Denis Leng (26 November 1934 — September 2020) was an English first-class

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er. Leng was born at

Pudsey Pudsey is a market town in the City of Leeds borough in West Yorkshire, England. It is located midway between Bradford city centre and Leeds city centre. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it has a population of 25,393. History T ...

in November 1934 and was educated there at Primrose Hill Secondary Modern School. He played

club cricket Club cricket is a mainly amateur, but still formal form of the sport of cricket, usually involving teams playing in competitions at weekends or in the evening. There is a great deal of variation in game format although the Laws of Cricket are obse ...

in the Bradford League for Farsley Cricket Club. Following a successful 1964 season for Farsley, in which he took 48 wickets with his right-arm fast-medium bowling, Leng was engaged by Cork County Cricket Club in Ireland the following season. With the commencement of the Guinness Cup in 1966, Leng was selected to lead the Munster bowling attack. Following good interprovincial returns, Leng was selected to play for

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

later in the 1966 season in a first-class match against the

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

(MCC) at

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. He took one wicket in the match, that of Michael Eagar, finishing with match figures of 1 for 36. He also batted twice in the match, ending the Irish first innings unbeaten without scoring and in their second innings he was dismissed for a single run by J. A. Bailey. Although this was his only first-class appearance, he continued to play minor matches for Ireland until 1968. In 1967 he led the Irish attack against

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

in the absence of Alec O'Riordan, with Leng touring England later in the season where he played against the MCC at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...

and the Combined Services at

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

, where amongst those he dismissed was John Baskervyle-Glegg. He played his final two matches for Ireland in 1968, both against the touring

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizenship, citizens, nationality, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Aust ...

. In Irish domestic cricket he transferred from Munster to South Leinster in 1970 and in 1971. He returned to England in 1972, where he resumed playing club cricket in the Bradford League. Outside of cricket, by profession he worked in the textile industry. He was married to Margaret, with whom he had three children. Leng died in September 2020, following a long battle with

dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...

and other illnesses.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leng, Denis 1934 births 2020 deaths Cricketers from Pudsey English cricketers Ireland cricketers Deaths from dementia in England