Brian Close - Retirement

Retirement

By the time he retired from county cricket at the end of the 1977 season, Close had achieved folk hero status in Somerset. He went on to play for Todmorden in the Lancashire League. Close also had a stint as an England selector between 1979 and 1981 and in 1984 he was elected to the Yorkshire committee. He became chairman of the cricket sub-committee, which led him into more controversy and conflict with the captain, Geoffrey Boycott.

After his retirement from Somerset, Close continued to play at the Scarborough Festival against the touring international teams, first for T.N. Pearce’s XI in 1978 and then for his own XI from 1982 to 1986. In 1986, aged 55, and playing his last-ever first-class innings, Close needed 10 runs to achieve a career-total 35,000 runs. With his score on 4 he glanced a ball down leg-side to the wicket-keeper and walked. Afterwards, the New Zealanders said that if they'd known how near he was to the landmark, they would have let him stay, but Close would have none of it – he was out, and that was that. When asked why he gave himself out he said: "It's an honourable game and that's the way I was brought up." Close's 786 first-class matches leave him 10th on the all-time list. Only four other outfielders have taken more catches.

Close continued to turn out to help train Yorkshire youngsters, appearing for Yorkshire Colts XI in his seventies, sometimes captaining games and taking the short leg position without a helmet, a position he had taken so many times in the past. According to Imran Khan, Close once stood his ground when fielding at short leg when a batsman played a pull shot, the ball hit him on the forehead, rebounded and was caught at cover. Imran commented "We are not all bullet-headed Yorkshiremen, however, and I don't recommend copying Close."

Brian Close and Ian Botham are two of England's greatest all-rounders, and also arguably the most gutsy and controversial English cricketers of their respective generations. In recent years, Ian Botham has been lauded as one of the great 'all-rounders' of English cricket, while Brian Close has received scant recognition in this respect. Yet their records are remarkably similar. Over 28 years in county cricket, Close scored a total of 34,994 runs at an average of 33.26, far more than Botham who in 29 years scored a total of 19,399 runs in the first class game at an average of 33.97, although Botham scored far more runs in Test cricket (5,300 runs at an average of 33.54 versus 887 runs at an average of 25.34). Close took 1,171 wickets in first class cricket at an average of 26.92, while Botham took 1,172 at an of 27.22 - almost identical. Both were recognized as outstanding fielders, but here Close has the edge in the first class game with 813 catches in 786 matches versus Botham's 354 in 402 matches. Interestingly, both played for Somerset, where Close is credited for influencing a young Ian Botham. Another interesting parallel is that both were proficient at both cricket and football as teenagers. Close was signed as an amateur by Leeds United and played for England against Scotland at the youth level, Botham was signed by Scunthorpe United for whom he played 11 football league games.