Lives in Cricket No 3 - George Duckworth

wicket-keeper, also stood up to Maurice Tate in county matches, so it was perhaps not such a rarity. However, it provided a grand sight at international level. On his return, George Duckworth and his wife were driven in an open car through the cheering host that crowded the streets of Warrington en route to a civic reception with the mayor in the Town Hall, an illustrious event delayed, in some accounts, by a week, as the chief guest had been keen to watch the first-ever Rugby League cup final at Wembley. Next year, back home in England, he played a further three Tests against South Africa in 1929, but Les Ames was introduced for his own first Test in the fourth and last match of that series. It was the beginning of an amicable rivalry. An admirable feature of George Duckworth’s relationships was their lack of enmity in respect of competitors. He had close friendships with both Bill Farrimond 36 The Cricket George Duckworth receiving formal municipal congratulations, in May 1929, after returning from his first tour to Australia.