Herbert Sutcliffe - 1928 To 1932

1928 To 1932

During the five years 1928 to 1932, Sutcliffe played 181 matches (254 innings) in which he was not out 36 times, scoring 15,529 runs for a total average of 70.35.

Sutcliffe made his only tour of South Africa in 1927–28, playing in 14 matches and scoring 1,030 runs at 51.50 with 2 centuries and a highest score of 102. He was able to open the England innings with Holmes, Hobbs having declined the tour, and made his score of 102 in the first innings of the First Test at the Old Wanderers ground in Johannesburg, England winning by 10 wickets.

In 1928, Sutcliffe scored 3,000 runs in a season for the first time, a feat he repeated in 1931 and 1932, becoming the first player to achieve it three times. Only Patsy Hendren and Walter Hammond have equalled the feat. Sutcliffe's 1928 tally was 3,002 at 76.97 with a highest score of 228 among 13 centuries and 13 half-centuries. He played in all three Tests against West Indies in 1928. This was West Indies' inaugural Test series and their batsmen struggled against a strong England attack so that England was able to win all three Tests by an innings. But Sutcliffe was very impressed by the fast bowling of Learie Constantine, George Francis and Herman Griffith and said of them during the Lord's Test that he had "never played finer fast bowling".

Under the leadership of Percy Chapman, Sutcliffe toured Australia again in 1928–29 with Hobbs as his opening partner. England won the first two Tests before Hobbs and Sutcliffe played major roles in one of the most famous Test matches ever at Melbourne. Australia won the toss and batted first, making 397 thanks to centuries by Alan Kippax and Jack Ryder. England scored 417 with 200 by Hammond and 58 by Sutcliffe. Australia then scored 351 with 107 by their captain Bill Woodfull and a maiden Test century by Don Bradman. This left England needing 332 to win. Australia had ended the 5th day of a timeless match on 347–8 and the pitch was showing increasing signs of wear. Overnight, a storm broke and soaked the pitch which, as the sun shone on it through the morning, became what Bradman later described as "the worst sticky I ever saw". Even Wisden admitted that it "may fittingly be described as a beastly wicket". Play on the sixth day did not begin until 12:51 and Australia's last two wickets quickly fell with just 4 runs added to their overnight total. Clem Hill reckoned that the state of the pitch was such that "odds of ten to one against an England success would be generous" and Hugh Trumble reportedly told Jack Hobbs that 70 would be a good total. Wisden recorded that "then it was that the wonderful skill of these two (Hobbs and Sutcliffe) showed itself so prominently for, with the ball turning and getting up almost straight, they put on 105 for the first wicket... the two batsmen rendered England splendid service by an historic stand and made victory probable". Having survived the last 5 minutes before lunch, they added 75 in the afternoon session when "the ball was turning and at other times getting up almost straight". Hobbs had nearly been dismissed early on when a catch was dropped but the two batsmen played with "remarkable footwork, masterly defence and unerring skill in a difficult situation". Hobbs was out when the score had reached 105 and then Sutcliffe added another 94 in partnership with Douglas Jardine as the wicket eased and close of play was safely reached with the total at 171–1 (Sutcliffe 83 not out). Next morning, with conditions much more favourable, Sutcliffe batted on until he was finally out for 135 with the total on 318–4 and only 14 more needed. There was a slight scare as three more wickets fell, including Chapman who was caught at cover when trying for the winning hit. But the runs were obtained and England had won a famous victory against the odds by 3 wickets. Sutcliffe later said that he considered this to have been his finest innings ever. Jardine later wrote about the number of times Hobbs and Sutcliffe were hit "all over the body" during their stand and made the point that, if a batsman is to make runs on an Australian sticky wicket, then being hit by the ball is inevitable.

In 1929, Sutcliffe scored 5 centuries against the South African tourists. The first was 113 for Yorkshire in a drawn match at Bramall Lane He then scored four in the Test series, including two in the same match in the Fifth Test at The Oval. His season aggregate was 2,189 runs at 52.11 with 9 centuries and a highest score of 150 against Northamptonshire.

In 1930, Sutcliffe was the leading Englishman in the first-class batting averages behind Don Bradman (i.e., of batsmen with 10 completed innings). In a summer of hot, thundery weather that produced some exceptionally bad pitches, Sutcliffe averaged 87.61 in the four Tests he played in, scoring 161 in the Fifth Test at The Oval. Sutcliffe's first-class aggregate in 1930 was 2,312 runs at 64.22 with 6 centuries and a highest score of 173 against Sussex.

During the winter of 1930–31, Hobbs and Sutcliffe went on a private tour of India and Ceylon that was organised by the Maharajkumar of Vizianagram (popularly known as "Vizzy"). There is debate in some quarters about the status of matches played on this tour, which are not recognised as first-class by Wisden in contrast to certain other publications. The scores were printed in The Cricketer Spring Annual in 1932 and presented as first-class but escaped general notice at the time and were largely ignored until some statisticians took an interest in them in the 1970s. It is known that neither Hobbs nor Sutcliffe thought they were first-class matches; they regarded them as exhibition games arranged for Vizzy's personal entertainment. Nevertheless, Sutcliffe scored 532 runs and 2 centuries in the disputed matches and this has impacted his first-class statistical record with two versions in circulation.

In all first-class cricket in the 1931 season, Sutcliffe scored four centuries in consecutive innings and averaged 96.96, topping the first-class averages for the first time. He totalled 3,006 runs with a highest score of 230 among 13 centuries. Yorkshire historian Jim Kilburn commented on Sutcliffe's general consistency as "almost past believing" while Sutcliffe himself reckoned that his accomplishments in 1931, which was a wet summer, were the best of his entire career.

When Yorkshire played Gloucestershire at Park Avenue, Bradford, in July 1932, Sutcliffe completed his 100th century. He was the first Yorkshire player and the seventh overall to achieve the feat. Having scored 83 in the first innings, he reached his target with 132 in the second. Yorkshire won the match by 133 runs. Yorkshire honoured the occasion by presenting Sutcliffe with a cheque for 100 guineas, repeating Surrey's reward paid to Jack Hobbs when he scored his 100th century. In Yorkshire's match against Essex at Leyton, Holmes and Sutcliffe set a world record partnership for any wicket of 555. This remained the world record for any wicket till 1945–46 and it was not until 1976–77 that it was beaten for the first wicket. It remains the record partnership for any wicket in England. Sutcliffe's share of the stand was 313, his career highest score. Yorkshire batted first and, at the end of the first day, the score stood at 423–0, with Holmes on 180 and Sutcliffe on 231, already beating their previous best stand of 347 against Hampshire in 1920. Bill Bowes and Hedley Verity then proceeded to bowl Essex out twice and Yorkshire won by an innings and 313 runs.

Sutcliffe scored 3,336 runs in 1932, the highest season total of his career and it included his highest individual score of 313, made in the world record stand at Leyton. He averaged 74.13 with 14 centuries and 9 half-centuries. He became the third batsman after K S Ranjitsinhji and C B Fry to score 1,000 runs in a month twice in the same season, making 1,193 in June and 1,006 in August. His total of 3,336 is the sixth highest season aggregate behind Denis Compton (3,816 in 1947), Bill Edrich (3,539 in 1947), Tom Hayward (3,518 in 1906), Len Hutton (3,429 in 1949) and Frank Woolley (3,352 in 1928). His fourteen centuries in the season have been bettered only by Compton (18 in 1947), Jack Hobbs (16 in 1925) and Walter Hammond (15 in 1938).