By 1929 Wilfred Rhodes was 51 years old and still bowling left-arm orthodox spin for Yorkshire — the senior statesman of English cricket who had bowled to W.G. Grace 30 years earlier and was now coaching the next generation. His final selection for England came in the 1929-30 West Indies tour, by which time he was 52.
Rhodes had been a Test cricketer for 30 years by 1929. His 1926 recall at age 48 had won the Ashes for England. The 1929 county season was the run-in to his final Test tour.
Wilfred Rhodes had begun his Test career in 1899 alongside W.G. Grace. By 1929 he had played 58 Tests over 30 years, and was still bowling regularly for Yorkshire in the County Championship at the age of 51. His 1929 first-class season produced 100 wickets at 15.39 — the 23rd time in his career he had taken 100 wickets in a season, an English record that stood until 2000.
The 1929 county season was, in retrospect, his last full one. He bowled, fielded and coached through the summer; Yorkshire finished second in the Championship behind Nottinghamshire. He was selected for the 1929-30 MCC tour of the West Indies, sailing in October 1929 at the age of 52. He played all four Tests of the series, becoming on debut at Bridgetown the oldest cricketer ever to play a Test match — a record his last Test (Kingston, April 1930) at 52 years and 165 days extended further.
Rhodes's career figures are unmatched in cricket: 4,204 first-class wickets, the most in cricket history; 39,969 first-class runs at 30.81; 58 Tests; the only cricketer to have taken over 4,000 first-class wickets and scored over 30,000 first-class runs. He retired from playing in 1930 and coached at Harrow School until 1936.
1899: Test debut alongside W.G. Grace
1926: Recall to England side at age 48; Ashes-winning Test bowling
1929 season: 100 wickets at 15.39 — 23rd 100-wicket season
Oct 1929: Selected for MCC tour of West Indies aged 52
Apr 1930: Last Test at Kingston aged 52 years 165 days
1899
Test debut
1926
Ashes-winning recall at age 48
1929
100 wickets in final full county season
Apr 1930
Last Test, aged 52 years 165 days
“I have bowled to four generations of batsmen. The grandsons of the men I bowled to in 1899 are now county professionals.”
Rhodes retired from playing after the 1930 season. He coached at Harrow School from 1931 to 1936. He went blind in his late 60s but continued to attend matches at Headingley until his death in 1973 at the age of 95 — the last surviving Test cricketer of the 19th century.
Wilfred Rhodes's 1929 season was the formal end of an English cricket career that had begun in the 19th century — the last full season of the man whose 4,204 first-class wickets remain the most in the history of the game.
Rhodes's 4,204 first-class wickets is the highest in cricket history. His 23 seasons of 100 first-class wickets is an English record. His Test career, 1899-1930, spans 30 years — a longevity not approached by any other Test cricketer.
Yorkshire v Essex
1932-06-16
On 15-16 June 1932 Herbert Sutcliffe (313) and Percy Holmes (224*) put on 555 for the first wicket against Essex at Leyton, breaking the world first-class record for any wicket and adding a layer of folklore — including a scoreboard that read 554 for several minutes and a hastily reversed declaration — that has clung to the partnership ever since.
Australia v England
1933-02-14
With the fate of the Bodyline series in the balance and England 216 for 6 chasing 340, Eddie Paynter checked himself out of a Brisbane hospital where he was being treated for acute tonsillitis, taxied to the Gabba in pyjamas and a dressing gown, and batted for nearly four hours to score 83. England drew level on first innings, won the Test by six wickets and the series 4-1.
Australia
1934-09-25
Days after the 1934 Oval Test, Bradman fell seriously ill with appendicitis that progressed to peritonitis. With antibiotics not yet available, he was given little chance of survival; his wife Jessie left Adelaide on a sea voyage to England prepared for the worst. He recovered after weeks of intensive nursing in a London nursing home and returned to first-class cricket the following Australian summer.