Maurice Leyland

Maurice Leyland

Leyland in 1932
Personal information
Full name	Maurice Leyland
Born	(1900-07-20)20 July 1900 Harrogate, Yorkshire, England
Died	1 January 1967(1967-01-01) (aged 66) Scotton, Knaresborough, Yorkshire, England
Batting	Left-handed
Bowling	Slow left-arm orthodox
International information
National side	England
Test debut	11 August 1928 v West Indies
Last Test	20 August 1938 v Australia
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1920–1946	Yorkshire
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class Matches 41 686 Runs scored 2,764 33,660 Batting average 46.06 40.50 100s/50s 9/10 80/154 Top score 187 263 Balls bowled 1,103 28,971 Wickets 6 466 Bowling average 97.50 29.31 5 wickets in innings 0 11 10 wickets in match 0 1 Best bowling 3/91 8/63 Catches/stumpings 13/– 246/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 31 October 2013

Maurice Leyland (20 July 1900 – 1 January 1967) was an English international cricketer who played 41 Test matches between 1928 and 1938. In first-class cricket, he represented Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1920 and 1946, scoring over 1,000 runs in 17 consecutive seasons. A left-handed middle-order batsman and occasional left-arm spinner, Leyland was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1929.

Born in Harrogate, Leyland came from a cricketing family. After playing locally, he made his Yorkshire debut in 1920, and appeared intermittently in the following two seasons. Although not statistically successful, he impressed judges at the club, and was a regular member of the team from 1923. He steadily improved over the following seasons to reach the fringes of the England team and made his Test debut in 1928 against the West Indies. That winter, he toured Australia – a controversial decision as he replaced the famous batsman Frank Woolley – and scored a century in his only Test of the series. He remained in the side until 1930, but a loss of form in the next two seasons called his place into question. He recovered by scoring 1,000 runs in August 1932 to secure his inclusion in the team to tour Australia in 1932–33.

During that series, Leyland scored runs several times under pressure and by the time Australia toured England in 1934, he was a leading batsman in the team. He held his place until 1938 when he was replaced in the team by younger batsmen for the series against Australia. Recalled for the final match, he scored 187, his highest Test score in what became his last match. After military service in the Second World War, Leyland returned to the Yorkshire team for one season before announcing his retirement from regular first-class cricket. He maintained his connection with Yorkshire, and served as the county coach between 1950 and 1963. He died in 1967.

Although he was neither aesthetically nor technically among the best batsmen, Leyland had a reputation for batting well under pressure. He performed most effectively against the best teams and bowlers, and in difficult situations; his Test batting record is better than his first-class figures, and against Australia his average is even higher. Outside of Tests, he had some success with the ball, and had it not been for the depth of spin bowling in Yorkshire, he might have been a leading bowler. He was one of the first to bowl left-arm wrist-spin, and may have invented the name to describe such deliveries: "chinamen". Very popular with team-mates and spectators, Leyland had a reputation as a humorist, and many stories were told about him.