Famous Cricketers No 4 - F.E.Woolley

INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRST EDITION No statistician should ever be carried away by the value of his figures, and in presenting this fourth of the Association of Cricket Statisticians series on famous cricketers, this thought has been much in mind. For unlike the three previous subjects, and probably most to come, statistics alone cannot hope to portray the true greatness of Frank Woolley. This record of his career innings by innings is thus offered as simply that, a record. The volume is also the first in this series to chronicle the career of an all-rounder, including of course Woolley's unique record as a fielder. For his help in sorting out in inconsistencies in the published scores, particularly bowling analyses and catches, I am very grateful to Philip Bailey, while the resources of The Cricket Society Library have proved invaluable. Material consulted in this study included:- Luckin, M.W. - The history of South African cricket , including the full scores of all important matches since 1876. Johannesburg: Hortor, 1915. Milton, Howard - Kent's greatest cricketer : a tribute to Frank Woolley on his ninetieth birthday, transcript of a broadcast on BBC Radio Medway on 22 May 1977. Peebles, Ian - Woolley, pride of Kent . “The Cricketer”/Hutchinson, 1969. Warner, Oliver - Frank Woolley . Phoenix House, 1952. Woolley, Frank - Early memoirs of Frank Woolley as told to Martha Wilson Woolley, “The Cricketer”, 1976. Woolley, Frank - The king of games . S.Paul, 1936. plus various issues/editions of:- Cricket : a weekly record of the game The Cricketer Kent County Cricket Club - Rules, list of members, balance sheet, matches etc . (“The Blue Books”). Wisden Cricketers' Almanack The matches included in this study are those accepted as first-class by the various ACS guides. Fortunately, unlike a number of his contemporaries, the status of only one game, played on the 1909-10 South African tour, is in dispute. Although this match is included in the career records published by some authorities, as the note at the season concerned suggests, there really should be no doubt on its exclusion. Howard Milton St John's Wood, London December 1988 3