Herbert Sutcliffe - Into Retirement

Into Retirement

As a reservist in the British Army, Sutcliffe was the first Yorkshire player to be called up, in August 1939, as the Second World War became imminent. He missed Yorkshire's final match of the season against Sussex at Hove, which ended on 1 September, the day the Wehrmacht invaded Poland. He rejoined the Royal Army Ordnance Corps and attained the rank of major. He did not leave Great Britain during his army service which ended in November 1942. Now aged 48, he was discharged from the army on medical grounds having undergone two operations that year for sinus trouble and a shoulder injury. For the remainder of the war, he divided his time between his sportswear business and charity fundraising.

Like most top-class players, Sutcliffe occasionally played in charity matches during the war, including three to raise money for the Red Cross in 1940. In one of these, he played for a Yorkshire XI against a Bradford League XI at Park Avenue and scored 127, which was his last-ever century. The League team included Eddie Paynter, Manny Martindale and Learie Constantine, who scored a brilliant century in what Sutcliffe described as "a gem of an innings".

Although Alan Gibson described Sutcliffe as "a good public speaker", Sutcliffe himself seems to have been modest about this ability. During the war, he was asked to share a charity event platform with Sir Compton Mackenzie in Bradford. Mackenzie gave a brilliant speech that was well received and Sutcliffe said to him: "Oh, my, how I wish I could speak like you". Mackenzie, who was a keen cricket fan, replied: "You don't wish nearly as much that you could speak like me as I wish I could bat like you".

Sutcliffe had already stated his intention to retire from first-class cricket but nevertheless he returned in August 1945 at the age of 50 for one final match after the war in Europe ended. He captained the Yorkshire team in a match against a Royal Air Force team at North Marine Road in the renewed Scarborough Festival. The match was drawn after being affected by the weather. Sutcliffe batted once, going in at number 5, and scored just 8 runs before being dismissed leg before wicket (lbw) by Bill Edrich.

In 1949, Sutcliffe was accorded honorary membership of MCC and joined what was then a select company of English professionals including George Hirst, Wilfred Rhodes and Jack Hobbs.

Sutcliffe continued to be involved in cricket and his Wisden obituary says: "His repayment to the game which had given him so much was service on the Yorkshire committee, as an England selector, and as sponsor for many good causes in cricket". In a tribute that was published with the obituary, Brian Sellers said: "We served together on the county committee for over 21 years". Sutcliffe was a Test selector for three years from 1959 through 1961, during which England played home series against India, South Africa and Australia.

In February 1963, Yorkshire appointed Sutcliffe a life member of the club and then, in July 1965, his old captain Sir William Worsley, now president of the club, formally opened the Sutcliffe Gates in the St Michael's Lane approach to the Headingley ground. Similar in design to the Hobbs Gates at The Oval, they carry the inscription:

In honour of a great Yorkshire and England cricketer

Sutcliffe retained his interest in cricket for the rest of his life. One of his final public appearances was in 1977 when, in his wheelchair and only a few months before he died, he was photographed at Headingley alongside Len Hutton and Geoff Boycott just after Boycott had emulated Sutcliffe and Hutton by becoming the third Yorkshire batsman to score 100 centuries in his first-class career.

Wisden summarised his career thus:

Herbert Sutcliffe was one of the great cricketers and he brought to cricket as to all his undertakings an assurance and capacity for concentration that positively commanded success. His technical talent matched his character and his achievements were therefore on the highest plane.

On 30 September 2009, Herbert Sutcliffe was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.