On this Day in Yorkshire July 26th 1949 Brian Close becomes the youngest cricketer to play for England.

Old Trafford was the venue for Brian Close’s England debut in 1949. Picture credit: Southdunedane wikipedia creative commons.

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One of Yorkshire’s finest cricketers came to national attention when he was selected to play for England at the tender age of 18 against New Zealand. The all-rounder was called up to play in the Third Test at Old Trafford, which lasted for three days and ended in a draw. Despite the hype his debut was not a terribly memorable one. With the bat he was out for a duck after three balls, caught Rabone b Burtt and then had match bowling figures of 1-85 off 42 overs. He would only appear in 21 more test matches for his country, but his success as Yorkshire captain through the 1960s were legendary…