Worthington Stan Image 1 Derbyshire 1930

Description

Bolsover, Derbyshire born all-rounder Stan Worthington began his cricket career playing for the Bolsover Colliery Cricket Club in the Bassetlaw League. Fred Tate, who was talent-spotting for Derbyshire, saw him and introduced him to the club in 1923. Worthington, a middle order right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler, made his debut for Derbyshire against Nottinghamshire in August 1924, his only match that year. He scored a duck in his first innings and 12 in his second, but took four wickets in the match. He played three matches in 1925 and from 1926 played for the full season for the rest of his career. He hit a glorious 133 against Essex at Chesterfield in 1928, completing his century in 100 minutes, and in that year he reached 1,000 runs for the first of ten seasons.

He rarely hit the headlines, but his consistency and reliability was big factor in the success that Derbyshire enjoyed through the 1930’s. The County, normally one of the weaker English County teams, won the County Championship for the only time in its history in 1936, for which each player was awarded with a Gold Watch, engraved with the players name, date and Championship title. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1937.

Worthington played 9 Test matches for England, starting with selection for the New Zealand tour in 1929-30 when he made his Test debut at Christchurch in January 1930, but did little in his four Tests on tour and wasn’t recalled until India visited England in the summer of 1936. His greatest success was against India, when he scored 87 at Old Trafford and 128 at The Oval. In the Second Test, he shared a fourth wicket partnership of 266 with Wally Hammond that remains a record for Tests between England and India. He then toured Australia and New Zealand under Gubby Allen’s captaincy in 1936-37 playing in all five Tests, but an attempt to turn him into an opener was not a success, and he played no more Test cricket thereafter.

Worthington scored two centuries in the same match against Nottinghamshire at Ilkeston in 1938 before the Second World War intervened. Worthington stayed with Derbyshire for a couple of seasons after the War playing his last first class match in 1947 already aged 42, and then played Minor Counties cricket for Northumberland and in Lancashire League cricket and for ten years served as chief coach to Lancashire at Old Trafford..

During his 453 match career, Worthington scored 19,221 runs at an average of 29.07 with 31 centuries and 94 half centuries. With his bowling he took 682 wickets at a cost of 29.22 runs apiece with a best return of 8-29, twice taking ten wickets in a match and recording 16 five wicket hauls, and he also held 326 catches in first class play.

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