Post-war Career
After the war, Place, who was 31 at the time, was the first choice batsman to open with Cyril Washbrook. The partnership was one of the most prolific for Lancashire and the best on the county circuit at the time. The 1946 and 1947 English cricket seasons were Place's most successful, producing 1,868 runs at 41.51 and 2,501 at 62.52 respectively. These were his most productive seasons and in 1947 he scored 10 centuries including his career best 266 not out which was scored against Oxford University; his second-highest total centuries for a season is four. He was 12th man for England against South Africa when they played a Test match at Headingley. Place's "golden summer" earned him selection for England's tour of the West Indies when Denis Compton, Bill Edrich, Len Hutton, and fellow Lancastrian Cyril Washbrook opted out of the tour.
He made his debut on 21 January 1948 against the West Indies at Bridgetown. Place opened the batting with Jack Robertson, but was unsuccessful, scoring 12 in the first innings and 1 not out in the second when he dropped down the batting order to number six. Place sustained a bruised knuckle in the Test and missed the second Test due to a ruptured groin muscle that happened during a tour match against Trinidad. He was able to return for the final two matches of the series. Due to injuries to the team, Len Hutton had been called up, forcing Place to move from his accustomed place opening the batting to number three. In the third Test, he scored 1 and 15. Place's most significant Test innings came in his final match. After scoring 8 in the first innings, Place scored a battling 107, his only Test century.
On his return to England, Place drifted out of England contention, and did not even feature in the Test trial as England prepared for Australia's tour in 1948. Despite being overlooked by the national selectors, he remained an integral part of Lancashire's batting line up, scoring 1,000 every season between 1946 and 1953. In 1949, Place suffered a broken hand, keeping him from playing seven matches, although he did manage a county championship best of 226 not out against Nottinghamshire. He toured with the Commonwealth XI which toured India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka in 1949/50, scoring 386 runs at 20.31 in 12 matches.
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