Lives in Cricket No 3 - George Duckworth

Acknowledgements In the production of this little account and tribute to a popular and gifted cricketer I have been heavily indebted to several kindly help-meets. Among these I must mention Peter Rogerson of the Warrington Central Library; Tony Percival, the Cheshire archivist and a fellow school pupil; and David Jeater, the most encouraging, erudite and diligent editor of this excellent new ACS series. My good friends, Keith Hayhurst and Malcolm Lorimer, those enthusiastic and dedicated keepers of the ark of the Red Rose covenant, sprang promptly and comprehensively into action when called upon yet again to do so, and supplied valuable materials, statistics, pictures, recollections, indeed, a complete foundation for this study. My thanks, too, to Roger Mann for supplying some of the photographs. I must thank members of George Duckworth’s family for their immense help. His niece, Ruth Duckworth, provided much valuable data, especially about George Duckworth’s early life and background, while his grandson, Hugh de Prez, and nephew, Alan Bolton, were also quick to assist with useful information. George Duckworth’s daughter, Barbara de Prez, not only gave freely of memories of her father, but, happily, she also commented perceptively and lucidly about his several fetching human qualities. These family remembrances lie at the heart of this study and I am extremely grateful for their assistance. Eric Midwinter June, 2007 72