Dennis Brookes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 England (ENG) |
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| Batting style | Right-hand bat | |
| Bowling type | Right-arm medium | |
| Tests | First-class | |
| Matches | 1 | 525 |
| Runs scored | 17 | 30,874 |
| Batting average | 8.50 | 36.10 |
| 100s/50s | -/- | 71/152 |
| Top score | 10 | 257 |
| Balls bowled | - | 158 |
| Wickets | - | 3 |
| Bowling average | - | 42.66 |
| 5 wickets in innings | - | - |
| 10 wickets in match | - | - |
| Best bowling | - | 1/7 |
| Catches/stumpings | 1/- | 205/- |
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Test debut: 21 January 1948 |
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Dennis Brookes (October 29, 1915 – March 9, 2006) was an English cricketer who played for Northamptonshire from 1934 to 1959 (as captain from 1954 to 1957). He also played in one Test match for England against West Indies in 1948. He was President of Northamptonshire from 1982 to 1984.
Brookes was born in Kippax, Leeds. He attended Kippax Council School, where he was captain of cricket and football. After being spotted playing club cricket as a teenager, he joined Northamptonshire in 1934, making his debut against Yorkshire in 1934, aged 18. The team at that time was very weak. It failed to win a match for four years from May 1935, and ended at the bottom of the County Championship table for each year from 1934 to 1938, seven years in nine, and second bottom the other two times. Brookes quickly became a regular in the county team, but his career was interrupted by the Second World War, in which he served as a sergeant-instructor in the RAF.
His batting really developed, though, after the Second World War and for the next 10 years he was at or near the top of the national batting averages. He was unlucky to play in no more than one Test match, the first Test on the 1947-48 tour of the West Indies. His tour ended prematurely after he chipped a finger bone immediately after the first Test.
Northampton's fortunes revived in 1949, when Freddie Brown became captain of Northamptonshire, and the team finished the season fifth in the County Championship. As senior professional, Brookes frequently stood in for Brown as captain in the early 1950s. Brown retired in 1953, and Brookes took over, the first professional captain of the county. The team included Frank Tyson and Keith Andrew, and Australians Jock Livingston, Jack Manning and George Tribe, and enjoyed a successful period under his leadership, coming seventh in the County Championship in 1954 and 1955, fourth in 1956, and achieving its highest-ever placing, second, in 1957. Brookes was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1957, but he stood down as captain for 1958, replaced by Raman Subba Row, an amateur. He retired from first-class cricket after the 1959 season, but captained the Players against the Gentlemen that year (his only appearance for the Players).
Brookes passed 1,000 runs in a season 17 times, and 2,000 runs six times. His highest score was 267, scored against Gloucestershire in 1949. He made 71 first-class centuries, including one against each of the other 16 counties, and six double centuries. He held many Northamptonshire records, including the most appearances (492), most career runs (28,980), most centuries (67) and most runs in a season (2,198 in 1952).
He was later captain of the Northamptonshire second XI, a coach for Northamptonshire, and a local magistrate. He was president of Northamptonshire from 1982 to 1985.
