Famous Cricketers No 82 - H.E. 'Tom' Dollery

6. Warwickshire v Derbyshire, Edgbaston, August 4, 6, 7 (Match drawn) b A.V.Pope 23 219 240 1 did not bat - 76-1 7. Warwickshire v Glamorgan, Edgbaston, August 15, 16, 17 (Warwickshire won by 37 runs) c E.C.Jones b J.C.Clay 33 160 159 c J.C.Clay b J.Mercer 0 175 139 8. Warwickshire v Middlesex, Edgbaston, August 18, 20, 21 (Warwickshire won by 167 runs) b J.M.Sims 34 246 332 b B.G.W.Atkinson 44 330-6d 77 1 SEASON’S AVERAGES Batting and Fielding M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St County Championship 6 10 0 181 44 18.10 - - 4 - Career 8 14 1 275 85* 21.15 - 1 4 - 1935 With Len Bates retiring there was a vacancy in the Warwickshire top order and Dollery grabbed it with both hands. In the very first game he saved Warwickshire from probable defeat in a seventh wicket stand of 199 with Tom Collin against Gloucestershire’s “crack” spinners Parker and Goddard on a turning pitch, both scoring their maiden first-class hundreds. Dollery’s century was scored in 115 minutes with one six and twelve fours, and his captain, Bob Wyatt presented him with his county cap after the match. After this he never looked back, and going in usually at number five, he shared many stands with Wyatt, (who was also England’s skipper again that season), so he picked up a great deal on how to pace and shape an innings from that most pragmatic of cricketers. A second hundred against Glamorgan in late July set up Warwickshire’s last win of the season as they then fell away badly to finish in eighth place. But they had found a more than capable replacement for Bates, as Dollery also filled Bates’s place in the covers as well as finishing third behind Wyatt and Reg Santall in the batting averages. Only just turned twenty, Wisden described Dollery as one of the most promising batsmen in the country. Own Team O M R W Opp Ct St Total Total 9. Warwickshire v Gloucestershire, Edgbaston, May 4, 6, 7 (Match drawn) b T.W.J.Goddard 26 228 360 c W.L.Neale b C.W.L.Parker 100 388-7d 1 0 2 0 165-4 10. Warwickshire v Middlesex, Lord’s, May 15, 16, 17 (Warwickshire won by 144 runs) c and b R.W.V.Robins 2 164 112 not out 54 253-7d 161 1 11. Warwickshire v Sussex, Hove, May 18, 20, 21 (Warwickshire won by 10 runs) b J.H.Parks 11 272 183 1 b M.W.Tate 44 183 262 12. Warwickshire v Surrey, Kennington Oval, May 22, 23 (Surrey won by ten wickets) b P.G.H.Fender 11 90 266 st E.W.J.Brooks b P.G.H.Fender 4 213 0.2 0 3 0 39-0 13. Warwickshire v Kent, Edgbaston, May 25, 27, (28) (Match drawn) st L.E.G.Ames b D.V.P.Wright 30 186 247 1 266-6 1 14. Warwickshire v Northamptonshire, Mitchells and Butlers Ground, Birmingham, May 29, 30, 31 (Warwickshire won by nine wickets) b E.W.Clark 2 199 186 did not bat - 117-1 129 15. Warwickshire v Nottinghamshire, Edgbaston, June 1, 3, 4 (Warwickshire won by four wickets) b H.J.Butler 67 300 234 2 c A.Staples b W.Voce 36 153-6 215 13