Yorkshire Cricket by David Warner

It will be exactly 100 years next Tuesday since Wilfred Rhodes, Yorkshire's greatest all-rounder, made his first class debut for the county against MCC at Lord's, writes David Warner.

Rhodes took four for 24 to help bowl out MCC for 69 and bring Yorkshire victory by 99 runs before playing in his first championship match at Bath where he claimed match figures of 13 for 45. Rhodes captured 154 wickets in that first season and a remarkable career was launched in which he was to score 39,969 first class runs with 58 centuries, take 4,204 wickets at 16.72 runs apiece, and hold on to 765 catches.

His wicket tally is a record in first class cricket as is his achievement of completing the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in a season no fewer than 22 times.

To mark this special centenary Yorkshire are holding a lunch at Headingley, sponsored by Pubmaster, to which relatives of Rhodes have been invited, along with relatives of two other Yorkshire greats of that golden era, George Hirst and Schofield Haigh.

It is quite remarkable that all three of the trio should come from Huddersfield and even more so that Rhodes and Hirst should both be born and brought up at Kirkheaton.

Officials of Kirkheaton Cricket Club have also been invited to the gathering and during the tea interval of the AXA match with Surrey, Yorkshire chairman Keith Moss will present them with white roses to be planted at the club as a permament reminder of the amazing role Rhodes and Hirst played in Yorkshire's history.

Moss, who is also president of Pudsey St Lawrence Cricket Club, will be keeping a sharp eye on what is happening on the field, and if he's seen talking to Surrey coach Keith Medlycott he won't be giving away any secrets.

It will be purely family talk because one of Moss's young relatives recently got married to Medlycott.

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