Hedley Verity: Ashes legend and war hero remembered
The England cricketer died leading his troops against the German army in Sicily in 1943.
LONDON (Agencies) - England cricketer Hedley Verity, accustomed to the manicured turf and genteel surroundings of Headingley and Lord s, was now leading his troops against the German army in Sicily, British media remembered the legend on Sunday.
Shells were exploding overhead, illuminating the night sky. Artillery fire rained in from all angles, making the dusty ground fizz and spit venomously.
And the burning trees and crops surrounding Verity s battalion made them feel both trapped and exposed.
Captain Verity, 38 years old and suffering from the debilitating effects of dysentery, remained at the front of his men.
He ordered one of his platoons to a distant farmhouse and told the other to give them cover.
Almost as soon as he uttered the words, Verity was hit in the chest by a piece of shrapnel and dumped to the ground in agony. Yet he still implored his men to "keep going".
Verity died on 31 July 1943, almost exactly 70 years ago, and was the most illustrious of the five England Test cricketers to be killed in action.
The proud Yorkshireman is regarded as one of the most effective slow left-arm bowlers in the history of English cricket, having taken an astonishing 1,956 first-class wickets at an average of just 14.90, inspiring Yorkshire to seven County Championships during the 1930s.
The highlight of his domestic career was 10 for 10 against Nottinghamshire in a championship match in 1932, which is still a record today.
Verity played in four Ashes series, including the infamous Bodyline tour of Australia in 1932-33, which England won 4-1.
The second Test of the 1934 series has actually become known as Verity s match , after he took 15 for 104, including 14 wickets in a day and the scalp of the great Don Bradman in each innings.
Before Graeme Swann achieved the feat against Australia on Friday, he was the last England spinner to take five wickets in an Ashes Test at Lord s.
His Test record is 144 wickets in 40 Test matches at an average of 24.37 and he took Bradman s wicket more times than any other Test bowler - eight times in 17 Tests.
The legendary Australian actually wrote the foreword to Alan Hill s excellent biography Hedley Verity: Portrait of a Cricketer , which was published in 1986 and remains the definitive tome on the bowler.
Bradman writes: "We were great rivals and I grew to respect him both as a gentleman and a player.
His ideal physique and lovely economical lazy run-up were co-ordinated to put him in a perfect delivery position, with a superb command of length and direction.
"But more than his cricketing skill was his sportsmanship and manly bearing under all circumstances. I never once heard him complain or offer a criticism.
"His whole career exemplified all that was best about cricket and I deem it an honour and privilege to have been on stage with him in those golden days of the 1930s."
Former Yorkshire and England captain Brian Close told me Verity has long been revered at Headingley, the ground he was born within the shadow of where there is a plaque bearing his name next to the Hutton gates.
