Hedley Verity - Early Years

Early Years

Verity was born in Headingley, an area of Leeds, on 18 May 1905. He was the eldest child of Hedley Verity, who worked for a local coal company, and Edith Elwick, a Sunday school teacher. Verity also had two sisters, Grace and Edith. The family moved to Armley, then to the more rural location of Rawdon. From an early age, Verity watched Yorkshire play County Cricket matches at Leeds, Bradford and, during family holidays, Scarborough. Later, at Yeadon and Guiseley Secondary School, Verity played school cricket, bowling left-arm medium-paced deliveries; he maintained this style until 1929 and was capable of bowling both inswingers and outswingers. Verity left school aged 14 to work for his father, who had established a coal business in Guiseley, and played cricket for Rawdon's second team. Success on the field persuaded Verity to seek a career in professional cricket and a place in the Yorkshire team. While working for his father, he devoted increasing amounts of time to cricket practice.

In 1921, Verity made his debut for Rawdon in league cricket; some of his subsequent performances attracted the notice of the local press, and he took 29 wickets at an average of 13.80 that season. The following season, he was spotted by Yorkshire coach George Hirst and former England spinner Bobby Peel, who were talent scouting for Yorkshire, and given a trial in the cricket nets at Headingley cricket ground. Peel realised Verity was an intelligent bowler who had excellent control of where he pitched the ball, but believed he was not fast enough to be effective for Yorkshire. Meanwhile, critics in Rawdon began to see increased potential in his batting, which improved steadily; by 1924, the Yorkshire Evening Post described Verity as "one of the most promising cricketers in the Leeds district".

Verity moved to play for Horsforth Hall Park in 1924, where his batting became more productive than his bowling. By 1926, when he scored a total of 488 runs and took 62 wickets to win the Yorkshire Council League prize for best junior bowler, his all-round potential secured a second trial at Yorkshire. Receiving coaching from Hirst, Verity played several matches for the Yorkshire Colts. He was given little bowling to do, suggesting that he was chosen more for his batting at this stage, and was near the bottom of the team's bowling averages. Yorkshire did not allocate him to a local club, their practice towards promising cricketers at the time. Hirst was nevertheless impressed by Verity and recommended him to Accrington Cricket Club, a team in the Lancashire League looking for a professional cricketer. After a trial, Verity signed a contract in September 1926.