Roly Jenkins
Encyclopedia
Roly Jenkins (24 November 1918 – 22 July 1995) was an English
cricket
er, almost exclusively for Worcestershire
as a leg spin
ner in the period immediately after World War II
. Along with Doug Wright
and Eric Hollies
, Jenkins was a star of the last generation of English leg-spinners before a more defensive mindset, followed by the advent of one-day cricket, all but killed off home grown wrist spinners.
Cricket writer, Colin Bateman, noted, "true to the leg-spinner's image, Roly Jenkins was one of the game's great characters and entertainers whose performances ebbed and flowed with how the mood took him. in an era when wrist-spinners flourished, Roly was one of the bigger spinners of the ball, if not always the most accurate".
in 1918. He first played for Worcestershire as a teenager in 1938, and established himself as a regular member of the team almost immediately. He was carefully nursed in his first three seasons - separated by six years with no county matches due to World War II
- but some of his performances already showed he was potentially a leg-spinner of more than ordinary ability. Although he had not reached a half century before the war, 1947 saw him come rapidly to the front as a gutsy middle-order batsman with a full range of leg-side strokes, and the following year he continued this advance as a batsman and, as a bowler, improved so much that he was chosen for the tour to South Africa
.
Although he did not do much in the Tests
, Jenkins' vicious spin was deadly against slower-footed batsmen on hard South African pitches. Initially an orthodox leg break bowler, around this time Jenkins shifted to a grip akin to a seam bowler, which allowed him such a firm and close grip on the ball. This spin was so strong that it compensated for his lack of a top-spinner, and the fact that his googly
was extremely easy to pick. Although he had neither the quick pace of Wright, or the artfulness of Hollies, Jenkins' spin and flight were so pronounced he surpassed both in the dry summer of 1949. Despite not playing a Test match, he took more wickets that season than any other bowler, and claimed a hat-trick
in each innings against Surrey
. This did not affect his batting: indeed, Jenkins reach 1,000 runs for the third successive year and was named one of the Cricketers of the Year
by Wisden
.
The following year, saw Jenkins play in two Tests against the West Indies. In the first, he took nine wickets, but conceded almost 300 runs. Jenkins was probably the only English spinner who might have spun the ball appreciably on the cast-iron Australian wickets of previous years, a shift to a wetter climate meant he was not considered. His all-round work continued to be valuable for Worcestershire up to 1952, when he did the double
for the second time, and played in two Tests against India with some success.
In his benefit
year of 1953, Jenkins began superbly as a bowler but not only lost form with the bat so much he averaged under ten an innings, but also suffered a serious injury that caused him to miss half the season, and his actual benefit match against Leicestershire
. 1954's very soft pitches were unsuited to him both with bat and ball. However, after another injury in 1955, Jenkins returned to something like his best late that year, whilst in 1956 he took 101 wickets at a better average than ever before, and frequently captained
his county, he was established as an enthusiastic "senior professional" even though out of the running for higher representative honours. Apart from one match where he took eleven wickets, however, Jenkins' skill deserted him in 1957, and he played only a few games in 1958 before his engagement was not renewed. Nonetheless, after retiring from first-class cricket
, Jenkins played for fifteen years with West Bromwich Dartmouth in the Birmingham and District League, in the process establishing a reputation beyond that which he had as a county player.
Along with Derbyshire
wicket-keeper
s Bob Taylor
and George Dawkes
, Jenkins is one of only three players who have reached ten thousand career runs, while making only one century (against Nottinghamshire in 1948). Tony Lock
reached that figure with a highest score of 89.
Throughout his career, Jenkins was noted for his obsessive perfectionism: he would typically begin practising bowling at seven o'clock in the morning, and he was known for always bowling in his cap (though he batted without one).
Jenkins died in July 1995, in Worcester, at the age of 76.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er, almost exclusively for Worcestershire
Worcestershire County Cricket Club
Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Worcestershire...
as a leg spin
Leg spin
Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in the sport of cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action, causing the ball to spin from right to left in the cricket pitch, at the point of delivery. When the ball bounces, the spin causes the ball to deviate sharply from right to left, that...
ner in the period immediately after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Along with Doug Wright
Doug Wright (cricketer)
Douglas Vivian Parson Wright, better known as Doug Wright was an English cricketer. A leg-spinner for Kent and England from 1932 to 1957 he took a record seven hat-tricks in first class cricket. He played for Kent for 25 years and was their first professional captain from late 1953 to 1956...
and Eric Hollies
Eric Hollies
William Eric Hollies was an English cricketer, who is mainly remembered for taking the wicket of Donald Bradman for a duck in Bradman's final Test match innings, in which only four was needed for a Test average of 100...
, Jenkins was a star of the last generation of English leg-spinners before a more defensive mindset, followed by the advent of one-day cricket, all but killed off home grown wrist spinners.
Cricket writer, Colin Bateman, noted, "true to the leg-spinner's image, Roly Jenkins was one of the game's great characters and entertainers whose performances ebbed and flowed with how the mood took him. in an era when wrist-spinners flourished, Roly was one of the bigger spinners of the ball, if not always the most accurate".
Life and career
Roland Oliver Jenkins was born in Rainbow Hill, WorcesterWorcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
in 1918. He first played for Worcestershire as a teenager in 1938, and established himself as a regular member of the team almost immediately. He was carefully nursed in his first three seasons - separated by six years with no county matches due to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
- but some of his performances already showed he was potentially a leg-spinner of more than ordinary ability. Although he had not reached a half century before the war, 1947 saw him come rapidly to the front as a gutsy middle-order batsman with a full range of leg-side strokes, and the following year he continued this advance as a batsman and, as a bowler, improved so much that he was chosen for the tour to South Africa
English cricket team in South Africa in 1948-49
The England national cricket team toured South Africa in the 1948-49 season. The tour was organised by the Marylebone Cricket Club and the side played five Test matches as England and 16 other first-class matches as "MCC". Two of the first-class matches took place in Rhodesia...
.
Although he did not do much in the Tests
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
, Jenkins' vicious spin was deadly against slower-footed batsmen on hard South African pitches. Initially an orthodox leg break bowler, around this time Jenkins shifted to a grip akin to a seam bowler, which allowed him such a firm and close grip on the ball. This spin was so strong that it compensated for his lack of a top-spinner, and the fact that his googly
Googly
In cricket, a googly is a type of delivery bowled by a right-arm leg spin bowler. It is occasionally referred to as a Bosie , an eponym in honour of its inventor Bernard Bosanquet.- Explanation :...
was extremely easy to pick. Although he had neither the quick pace of Wright, or the artfulness of Hollies, Jenkins' spin and flight were so pronounced he surpassed both in the dry summer of 1949. Despite not playing a Test match, he took more wickets that season than any other bowler, and claimed a hat-trick
Hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...
in each innings against Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
. This did not affect his batting: indeed, Jenkins reach 1,000 runs for the third successive year and was named one of the Cricketers of the Year
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
The Wisden Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season"...
by Wisden
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
.
The following year, saw Jenkins play in two Tests against the West Indies. In the first, he took nine wickets, but conceded almost 300 runs. Jenkins was probably the only English spinner who might have spun the ball appreciably on the cast-iron Australian wickets of previous years, a shift to a wetter climate meant he was not considered. His all-round work continued to be valuable for Worcestershire up to 1952, when he did the double
Double (cricket)
A cricketer is said to achieve the double if he scores a thousand or more runs and also takes a hundred or more wickets in first-class matches during the course of a single season. The feat is extremely rare outside England because of the smaller number of first-class matches played in most other...
for the second time, and played in two Tests against India with some success.
In his benefit
Benefit (sports)
A benefit or testimonial is a match or season of activities granted by a sporting body to a loyal sportsman to boost their income before retirement. Often this is in the form of a match for which all the ticket proceeds are given to the player in question.There have been occasions when a...
year of 1953, Jenkins began superbly as a bowler but not only lost form with the bat so much he averaged under ten an innings, but also suffered a serious injury that caused him to miss half the season, and his actual benefit match against Leicestershire
Leicestershire County Cricket Club
Leicestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Leicestershire. It has also been representative of the county of Rutland....
. 1954's very soft pitches were unsuited to him both with bat and ball. However, after another injury in 1955, Jenkins returned to something like his best late that year, whilst in 1956 he took 101 wickets at a better average than ever before, and frequently captained
Captain (cricket)
The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player...
his county, he was established as an enthusiastic "senior professional" even though out of the running for higher representative honours. Apart from one match where he took eleven wickets, however, Jenkins' skill deserted him in 1957, and he played only a few games in 1958 before his engagement was not renewed. Nonetheless, after retiring from first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
, Jenkins played for fifteen years with West Bromwich Dartmouth in the Birmingham and District League, in the process establishing a reputation beyond that which he had as a county player.
Along with Derbyshire
Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Derbyshire...
wicket-keeper
Wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike...
s Bob Taylor
Bob Taylor (cricketer)
Robert William Taylor , known as Bob Taylor, is a former English cricketer who played as wicket-keeper for Derbyshire between 1961 and 1984 and for England between 1971 and 1984. He made 57 Test, and 639 first class cricket appearances in total, taking 1,473 catches. The 2,069 victims across his...
and George Dawkes
George Dawkes
George Owen Dawkes was a first-class cricketer who played for Leicestershire between 1937 and 1939 and for Derbyshire between 1947 and 1961 as a wicket keeper and a lower-order right-handed batsman...
, Jenkins is one of only three players who have reached ten thousand career runs, while making only one century (against Nottinghamshire in 1948). Tony Lock
Tony Lock
Graham Anthony Richard Lock was an English cricketer, who played primarily as a left-arm spinner. He played in forty nine Tests for England taking 174 wickets at 25.58 each.-Life and career:...
reached that figure with a highest score of 89.
Throughout his career, Jenkins was noted for his obsessive perfectionism: he would typically begin practising bowling at seven o'clock in the morning, and he was known for always bowling in his cap (though he batted without one).
Jenkins died in July 1995, in Worcester, at the age of 76.