The Youngest Man Ever to Play Test Cricket for England.

Brian Close is the youngest man ever to play Test cricket for England. He was admitted to the Test team to play against New Zealand at just 18 years and 149 days old. Close went on to play 22 Test matches for England, captaining them seven times, winning six times and drawing once. Close also captained Yorkshire to four county championship titles. He later went on to captain Somerset, where he is widely credited with turning Somerset round to a hard-playing team that helped mould Viv Richards and Ian Botham into the cricketing greats they became.

Throughout his cricket career, which lasted from 1948 to 1977 season, Close was one of the most charismatic and well-known cricketers. At just over six feet tall he was a noticeable presence on the field, often fielding at short leg.

By the time Close retired from county cricket at the end of the 1977 season, he had achieved folk hero status for Somerset. He went on to play for Todmorden in the Lancashire League.

Close also had a stint as an England selector between 1979 and 1981 and in 1984 he was elected to the Yorkshire committee. He became chairman of the cricket sub-committee.

After his retirement from Somerset, Close continued to play at the Scarborough Festival against the touring international teams, first for TN Pearce’s XI in 1978 and then for his own XI from 1982 to 1986. In 1986, aged 55, and playing his last-ever first-class innings, Close needed 10 runs to achieve a career-total 35,000 runs. When he scored 4 he glanced a ball down leg-side to the wicket-keeper and walked. Afterwards, the New Zealanders said that if they'd known how near he was to the landmark, they would have let him stay, but Close would have none of it – he was out, and that was that. Close's 786 first-class matches leave him 10th on the all-time list. Only four other outfielders have taken more catches.

In a recent interview, Brian was asked how he would like to be remembered. He settled for, “He played with honour.” No doubt courage is included in that, and despite the controversies that surrounded him this is the essence of his reputation. He is one player who is never likely to be forgotten by those who knew him and watched him play.