The Wills' 1928 cricketers was a set of trading cards issued by the Imperial Tobacco Co. under its W.D. & H.O. Wills brand. It consisted of a series of 50 collectable cigarette cards to commemorate leading first-class cricketers who had played county cricket in the 1927 English cricket season; and including nine who had toured South Africa in 1927–28 with the Marylebone Cricket Club team.Wills, card nos 1–50.MCC tour of South Africa in 1927–28 This set is now a collectible and, in mint condition, has an estimated value (2017) of £90.The London Cigarette Card Co. Ltd – Cricketers 1st Series 1928

Overview 47 of the players chosen for the series, including the three who played for Glamorgan, were English. The three exceptions were the Australian Test fast bowler Ted McDonald; the Indian-born batsman Duleepsinhji, though he later played for England; and Douglas Jardine, who was born in India of Scottish parents. One player, Roy Kilner, had died in April 1928 just a few weeks before publication. Most of the players in the series were veterans in 1928, only ten being under 30. The oldest player was Wilfred Rhodes, aged 50; the youngest was Duleepsinhji, aged 22.

All of the seventeen county clubs then taking part in the County Championship are represented in the series. Six clubs—Kent, Lancashire, Middlesex, Nottinghamshire, Surrey, and Yorkshire—have four players each; the lowest number is Worcestershire with one.

Each card has a 1–50 series number determined alphabetically by surname. All players are named on the front and back of the card by initials preceding surname. Only J. W. Hearne was generally known by his initials. There is an artist's impression of each player on the front of the card; seventeen are portraits and 33 depict the player in action. In the card captions, those players who had amateur status were prefixed "Mr." or, in two cases, "Hon.". All such titles are excluded from this list.

Series information Key

# – card number in series (i.e., 1–50) Player – the name by which the player was generally known; the names on the cards include several significant errors, especially Nobby Clark and Ted McDonald; also, the cards used titles like "Hon." and "Mr" for amateurs, and these have been ignored. Player's name in bold – the player took part in Test cricket during his career; with the exception of McDonald, who was Australian, all the Test players represented England. Club – generally, the first-class club(s) whom the player represented in 1927 and was expected to represent in 1928; the cumulative ordinals per county indicate the number of times each county occurs in the set. Age – the player's age at 28 April 1928, the opening day of the first-class season; Roy Kilner's age is at 5 April 1928, the date of his death. Type – an amalgam of initialisms (see below) which describe the player's style of batting and bowling (some players are specialist batsmen); and (if appropriate) wicket-keeper. RHB – right-handed batsman LHB – left-handed batsman WK – wicket-keeper RF – right-arm fast bowler LF – left-arm fast bowler RFM – right-arm fast medium bowler LFM – left-arm fast bowler RM – right-arm medium pace bowler LM – left-arm medium pace bowler LB – right-arm leg break bowler OB – right-arm off break bowler SLA – orthodox slow left-arm spin bowler picture – confirms the card picture as a portrait or states the type of action being depicted notes – includes a summary of the "pen picture" on the back of the card WY ccyy – year in which the player was elected a Wisden Cricketer of the Year (i.e., the year of the Wisden issue)

Checklist # Player Club Age Type Picture Notes 1 Ewart Astill Leicestershire (1/2) RHB/OB portrait WY 1933. Toured South Africa in 1927–28 with the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) team. Wills says that Astill had been Leicestershire's best batsman since the end of the war, describing him as "sound and steady", noted for hitting hard in front of the wicket.Wills, card no. 1. 2 William Bates Glamorgan (1/3) RHB/SLA batting Wills, card no. 2. 3 George Brown Hampshire (1/3) LHB/WK portrait Wills, card no. 3. 4 Freddie Calthorpe Warwickshire (1/3) RHB/RM batting Wills, card no. 4. 5 Percy Chapman Kent (1/4) LHB/LM/SLA batting WY 1919.Wills, card no. 5. 6 Nobby Clark Northamptonshire (1/2) LHB/LF portrait On the Wills card, Clark's initials are given as "E. C.", but that is a publication error. His full name was Edward Winchester Clark and he was universally known as Nobby Clark.CricketArchive – confirmation of "Nobby" as universally used name.Wills, card no. 6. 7 Alfred Dipper Gloucestershire (1/3) RHB/RM batting Wills, card no. 7. 8 Johnny Douglas Essex (1/2) RHB/RFM bowling WY 1915.Wills, card no. 8. 9 George Duckworth Lancashire (1/4) RHB/WK portrait WY 1929.Wills, card no. 9. 10 Duleepsinhji Cambridge University& Sussex (1/3) RHB/LB portrait WY 1930. Like his uncle, Ranjitsinhji, Duleepsinhji was usually called "Kumar Sri" and given the initials "K. S." on scorecards. This is actually incorrect usage because "Kumar" and "Sri" are both honorary titles. On the Wills card, "K. S. Duleepsinhji" is the style used.Wills, card no. 10. 11 Guy Earle Somerset (1/2) RHB/RF portrait Wills, card no. 11. 12 Percy Fender Surrey (1/4) RHB/RM/LB batting WY 1915.Wills, card no. 12. 13 Tich Freeman Kent (2/4) RHB/LB bowling WY 1923. Toured South Africa in 1927–28 with the MCC team.Wills, card no. 13. 14 George Geary Leicestershire (2/2) RHB/RFM fielding WY 1927. Toured South Africa in 1927–28 with the MCC team.Wills, card no. 14. 15 Arthur Gilligan Sussex (2/3) RHB/RF batting WY 1924.Wills, card no. 15. 16 George Gunn Nottinghamshire (1/4) RHB/RM batting WY 1914.Wills, card no. 16. 17 Charlie Hallows Lancashire (2/4) LHB/SLA batting WY 1928.Wills, card no. 17. 18 Wally Hammond Gloucestershire (2/3) RHB/RFM batting WY 1928. Toured South Africa in 1927–28 with the MCC team.Wills, card no. 18. 19 Wally Hardinge Kent (3/4) RHB/SLA batting WY 1915.Wills, card no. 19. 20 J. W. Hearne Middlesex (1/4) RHB/LB batting WY 1912. Hearne is the only player in the set who was generally known by his initials, and so his card's caption is the only one that is strictly correct.Wills, card no. 20. 21 Patsy Hendren Middlesex (2/4) RHB/OB batting WY 1920. Named "E. Hendren" on the Wills card, his full name was Elias Henry Hendren. He was universally known as "Patsy" Hendren.Wills, card no. 21. 22 Jack Hobbs Surrey (2/4) RHB/RM batting WY 1909 & 1926.Wills, card no. 22. 23 Percy Holmes Yorkshire (1/4) RHB/RM batting WY 1920. Toured South Africa in 1927–28 with the MCC team.Wills, card no. 23. 24 Guy Jackson Derbyshire (1/2) LHB portrait Wills, card no. 24. 25 Douglas Jardine Surrey (3/4) RHB/LB batting WY 1928.Wills, card no. 25. 26 Vallance Jupp Northamptonshire (2/2) RHB/RM/OB batting WY 1928.Wills, card no. 26. 27 Roy Kilner Yorkshire (2/4) LHB/SLA bowling WY 1924. Roy Kilner died on 5 April 1928, a few weeks before publication.Wills, card no. 27. 28 Harold Larwood Nottinghamshire (2/4) RHB/RF portrait WY 1927.Wills, card no. 28. 29 Ben Lilley Nottinghamshire (3/4) RHB/WK portrait Wills, card no. 29. 30 Ted McDonald Lancashire (3/4) RHB/RF bowling WY 1922. On the Wills card, McDonald's name is incorrectly spelled "Macdonald".Wills, card no. 30. 31 Frank Mann Middlesex (3/4) RHB batting Wills, card no. 31. 32 Phil Mead Hampshire (2/3) LHB/SLA portrait WY 1912.Wills, card no. 32. 33 Jack Mercer Glamorgan (2/3) RHB/RFM portrait WY 1927.Wills, card no. 33. 34 Charlie Parker Gloucestershire (3/3) RHB/SLA portrait WY 1923.Wills, card no. 34. 35 Wilfred Rhodes Yorkshire (3/4) RHB/SLA bowling WY 1899.Wills, card no. 35. 36 Fred Root Worcestershire (1/1) RHB/RFM portrait Wills, card no. 36. 37 Jack Russell Essex (2/2) RHB/RM batting WY 1923. During his career, Russell was always known as Albert Charles Russell but his real name, discovered much later, was Charles Albert George Russell. Even so, he was universally known as "Jack" Russell.Wills, card no. 37. 38 Frank Ryan Glamorgan (3/3) LHB/SLA portrait Named "F. Ryan" on the Wills card, his full name was Francis Peter Ryan. Although Ryan was English, he was born in India.Wills, card no. 38. 39 Andy Sandham Surrey (4/4) RHB batting WY 1923.Wills, card no. 39. 40 Tiger Smith Warwickshire (2/3) RHB/WK keepingwicket This is the only picture in the series with landscape format page orientation.Wills, card no. 40. 41 Greville Stevens Middlesex (4/4) RHB/LB batting Toured South Africa in 1927–28 with the MCC team.Wills, card no. 41. 42 Herbert Sutcliffe Yorkshire (4/4) RHB/RM batting WY 1920. Toured South Africa in 1927–28 with the MCC team.Wills, card no. 42. 43 Maurice Tate Sussex (3/3) RHB/RFM bowling WY 1924.Wills, card no. 43. 44 Lionel Tennyson Hampshire (3/3) RHB/RF portrait WY 1914.Wills, card no. 44. 45 Leslie Townsend Derbyshire (2/2) RHB/RM/OB portrait WY 1934. Named "L. Townsend" on the Wills card, his full name was Leslie Fletcher Townsend.Wills, card no. 45. 46 Ernest Tyldesley Lancashire (4/4) RHB/RM batting WY 1920. Toured South Africa in 1927–28 with the MCC team. Named "E. Tyldesley" on the Wills card, his full name was George Ernest Tyldesley.Wills, card no. 46. 47 Jack White Somerset (2/2) RHB/SLA bowling WY 1929.Wills, card no. 47. 48 Dodger Whysall Nottinghamshire (4/4) RHB/RM batting WY 1925. Named "W. Whysall" on the Wills card, his full name was William Wilfrid Whysall. He was widely known by his nickname "Dodger".Wills, card no. 48. 49 Frank Woolley Kent (4/4) LHB/LM/SLA batting WY 1911.Wills, card no. 49. 50 Bob Wyatt Warwickshire (3/3) RHB/RM portrait WY 1930. Toured South Africa in 1927–28 with the MCC team. Wills describes Wyatt as "probably Warwickshire's best all-rounder" and as "a polished batsman of sound defence".Wills, card no. 50.

Bibliography

References

External links