Wilf Barber

Wilfred Barber, known as Wilf Barber (18 April 1901 – 10 September 1968), was a professional first-class cricketer who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1926 to 1947. He played two Test matches for England in 1935 against South Africa. An opening batsman with an excellent batting technique, Barber often batted in the middle order. He scored 16,402 runs in first-class cricket at an average of 34.28 with 29 centuries. Barber made his debut in 1926 and made several appearances over the next few seasons. Despite a sound defence, Barber did not secure a regular first team place until 1932. He scored a thousand runs for the first time that season, a feat he was to achieve eight times, while he scored over 2,000 runs in 1935. Until the Second World War broke out, Barber continued as a regular member of the Yorkshire side. After the war, he played one more full season before retiring in 1947. His career continued in club cricket and he went on to coach local sides before his death in 1968.

Barber was born on 18 April 1901 in Cleckheaton, Yorkshire. He did not appear for the Yorkshire Second XI until he was 25, in 1926, when he scored 600 runs, including a century, and averaged 40. The same season, he made his first-class debut for Yorkshire against Worcestershire without playing a single innings. He was scheduled to bat later in the innings and was not needed to bat as Yorkshire completed an easy victory. In the next season, he was chosen to play three matches, with a top score of 18. For the next few years, he was unable to attain a regular spot in the Yorkshire side as there were many batsmen competing for places. In the 1928 season, Barber played 16 matches, mainly when other batsmen were required in representative matches, passing fifty for the first time in an innings of 98 against the West Indians, and followed this with two other fifties.Next season, he scored his maiden first-class century against the South Africans in an innings of 108, out of a team total of 335, with no other batsman reaching fifty. In total, he played on 22 occasions and scored 857 runs at an average of 30.60, including a second century, against Glamorgan. However, Barber was in and out of the side over the next two seasons. He did not play 20 matches or reach 500 runs in either season and passed fifty only four times in total.