Wally Hammond

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Lore & Background

Hammond was born on 19 June 1903 in Dover, Kent, to William (a bombardier in the Royal Garrison Artillery) and Marion Hammond. He spent his early years in Dover, then Hong Kong (from age five) and Malta, where he improvised cricket equipment using a soldier's old bat. After his father was killed near Amiens in 1918, his mother settled in Southsea and sent him to The Portsmouth Grammar School, then in 1918 to board at Cirencester Grammar School. He excelled at sports, scoring 365 not out in an inter-house match, and his headmaster wrote to Gloucestershire's captain recommending him. He scored a century in his first adult cricket match days after leaving school, signed a professional contract, and made his first-class debut in August 1920. His early career was interrupted when Lord Harris ruled him ineligible for Gloucestershire due to his Kent birth; he spent the 1922 season watching matches. He also played professional football for Bristol Rovers from 1921 to 1924, making 18 first-team appearances and scoring twice. After regaining eligibility, he scored his maiden first-class century in 1923 (110 and 92 against Surrey). He was selected for an M.C.C. tour to the West Indies in 1925–26 but contracted a serious illness. After recovery in 1927, he scored heavily and was selected for England. In the 1928–29 series against Australia he scored 905 runs, then a record aggregate for a Test series. Hammond was married twice, divorcing his first wife in acrimonious circumstances, and had a reputation for infidelity. His relationships with teammates and opponents were difficult; they found him hard to get along with. After retiring, he failed in business, moved to South Africa in the 1950s, and struggled financially. A serious car crash in 1960 left him frail, and he died of a heart attack on 1 July 1965.

Reader's Guide

Wally Hammond's significance rests on his extraordinary batting achievements. In a Test career spanning 85 matches, he scored 7,249 runs and took 83 wickets. He captained England in 20 Tests, winning four, losing three, and drawing 13. His career aggregate of runs was the highest in Test cricket until Colin Cowdrey surpassed it in 1970; his 22 Test centuries remained an English record until Alastair Cook surpassed it in 2012. In 1933, he set a record for the highest individual Test innings of 336 not out, surpassed by Len Hutton in 1938. In all first-class cricket, he scored 50,551 runs and 167 centuries—respectively the seventh and third highest totals by a first-class cricketer. He dominated county cricket in the 1930s and, despite a mid-decade slump in Test form, was made captain of England in 1938. He continued as captain after the Second World War, but his health had deteriorated and he retired after an unsuccessful tour of Australia in 1946–47. He appeared in two more first-class matches in the early 1950s. Contemporaries considered him one of the best slip fielders ever, and an effective fast-medium bowler who could have achieved more if he had bowled more often. His legacy is that of a dominant batsman whose records stood for decades, but whose personal life and difficult relationships tempered his reputation.

Did You Know?

• Hammond scored 905 runs in the 1928–29 Test series against Australia, then a record aggregate for a Test series.
• He played professional football for Bristol Rovers from 1921 to 1924, making 18 first-team appearances and scoring twice.
• His father, a major in the Royal Garrison Artillery, was killed near Amiens in 1918 during the First World War.
• In 1933, Hammond set a record for the highest individual Test innings of 336 not out, which stood until Len Hutton surpassed it in 1938.
• He was involved in a serious car crash in 1960 which left him frail, and he died of a heart attack in 1965.