Dennis Brian Close, CBE (24 February 1931 – 13 September 2015) was the youngest man ever to play Test cricket for England. He was picked to play against New Zealand in July 1949, when he was 18 years old. Close went on to play 22 Test matches for England, captaining them seven times to six wins and one drawn test. Close also captained Yorkshire and I later went on to captain Somerset, where he is widely credited with developing the county into a hard-playing team, and helping to mould Viv Richards and Ian Botham into the successful players they became.
After being sacked by Yorkshire, the 39-year-old Close received offers from many other counties but preferred to accept a non-captain’s role at Somerset.
The rest from the captaincy did Close good; he went through the 1971 season without injury, and scored 1,389 runs, including a century in his first game for Somerset and a century in the game against Yorkshire.
In 1972. he was awarded the CBE by the Queen for his services to cricket. Close was also promoted to Somerset captain.
During his time at Somerset Viv Richards and Ian Botham joined the county squad, and Close’s leadership and discipline helped them become great cricketers. Botham said of Close, “There was a genuine enthusiasm for cricket which rubbed off on all those playing alongside him. You couldn’t help but get excited by the game.”
Brian Close retired from county cricket at the end of the 1977 season.
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