To me, Brian Close has always been old. Probably his premature baldness and creased forehead, but to a teenager, a forty-something cricketer was always going to appear a symbol of ancient history. Thus to learn he has died at the age of only 84 seems a bit of a surprise.
My first years as a Somerset supporter coincided with his captaincy of the county. He was playing in the first cricket match I ever went to see live, a Sunday League game at Chelmsford in 1975. I don't think he scored many runs or took wickets but I recall his distinctive short-leg pose (yes, in a 40-over match!), backside high, the rockface of a head jutting into the batsman's eyeline, hands cupped ready to make that improbable catch.
That Somerset won that game probably owed more to 21 year-old Viv Richard's strokeplay than to Close's performance, but Close was like the grouchy granddad to young guns like Viv, Botham and Denning. Sadly we didn't achieve very much under his leadership but Somerset didn't have the resources of his beloved Yorkshire, which he'd left as a player in 1970.
He was always a Yorkshireman, and won plenty with his home county in the 1960s. Later on, he was involved with many a skirmish as an administrator, locking horns with another professional Tyke, Geoff Boycott, amongst others. Many writers more knowledgeable than me have written about his legendary courage. When he was selected to represent England against the West Indian pace quartet in 1976, it was purely to soak up the short-pitched stuff rather than actually score any runs. No helmets in those days, of course. This is now celebrated as the brave and bloody-minded attitude of a true Yorkshireman. But he was still captain of my Somerset!
In almost four decades, he represented England only 22 times, including seven as skipper (winning six!) while becoming a selector much later. His meagre collection of runs and wickets in the national cause are less important than his captaincy. Never afraid to try different things and court unpopularity in the cause of victory, this cost him plentiful appearances in an England cap.
His longevity in international cricket will surely never be beaten. While Tendulkar played many, many more matches at the top level, he couldn't match Close's 27-year career! His first Test in 1949 against New Zealand wasn't a huge success, batting at nine for a duck and taking a solitary wicket. He started out alongside the likes of Hutton, Washbrook and Compton and finished in a side featuring Woolmer, Hayes and Selvey who had each been in nappies at the time of Brian's debut!
While in my time he was a wise old Somerset captain and confrontational Yorkshire administrator, it's easy to forget his statistics on the pitch. He played almost 800 first-class matches, enough to give the likes of Cook and Anderson the heebeegeebees. I those games, he scored almost 35,000 runs and took well over 1,000 wickets with his mix of spin and medium pace. Add to that his 813 catches, mostly adjacent to the batsman, and you have one hell of an all-rounder. One-day cricket wasn't really his thing, but his decision-making was probably worth a lot of runs.
His autobiography title said he didn't 'bruise easily' but I'm not sure that was true; it's just that he didn't flinch or show any weakness. Brian Close was a throwback to not one, but numerous cricketing eras. On and off the pitch, he made more of a contribution to the sport in England than almost anyone since World War 2. That should not be forgotten.
