Wilfred Rhodes — England's Senior Statesman, 1929 Final Test Year

Rhodes had been a Test cricketer for 30 years by 1929. His 1926 recall at age 48 had won the Ashes for England. The 1929 county season was the run-in to his final Test tour.

Wilfred Rhodes had begun his Test career in 1899 alongside W.G. Grace. By 1929 he had played 58 Tests over 30 years, and was still bowling regularly for Yorkshire in the County Championship at the age of 51. His 1929 first-class season produced 100 wickets at 15.39 — the 23rd time in his career he had taken 100 wickets in a season, an English record that stood until 2000.

The 1929 county season was, in retrospect, his last full one. He bowled, fielded and coached through the summer; Yorkshire finished second in the Championship behind Nottinghamshire. He was selected for the 1929-30 MCC tour of the West Indies, sailing in October 1929 at the age of 52. He played all four Tests of the series, becoming on debut at Bridgetown the oldest cricketer ever to play a Test match — a record his last Test (Kingston, April 1930) at 52 years and 165 days extended further.

Rhodes's career figures are unmatched in cricket: 4,204 first-class wickets, the most in cricket history; 39,969 first-class runs at 30.81; 58 Tests; the only cricketer to have taken over 4,000 first-class wickets and scored over 30,000 first-class runs. He retired from playing in 1930 and coached at Harrow School until 1936.

“I have bowled to four generations of batsmen. The grandsons of the men I bowled to in 1899 are now county professionals.”

Rhodes retired from playing after the 1930 season. He coached at Harrow School from 1931 to 1936. He went blind in his late 60s but continued to attend matches at Headingley until his death in 1973 at the age of 95 — the last surviving Test cricketer of the 19th century.