Thomas Stanley Worthington (21 August 1905 – 31 August 1973) was a

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 for

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

between 1923 and 1947 and for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

between 1930 and 1937. He was an

all-rounder An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a handful of batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are cons ...

, scoring over 19,000 runs and taking over 600 first-class wickets.

Career

Worthington was born at Bolsover, Derbyshire and went to Netherthorpe Grammar School,

Staveley, Derbyshire Staveley is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England, along the banks of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother (5 miles) northeast of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Chesterfield, (5 miles) west of Clowne, ...

. He became an electrician with the Bolsover Colliery Company and played for the Colliery Club in the Bassetlaw League. Fred Tate, who was talent-spotting for Derbyshire, saw him and introduced him to the club in 1923. Worthington played his debut for Derbyshire in August 1924 against

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

, his only game that year. He scored a duck in his first innings and 12 in his second, but took four wickets in the match. He played three matches in 1925 and from 1926 played for the full season for the rest of his career. Worthington was a middle order right-hand batsman and a medium-fast right-arm bowler. In neither role did he often hit the headlines, but his consistency and reliability was big factor in the success that Derbyshire enjoyed through the 1930s. The county, normally one of the weaker English

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 ...

teams, won the

County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...

for the only time in its history in 1936, for which each player was awarded with a Gold Watch, engraved with the players name, date and championship title. Worthington played

Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...

nine times for England, starting with the

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

tour in 1929/30. His greatest success was against

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

in 1936, when he scored 87 at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

and 128 at

The Oval The Oval, currently named for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club sinc ...

. In the second game, he shared a fourth wicket partnership of 266 with

Wally Hammond Walter Reginald Hammond (19 June 1903 – 1 July 1965) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Gloucestershire in a career that lasted from 1920 to 1951. Beginning as a professional, he later became an amateur and was appointed capt ...

that remains a record for Tests between England and India. He then toured Australia and New Zealand with

Gubby Allen Sir George Oswald Browning "Gubby" Allen CBE (31 July 190229 November 1989) was a cricketer who captained England in eleven Test matches. In first-class matches, he played for Middlesex and Cambridge University. A fast bowler and hard-hit ...

, but an attempt to turn him into an opener was not a success, and he played no more Test cricket. Worthington with Derbyshire stayed for a couple of seasons after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and then played

Minor counties The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes unde ...

cricket for

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

. He was Lancashire coach in the sixties, nurturing players like Harry Pilling. David Lloyd said he used to coach in a trilby, a cravat and a cigarette holder.Sky Sports Cricket ''The Cricket Lockdown Vodcast'' broadcast 11 June 2020 Lloyd says “he ruled the place with a rod of iron, he was feared by the players.” He was a

Wisden Cricketer of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based "primarily for their influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...

in 1937. Worthington died at

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...

in 1973.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Worthington, Stan 1905 births 1973 deaths English cricketers England Test cricketers Derbyshire cricketers People from Bolsover Cricketers from Derbyshire Northumberland cricketers Wisden Cricketers of the Year Players cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers English cricketers of 1919 to 1945 20th-century English sportsmen L. H. Tennyson's XI cricket team Marylebone Cricket Club Australian Touring Team cricketers