Portal:Cricket/Featured article/June

Brian Close is the youngest man ever to play cricket for England. He went on to play 22 Test matches for England, captaining them seven times, winning six times and drawing once. Close also captained Yorkshire to four County Championship titles, the main honour English county cricket clubs play for. He later went on to captain Somerset, where he is widely credited with turning Somerset round to a hard-playing team that helped mould Viv Richards and Ian Botham into the cricketing greats they became. Throughout his cricket career, which lasted from 1948 to 1977 season, Close was one of the most charismatic and well-known cricketers. Yet despite his successes, Close was dogged by controversy throughout his career. (more...)

Other featured articles: A. E. J. Collins – The Ashes – Bodyline – History of Test cricket (to 1883) – History of Test cricket (1884 to 1889) – Sydney Riot of 1879