Wally Hammond

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Wally Hammond England (Eng)

Batting style	Right-handed batsman (RHB)
Bowling type	Right arm medium fast
	Tests	First-class
Matches	85	634
Runs scored	7,249	50,551
Batting average	58.45	56.10
100s/50s	22/24	167/185
Top score	336*	336*
Balls bowled	7,969	51,579
Wickets	83	732
Bowling average	37.80	30.58
5 wickets in innings	2	22
10 wickets in match	0	3
Best bowling	5-36	9-23
Catches/stumpings	110/0	820/3
Test debut: 24 December 1927 Last Test: 25 March 1947 Source: [1]

Walter Reginald "Wally" Hammond (born June 19, 1903 in Dover, Kent, died July 1, 1965 in Kloof, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa was an English cricketer, who played for Gloucestershire and England, primarily as a batsman, in a career that straddled (and was disrupted by) the Second World War. His Test batting average of 58.45 presently stands eighth in the all-time list. Hammond's 336 not out against New Zealand in 1933 was the highest Test innings score, until passed by Len Hutton's 364 against Australia five years later.

Hammond is regarded as one of the best batsmen in the history of cricket: his Wisden obituary put him in a class with W G Grace, Jack Hobbs and Don Bradman. On the centenary of his birth the Wisden Cricinfo website's editor ranked him second only to Bradman. "The Don" was five years his junior and the comparisons apparently rankled with Hammond for years. Apart from his batting talents, he was one of the best slip fielders in the game and also a useful right-arm medium-fast bowler.

He has the highest average amongst those batsmen that have scored in excess of 50,000 first class runs. [2] Only Jack Hobbs and Patsy Hendren have scored more first class centuries. Only Bradman has scored more first class double centuries.

Hammond started his career as a professional but became an amateur in 1938, allowing him to captain England, a position to which professionals were not then appointed. He also captained both Gentlemen and Players. He retired from the captaincy, and from cricket, after a disappointing tour of Australia in 1946-7, in which he was comprehensively outshone by Bradman.

After 1946-7 Hammond only played two more first-class games, for MCC in 1950 and Gloucestershire in 1951. He emigrated to South Africa, where he died in 1965.