Flashback: The oldest man to play Test cricket
There are very few cricketers who have enjoyed longevity in Test cricket while consistently playing after a certain age. One can never set an age mark for an athlete in any sport but few have succeeded in cricket after the age of 40. But there are four cricketers who played Test cricket after the age of 50 as well.
England all-rounder Wilfred Rhodes played his last Test match at the age of 52 years and 165 days, which makes him the oldest cricketer to play a red-ball international match. The second-oldest man to play Test cricket is the Australian spinner Herbert Ironmonger, who last played at the age of 50 years and 327 days in 1933.
Rhodes, one of the most decorated bowlers in First Class cricket, holds many records to his name. He was the first English cricketer to complete a double of 1000 runs and 100 wickets and the first in world cricket to complete 2000 runs and 100 wickets in Test cricket.
Rhodes also completed a double of 1000 runs and 100 wickets in English domestic cricket for record 16 seasons. He is also one of three cricketers who have batted at all eleven positions.
Rhodes made his debut in international cricket in June 1899, scored 2325 runs, and took 127 wickets in 58 matches for England. He played his last match against West Indies in Kingston on April 3, 1930, to end his staggering career in international cricket.
He dominated the First-Class cricket with Yorkshire with 39,969 runs and 4204 wickets in 1110 matches. It’s been more than 90 years but he still holds the world record for playing the most matches and taking the most wickets in First Class cricket. Notably, he took five wickets, including a wicket on his last ball, in his last First-Class game in 1930.
After his retirement, Rhodes coached at Harrow School but enjoyed no big success there. His eyesight began to fail in 1939 and he was completely blind by 1952. He was awarded with a lifetime membership at Yorkshire in 1946 and a prestigious MCC membership in 1949. He died in 1973, aged 95 and in 2009, he was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
