An attractive and elegant left-hand opener, Ron Headley was always doomed to suffer by comparison with his father, the legendary George. It is, therefore, not too surprising that he played most of his career in England, with only two full seasons spent with Jamaica (in 1965-66 and 1973-74). He joined Worcestershire in 1958 and was a member of the side which won back-to-back Championships in 1964 and 1965. In 1971 he actually captained the county, in the absence of the injured Norman Gifford, in their last three matches on the way to the John Player Sunday League title. In all, he hit 32 hundreds for Worcestershire, the best being 187 against Northants at New Road in 1971. In 1973 he was drafted into the touring West Indies squad after a succession of injuries left them in need of an opener, and he played two Tests and one ODI. His only significant contribution came on his debut at The Oval when he made 42. In 1975 he joined Derbyshire, playing one-day matches for them for two summers before retiring for good. Headley was also a quite superb fielder in any position. His son, Dean, played for Middlesex, Kent and England.
Martin Williamson