Dennis Victor Dyer (2 May 1914 – 16 June 1990) was a South African

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 who played in 3

Tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

in 1947. Dyer, a product of

Durban High School Durban High School (Better known as D.H.S) is a public English medium high school for boys situated in the suburb of Musgrave in Durban in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. DHS opened its doors in 1866 in two rooms and with seven ...

, was a powerfully built right-hand opening batsman with immense patience.

Christopher Martin-Jenkins Christopher Dennis Alexander Martin-Jenkins, Order of the British Empire, MBE (20 January 1945 – 1 January 2013), also known as CMJ, was a British cricket journalist and a President of Marylebone Cricket Club, MCC. He was also the longest serv ...

, ''The Complete Who's Who of Test Cricketers'', Rigby, Adelaide, 1983, p. 283. He announced himself on his first-class debut with an innings of 185 for

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

against

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provinc ...

in 1939–40, but then lost the next six years to the Second World War.''

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

'' 1991, p. 1259. He re-established himself in the 1945–46 and 1946–47 seasons with further centuries and much was expected of him on the 1947 tour of England, when he was slated to open with Bruce Mitchell. But he began the tour so badly that the captain,

Alan Melville Alan Melville (19 May 1910 – 18 April 1983) was a South African cricketer who played in 11 Test matches from 1938 to 1949. He was born in Carnarvon, Northern Cape, South Africa and died at Sabie, Transvaal. Early life and cricket career ...

, opened in the first two Tests himself. When Dyer finally came into the side for the Third Test at

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, he scored 62 in three hours, and retained his place for the final two Tests, but did little else. Towards the end of the tour, he had an emergency operation for

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the Appendix (anatomy), appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and anorexia (symptom), decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these t ...

and it was revealed that he had felt ill for much of the tour. Dyer played for Natal against the

English cricket English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

tourists in 1948–49, but retired at the end of that season. Dyer's two sons,

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

and

Graham Graham or Graeme may refer to: People * Graham (given name), an English-language given name * Graham (surname), an English-language surname * Graeme (surname), an English-language surname * Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer * Clan ...

, also played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

for Natal and for other South African teams.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dyer, Dennis 1914 births 1990 deaths KwaZulu-Natal cricketers South Africa Test cricketers South African cricketers Cricketers from Durban Alumni of Durban High School