Frank Woolley

Frank Woolley
Woolley in about 1912
Personal information
Full name
Frank Edward Woolley
Born(1887-05-27)27 May 1887
Tonbridge, Kent
Died18 October 1978(1978-10-18) (aged 91)
Chester, Nova Scotia, Canada
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
BattingLeft-handed
BowlingLeft-arm medium
Slow left-arm orthodox
RoleAll-rounder
RelationsClaud Woolley (brother)
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 163)9 August 1909 v Australia
Last Test22 August 1934 v Australia
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1906–1938Kent
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class
Matches 64 978
Runs scored 3,283 58,959
Batting average 36.07 40.77
100s/50s 5/23 145/295
Top score 154 305*
Balls bowled 6,495 94,949
Wickets 83 2,066
Bowling average 33.91 19.87
5 wickets in innings 4 132
10 wickets in match 1 28
Best bowling 7/76 8/22
Catches/stumpings 64/– 1,018/–
Source: CricInfo, 28 December 2021

Frank Edward Woolley (27 May 1887 – 18 October 1978) was an English professional cricketer who played for Kent County Cricket Club between 1906 and 1938 and represented the England cricket team. A genuine all-rounder, Woolley was a left-handed batsman and a left-arm bowler. He was also an outstanding close-in fielder and remains the only non-wicket-keeper to have taken more than 1,000 catches in a first-class career. His aggregate of runs scored is the second-highest in first-class cricket history, while total number of wickets places him 27th overall.

Woolley played 64 Test matches for England between 1909 and 1934 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders in the history of the sport. He was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in the 1911 and was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009.