Rony Stanyforth – England’s Little Known Captain?

Martin Chandler | 10:17am BST 06 October 2024

A few years ago I used to write profiles of great players and, sometimes, not so good ones. It’s not something I’ve done for a long time as, even if I don’t realize it, I seem to have made a decision to read other people’s work rather than create my own. Or maybe I’ve just run out of subjects that interest me?

Another name that has always fascinated me is that of Rony Stanyforth. I knew that Stanyforth had captained England in South Africa in 1927/28, although not in his home county of Yorkshire, but knew little about him. This request came from a conversation with someone who was sad about who was England’s most famous captain.

In fact I think that title should go to Monty Bowden who led England at the age of 23 against South Africa at Newlands in the second Test of 1888/89. A modest batsman and occasional wicket-taker, Bowden remained in South Africa at the end of the tour and died three years later, but unlike Stanyforth he is the subject of a biography, though not one you see often*.

But I doubt anyone would dispute the proposition that Stanyforth is England’s most mysterious captain of the twentieth century, so I decided to look into his story. Given the relative paucity of First Class cricket involving Stanyforth while I certainly uncovered an interesting story it ended up nowhere near 3,000 words long that, for some reason that now escapes me, I always considered to be the right length for a profile. , so I shut the idea down and the story stayed on my hard drive.

Then last year, despite not having intended to find it, a signed photo of Stanyforth was part of a small cache of memorabilia I found at a UK bookseller. At that time I discovered that the Stanyforth signature is a rare thing, so I decided that the time was right to go on a high, bring back and fire up my old laptop and give the Stanyforth story a quick massage and I can share it with anyone who is interested.

The first remarkable thing I found about Stanyforth was that, before he was selected to lead England (or more accurately the MCC) in South Africa he had never played for Yorkshire. Moving on from there his Yorkshire career ended with three appearances in 1928, in successive matches in May and June. That seemed odd, and even more so because, flying in the face of Yorkshireman culture he prides himself on, Stanyforth was born outside the county, in London on 30 May 1892. .

Later, in 1941, Stanyforth got married, but the marriage was not blessed with children and the man who was baptized as Ronald Thomas Stanyforth was the last in his line. That alone may account, at least in part, for why cricket writers have shown so little interest in him.

By his background the Stanyforth’s were privileged and, hence considered a Yorkshireman, the family seat was at Kirk Hammerton Hall near York. Stanyforth’s ancestors had made a lot of money in business and part of it, sadly, seems to have come from the slave trade.

Stanyforth was the youngest of two children**, but only one son, so he ended up inheriting the family legacy. He was educated at Eton and his interest in cricket and many other sports was nurtured there. Whenever you are a goalkeeper it is important to note that when Stanyforth played for the Eton first XI he was never selected in games against other top schools. The story was similar when he moved up to Oxford, where he made his First Class debut against MCC in 1914. That event was the only time he appeared at the University at that level.

After University Stanyforth had no need to work, but chose to join the Army. With the Great War only a few weeks away and given the life span of young officers Stanyforth was lucky to survive the conflict. He was wounded in 1915, mentioned in a dispatch in 1917 and awarded the Military Cross, so he was clearly a brave man.

Remaining with the Army as peace returned Stanyforth found himself in Ireland during the martial law period of 1919 and 1920. After that Captain Stanyforth now took a good position, that of going to the Duke of Gloucester, the third. son of King George V.

His background in the military and the royal family undoubtedly gave Stanyforth opportunities to grow the game and he was involved with the MCC. In the early 1920s he played at First Class level for both the army and the MCC and in the winter of 1926/27 he was able to leave his military duties to tour South America with a strong MCC side led by ‘Plum’ Warner, at the time. 53.

The rookie team was excellent, all involved having first-class experience and ‘Gubby’ Allen and Jack ‘Farmer’ White continued to enjoy successful scouting careers. In those days the game in Argentina was particularly strong, and four games against the national team were given First Class status. The series was a competitive one, but MCC won 2-1 in the end. Warner rated Stanyforth as a ‘keeper, and wrote favorably of his abilities A cricketer. Stanyforth also excelled with the bat, becoming MCC’s leading scorer in First Class and recording what will remain his highest innings, 91, in the final and deciding match against Argentina.

South Africa, an established test country, however was a very different proposition. There is no doubt that Warner was responsible for the invitation issued to Stanyforth. Other rookies who accepted invitations were Derbyshire’s Guy Jackson, Warwickshire’s Bob Wyatt, Kent’s Geoffrey Legge, Leicestershire’s Eddie Dawson and Middlesex leg-spinners Ian Peebles and Greville Stevens. Douglas Jardine was among those who could not accept the invitation.

As for the masters Jack Hobbs, Patsy Hendren, Frank Woolley, Harold Larwood and Maurice Tate all refused to make themselves available, but Walter Hammond, Herbert Sutcliffe, ‘Tich’ Freeman, George Geary, Ewart Astill, Sam Staples, Harry Elliott (the last ‘keeper ) and Ernest Tyldesley all did so while the side was still strong.

The first choice as captain was Jackson, but he had a nervous breakdown and withdrew. It was only then that Stanyforth was appointed to lead the side, and Sutcliffe’s Yorkshire opening colleague, Percy Holmes, replaced Jackson in the party.

The test series was interesting. The Stanyforth boys won the first two Tests, then drew the third before the home team resumed the series by winning the fourth and fifth Tests. Due to an eye injury, Stanyforth missed the final day of the fourth and fifth Tests when, aged just 19, Stevens took over the captaincy, a decision that seems odd given that Wyatt also played in the match.

What was the verdict on the four Stanyforth trials? His batting was not a good swing, his six innings yielding only 13 runs at 2.60. After the stumps he held seven stumps and made two stumps. He conceded 50 byes in the seven innings he was behind – his deputy, Derbyshire’s Elliott, conceded one in the last Test.

So why, having never played for Yorkshire before, did Stanyforth turn up for the county in those three games in 1928? There is no definitive answer, but several factors have been suggested. First Yorkshire’s long-serving goalkeeper, Arthur Dolphin, had retired at the end of the 1927 season, so there was a vacancy.

Arthur Wood, who had played on his own the previous summer, played in the first few games of the 1928 campaign, and Stanyforth got his three chances before Wood returned for the rest of the season, and in the rest of the field. years of war. In his three matches Stanyforth has taken 61 byes, and while he has been slightly better batting than he was in Tests last winter he still has only 26 runs to show for three completed innings.

Did Yorkshire see the 36-year-old as a future captain? Last winter saw the district look for a new candidate to replace Major Arthur Lupton on his retirement and, in the absence of any obvious scholarship Sutcliffe was finally offered the job, but he politely declined. In the event 38-year-old William Worsley, who later inherited his father’s Baronetcy, became captain, but perhaps Stanyforth was seen as a future candidate?

Despite his age and limited success in South Africa Stanyforth had one overseas tour with England, to the Caribbean in 1929/30. No doubt expecting an easy ride after their 3-0 thrashing of the same team in 1928 the selectors selected two 50-year-olds, George Gunn and Wilfred Rhodes from an aging squad and they drew 1-1. Stanyforth played four games on the road with just four runs and three hits before a hand injury forced him home. In reality he would not be able to add to his four caps, young Les Ames appeared in every test and probably would have done so, injury permitting.

The Caribbean tour was, in fact, Stanyforth’s only career in senior cricket. There were a few more First Class matches for MCC and the Free Foresters the last being in 1933, and after that it was only club cricket as the man left the Army in 1930 as a Major. working with the Duke of Gloucester where he was supposed to have played a role in the 1936 hostage crisis.

And in the 1930s Stanyforth contributed several articles on wicketkeeping A cricketer at the request of the editor, his old friend Warner. There was even a book in 1935, a modest educational text, sadly lacking in the real flavor of the Stanyforth man.

The Second World War saw Stanyforth serve his country again. When he was about to turn forty he did not see active service like that, but he was one of the last officers to be evacuated from Dunkirk. After that his role became an officer, and he finished his service, at that time a lieutenant colonel, in 1946.

At the end of his military career, Stanyforth, who was then married, returned briefly to the Royal Household, and was involved with the MCC and, to a lesser extent, in Yorkshire. A wealthy man in his own right after his father’s death the Stanyforths divided their time between Kirk Hammerton Hall and London, and had a home in Kenya to visit in the winter months.

Sadly for Stanyforth his retirement was not meant to be long. In his last years he suffered from illness and died at the age of 71 in 1964. His widow survived him for another twenty years, but she did not live in Yorkshire, Kirk Hammerton Hall and all its contents were sold in the following months. Stanyforth passes by.

*England’s young captain: The Life and Times of Monty Bowden and two South African journalists by Jonty Winch, published in 2003

**Actually I’m sure there are three, more pieces of evidence to support the argument that there was a second and older sister who was raised and spent her life in France.