. As cricketers did not use head or body protection in Close's day, he would often get hurt when a batsman struck a ball that hit him. Close was also noted, as a batsman, for standing up to intimidatory bowling, letting the ball hit his unprotected torso rather than flinching.
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