Roy Tattersall, who has died aged 89, enjoyed many triumphs bowling off-spin for Lancashire and England, none greater than that at Lord’s in 1951 when he skittled South Africa with figures of seven for 52 and five for 49.
Roy Tattersall bowling for Lancashire County Cricket Club in 1960
He had already established an ascendancy over the tourists when playing for MCC at Lord’s the month before, bundling them out for under 200 as he took eight for 51. Now, in the second Test, “Tatters” was quick to sum up the kind of attack required on the rain-affected wicket. Coming in off his curving run, he delivered his off-breaks — off-cutters, really, that day — at close to medium pace, forcing the South African batsmen into giving chances to the cluster of short legs.
Tattersall was unusually tall for an off-spinner, and had indeed begun his career as a seamer. One writer described him as a “lanky beanpole”; the perfectly groomed hair, however, dispelled any hint of disorder or indiscipline.
A highly intelligent bowler, he was always ready to vary his bowling to suit the conditions and his opponents. Batsmen who played for the off-break or off-cutter would suddenly find themselves confounded by a ball that floated away from the bat. Yet his subtle variations of pace and spin never compromised his accuracy.
Playing against India at Kanpur in 1952, he came on at 39 for no wicket. Within minutes the score read 39 for three as his second, sixth and eighth balls disposed of Mankad, Umrigar and Hazare — all batsmen of the highest quality. His final haul of six for 42 set up a rare England victory in India.
For Lancashire, Tattersall produced many devastating performances, but none so dramatic as in the match against Nottinghamshire in 1953, when he took seven wickets in 19 deliveries without conceding a single run. A number of dropped catches meant that the nine wickets with which he finished the innings cost him 40 runs; even so, this was the best analysis of his career. And in Nottinghamshire’s second innings he took five for 33.
Every season between 1950 and 1957 Tattersall exceeded 100 wickets, and generally he finished near the top of the first-class averages. It might seem odd, therefore, that he played only 15 times for England. Part of the reason, perhaps, is to be found in his withdrawn and introverted character, which cringed at the extrovert heartiness of team-mates and shrank from self-promotion.
There was, however, a better reason for the selectors so often ignoring Tattersall: he had the misfortune to be only six months younger than Jim Laker, the greatest of all England off-spinners.
Roy Tattersall was born at Tonge Moor, Bolton, on August 17 1922, and began to make his mark as a cricketer with Tonge and Bradshaw in the Bolton League. He made his debut for Lancashire against Glamorgan in 1948, opening the bowling with Dick Pollard and taking a wicket with his fourth ball.
It was Harry Makepeace, the Lancashire coach, who persuaded him to become an off-spinner, and in 1950, his first full season, he took 193 wickets at an average of 13.59, figures which placed him at the top of the first-class bowling averages for that season. It was as dramatic an arrival to pre-eminence as that of Bob Appleyard the next summer.
When injuries afflicted MCC in Australia in the winter of 1950-51, Tattersall and Brain Statham were flown out to the rescue. After only two games to accustom himself to the heat, Tattersall made his Test debut at Adelaide in February 1951, bowling with admirable persistence and accuracy on an easy-paced batting wicket.
In the next Test, at Melbourne, Tattersall — who batted left-handed without any pretensions to skill — managed to stay in for an hour while Reg Simpson murdered the bowling. Their last wicket stand put on 74, with Simpson taking his score from 92 to 156 not out, and Tattersall mustering 10 before being bowled by Keith Miller. England thus gained a handsome first innings lead, and went on to their first victory over Australia since 1938.
In the ensuing tour of New Zealand, Tattersall found his best bowling form, and in the second Test at Wellington, in bitterly cold conditions, took six for 44 in New Zealand’s second innings.
Back home again, he played in all five Tests against South Africa in 1951. It was noticeable, however, that despite Tattersall’s fine performance at Lord’s, he was hardly used as Jim Laker dominated South Africa’s batsmen at the Oval.
Laker, however, did not go with Tattersall to India in 1951-52. While Tattersall, never a vicious spinner of the ball, found that he could not get much turn from the Indian pitches, he was able to make up for that with clever variations in flight and pace which brought him 21 wickets in the Tests at 28.33 apiece.
Nevertheless, he found no place in the Test side when India toured England in 1952. By contrast, in 1953 he began the season in such fine form that he was preferred to Laker for the first Test against Australia at Trent Bridge. He bowled tidily enough, and took three cheap wickets in Australia’s second innings, only to be dropped for the rest of the series.
Tattersall felt that he never really gained the confidence of Len Hutton, who had been appointed captain of England in 1952. “He’d take you off too soon,” Tattersall recalled, “often after only four or five overs when you felt you were getting the better of your opponent.”
Tattersall remembered how Hutton had approached him during one such short spell: “What’s the matter? Are you tired?” “I thought I’d play him at his own mocking game,” Tattersall recalled. “I think you’re right, Len,” he told his skipper, “I do feel b******d.” The wry smile with which Hutton received this sally gave nothing away; Tattersall, however, played only once more for England, against Pakistan at Lord’s in 1954.
Altogether he took 58 wickets in Test cricket at an average of 26.08. As a Test batsman he scored 50 runs at an average of 5.00.
For a few more seasons he remained a formidable bowler for Lancashire, and in 1956 had the satisfaction of taking eight for 36 against Yorkshire. But that year, when he was lying third in the national bowling averages, and vying with Don Shepherd to be the first that summer to reach 100 wickets, he was suddenly dropped by Lancashire. “Why?” he demanded. “Ours is not to reason why,” the Lancashire coach Stan Worthington replied.
Though Tattersall would take 135 wickets in 1957 and 94 in 1958, he never really felt secure again. In 1959 he lost form completely and was allowed to bowl only 57 overs for Lancashire in the entire season.
In 1960 he shared a benefit — the Roses match against Yorkshire over the August Bank Holiday — with his fellow-spinner Malcolm Hilton. A crowd of 34,000 turned up for the first day, but the Lancashire selectors were not sentimental: both Tattersall and Hilton were playing for Lancashire Second XI at Scarborough. It was left to a team-mate to inform them by telegram of the vast crowd at Old Trafford: “Your prayers are answered.”
The benefit raised £11,655. But Tattersall had had enough: “I couldn’t live off second team money. I was 38 when I finished, but I could have gone on for three or four more years.” As it was, he ended his 328 first-class matches (277 for Lancashire) with the highly impressive record of 1,369 wickets at an average of 18.03. He took five or more wickets in an innings no fewer than 99 times, and 10 or more wickets in a match on 18 occasions. As a batsman he scored 2,040 runs at an average of 9.35.
Tattersall left Lancashire in 1960 and moved to the Birmingham area, where he worked for a carpet manufacturer. He also played for Kidderminster in the Birmingham Central League .
He is survived by his wife, Phyllis, and their daughters.
Roy Tattersall, born August 17 1922, died December 9 2011
There was, however, a better reason for the selectors so often ignoring Tattersall: he had the misfortune to be only six months younger than Jim Laker, the greatest of all England off-spinners.
Roy Tattersall was born at Tonge Moor, Bolton, on August 17 1922, and began to make his mark as a cricketer with Tonge and Bradshaw in the Bolton League. He made his debut for Lancashire against Glamorgan in 1948, opening the bowling with Dick Pollard and taking a wicket with his fourth ball.
It was Harry Makepeace, the Lancashire coach, who persuaded him to become an off-spinner, and in 1950, his first full season, he took 193 wickets at an average of 13.59, figures which placed him at the top of the first-class bowling averages for that season. It was as dramatic an arrival to pre-eminence as that of Bob Appleyard the next summer.
When injuries afflicted MCC in Australia in the winter of 1950-51, Tattersall and Brain Statham were flown out to the rescue. After only two games to accustom himself to the heat, Tattersall made his Test debut at Adelaide in February 1951, bowling with admirable persistence and accuracy on an easy-paced batting wicket.
In the next Test, at Melbourne, Tattersall — who batted left-handed without any pretensions to skill — managed to stay in for an hour while Reg Simpson murdered the bowling. Their last wicket stand put on 74, with Simpson taking his score from 92 to 156 not out, and Tattersall mustering 10 before being bowled by Keith Miller. England thus gained a handsome first innings lead, and went on to their first victory over Australia since 1938.
In the ensuing tour of New Zealand, Tattersall found his best bowling form, and in the second Test at Wellington, in bitterly cold conditions, took six for 44 in New Zealand’s second innings.
Back home again, he played in all five Tests against South Africa in 1951. It was noticeable, however, that despite Tattersall’s fine performance at Lord’s, he was hardly used as Jim Laker dominated South Africa’s batsmen at the Oval.
Laker, however, did not go with Tattersall to India in 1951-52. While Tattersall, never a vicious spinner of the ball, found that he could not get much turn from the Indian pitches, he was able to make up for that with clever variations in flight and pace which brought him 21 wickets in the Tests at 28.33 apiece.
Nevertheless, he found no place in the Test side when India toured England in 1952. By contrast, in 1953 he began the season in such fine form that he was preferred to Laker for the first Test against Australia at Trent Bridge. He bowled tidily enough, and took three cheap wickets in Australia’s second innings, only to be dropped for the rest of the series.
Tattersall felt that he never really gained the confidence of Len Hutton, who had been appointed captain of England in 1952. “He’d take you off too soon,” Tattersall recalled, “often after only four or five overs when you felt you were getting the better of your opponent.”
Tattersall remembered how Hutton had approached him during one such short spell: “What’s the matter? Are you tired?” “I thought I’d play him at his own mocking game,” Tattersall recalled. “I think you’re right, Len,” he told his skipper, “I do feel b******d.” The wry smile with which Hutton received this sally gave nothing away; Tattersall, however, played only once more for England, against Pakistan at Lord’s in 1954.
Altogether he took 58 wickets in Test cricket at an average of 26.08. As a Test batsman he scored 50 runs at an average of 5.00.
For a few more seasons he remained a formidable bowler for Lancashire, and in 1956 had the satisfaction of taking eight for 36 against Yorkshire. But that year, when he was lying third in the national bowling averages, and vying with Don Shepherd to be the first that summer to reach 100 wickets, he was suddenly dropped by Lancashire. “Why?” he demanded. “Ours is not to reason why,” the Lancashire coach Stan Worthington replied.
Though Tattersall would take 135 wickets in 1957 and 94 in 1958, he never really felt secure again. In 1959 he lost form completely and was allowed to bowl only 57 overs for Lancashire in the entire season.
In 1960 he shared a benefit — the Roses match against Yorkshire over the August Bank Holiday — with his fellow-spinner Malcolm Hilton. A crowd of 34,000 turned up for the first day, but the Lancashire selectors were not sentimental: both Tattersall and Hilton were playing for Lancashire Second XI at Scarborough. It was left to a team-mate to inform them by telegram of the vast crowd at Old Trafford: “Your prayers are answered.”
The benefit raised £11,655. But Tattersall had had enough: “I couldn’t live off second team money. I was 38 when I finished, but I could have gone on for three or four more years.” As it was, he ended his 328 first-class matches (277 for Lancashire) with the highly impressive record of 1,369 wickets at an average of 18.03. He took five or more wickets in an innings no fewer than 99 times, and 10 or more wickets in a match on 18 occasions. As a batsman he scored 2,040 runs at an average of 9.35.
Tattersall left Lancashire in 1960 and moved to the Birmingham area, where he worked for a carpet manufacturer. He also played for Kidderminster in the Birmingham Central League .
He is survived by his wife, Phyllis, and their daughters.
Roy Tattersall, born August 17 1922, died December 9 2011
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