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proud history of English cricket, from WG Grace, the Gloucestershire doctor who invented the game as we know it, to Joe Root, its latest star, there was never a man quite like Brian Close ...

the title of England’s youngest Test cricketer belonged to Brian Close. His experiences came at the opposite extreme to TLC. According to a fascinating and highly relevant biography of Close ...

Brian Close died aged 84. He was the youngest cricketer ever to play for England and hardened into a battle-scarred veteran. The abiding image of Close comes from his last Test match, against the ...

Fearless, to the point of self-flagellation, Brian Close was the hardest man ever to play cricket for England. When West Indian pace double act Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith were at full throttle ...

Brian Close seen fielding at short leg during a 1976 Test, Gordon Greenidge lying on the ground after having hit a 6 In a sport like cricket, where batsmen constantly fear the dreaded bouncers and ...

Brian Close, renowned as one of England's ... He was England's youngest Test cricketer Close made his England debut against New Zealand in Manchester in 1949 aged 18 years and 149 days and he ...

Eric Morecombe joked that the start of the cricket season was the sound of leather on Brian Close. Most human beings, if faced by Sir Garfield Sobers playing a hook shot two yards away ...