Leonard Oakley (11 January 1916 – 9 January 1974) was an English cricketer who played eight first-class games for Worcestershire County Cricket Club either side of the Second World War. A bowler, in 14 innings he never scored more than 11 runs.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Leonard Oakley | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 11 January 1916 Stourbridge, Worcestershire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 9 January 1974 (aged 57) Dudley, Worcestershire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Left-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Slow left arm orthodox | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1935–1948 | Worcestershire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FC debut | 26 June 1935 Worcestershire v Middlesex | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last FC | 18 June 1948 Worcestershire v Lancashire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricketArchive, 20 September 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Oakley made his debut for Worcestershire against Middlesex at Worcester in late June 1935, taking the single wicket of Fred Price and scoring 6 and 0 from number ten. He played against Gloucestershire a few days later, taking one more wicket, and made two wicketless appearances in 1937, but those games comprised his entire remaining pre-war career.
He returned to first-class action with a bang in June 1946, taking eight wickets against the Royal Air Force in what was to prove the RAF's last first-class match. His first innings 2-18 and second-innings 6-64, which contributed largely towards his county's victory, were the only times he ever took more than two wickets in a first-class innings.[1] However, two subsequent County Championship games brought Oakley only one wicket in total, and he played no more for two years.
In June 1948, Oakley took 5–44 in each innings of a Second XI match against Glamorgan II,[2] and was recalled to the first team for the Championship match with Lancashire at Manchester a week later. However, he could manage only 1-71 from 17 overs, and he never played first-class cricket again.
Notes
edit- ^ "Worcestershire v Royal Air Force in 1946". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 September 2007.
- ^ "Worcestershire Second XI v Glamorgan Second XI in 1948". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 September 2007.