When Harry Duke came into the Yorkshire first team during the 2021 season he made a very good start with the bat. Paul Dyson finds that so good was this that he became the first wicket-keeper to score two half-centuries for the county in his first three first-class matches as a wicket-keeper.
Many batters, let alone wicket-keepers, begin their careers with a duck so it was no disgrace when Yorkshire’s latest ‘keeper failed to get off the mark in his maiden first-class innings against Glamorgan at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. This, however, gave no hint of Harry Duke’s quality and each of his next two matches saw him make a half-century – against the group leaders Lancashire at Old Trafford (52) and against Sussex at Headingley (54). No other Yorkshire wicket-keeper has made two half-centuries in his first three first-class matches in the 158-year history of the Club. The wicket-keepers to make most runs in their first three such games are now shown.
MOST RUNS BY WICKET–KEEPERS IN FIRST THREE
FIRST–CLASS MATCHES FOR YORKSHIRE
| Name | Year | Innings | Not Outs | Runs | High Score | Average | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E Stephenson | 1863 | 5 | 1 | 158 | 67 | 39.5 | 1 |
| HG Duke | 2021 | 4 | 0 | 135 | 54 | 33.75 | 2 |
| JM Bairstow | 2009 | 5 | 2 | 122 | 66* | 40.67 | 1 |
| SM Guy | 2000 | 4 | 1 | 98 | 42 | 32.67 | 0 |
| Ismail Dawood | 2004 | 5 | 1 | 96 | 46* | 24 | 0 |
| A Wormald | 1885 | 4 | 2 | 94 | 80 | 47 | 1 |
Of the six players named above only Duke, Simon Guy and Alfred Wormald were making their first-class debuts and only Edwin ‘Ned’ Stephenson and Jonny Bairstow had, or are having, lengthy careers with the county.
Stephenson was playing in the first three games which involved Yorkshire CCC in the year of its formation. He had previously played in no fewer than 37 matches, since 1854, which are now recognised as being first-class including some for ‘Yorkshire’. He was one of the most eminent wicket-keeper/batters of his era; he played in representative teams such as MCC, North and ‘England’ and was a member of the first British team to tour Australia in 1861/62. Bairstow, however, played in only one first-class match – as a specialist batter, scoring 28 and 82 not out – before taking over behind the stumps. The three games represented above, therefore, were his second, third and fourth first-class matches.
