Les Ames
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| Full name | Leslie Ethelbert George Ames | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
3 December 1905 Elham, Kent |
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| Died | 27 February 1990 (aged 84) Canterbury, Kent |
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| Batting style | Right-hand bat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling style | Legbreak | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Wicketkeeper | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| National side | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Test debut (cap 244) | 17 August 1929 v South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 3 March 1939 v South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1926–1951 | Kent | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricInfo, 11 June 2012
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Leslie ("Les") Ethelbert George Ames, CBE (3 December 1905 – 27 February 1990) was an outstanding wicket-keeper and batsman for the England cricket team and Kent County Cricket Club. In his obituary, the Wisden of 1991 described him as the greatest wicket-keeper-batsman of all time.
Born in Elham, Kent in 1905, he was mentored by F A MacKinnon, an ex-county player who lived in the village and then, after leaving Harvey Grammar School, Folkestone by G J V Weigall, the county coach, who encouraged him to learn to wicket keep so that he would have a better chance of playing for the county as an all-rounder.
He received the call to play for Kent while playing in West Malling and made his debut for Kent on 7 July 1926 against Warwickshire at the Nevill Ground in Royal Tunbridge Wells. He scored 35 and took 4 catches, even though J C Hubble was wicket keeper in that match. He played one more County Championship that season before becoming a regular in the 1927 season.
He went on the 1928–29 tour to Australia, but only played in several state matches before making his debut for England in the 5th Test against South Africa at The Oval on 17 August 1929, making a duck and taking 2 catches. His cap number for England is 244.
In Test cricket, Ames played 47 matches, scoring 2,434 runs with a batting average of 40.56, and taking 74 catches, and 23 stumpings. In first-class cricket, he scored 37,248 runs at an average of 43.51, including 102 centuries and 176 fifties, and took 704 catches and 417 stumpings. Unusually for a wicket-keeper, he also bowled over 200 overs, taking 24 first-class wickets with a bowling average of 33.37.
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