Edward Brooks

Edward William John Brooks, the former Surrey wicketkeeper, died suddenly on February 10 at Lyminster, Sussex, ,where he had been living in recent years. He was 61, having been born at Camberwell on July 6, 1898. He joined Surrey initially as a medium-paced bowler and in a minor match in 1923 deputised at short notice when the regular wicketkeeper was injured; so successful was he that he thenceforth directed his energies mainly towards wicketkeeping. He made his debut for Surrey in first-class cricket in two matches in 1925, and,when Strudwick retired as the county's wicketkeeper in 1928, Brooks succeeded him. He quickly established himself as a very capable man behind the stumps, acrobatic in his movements and with a keen sense of humour. He excelled especially in taking fast bowling, and held a very large number of catches off A. R. Gover during the 1930s. He took six catches in an innings at Blackheath in 1935, equalling the Surrey record, and altogether during his career, which lasted until 1939, he dismissed more than 800 opponents, over 700 of them caught. He was, too, a useful batsman, scoring several half-centuries, and equally skilful as a hitter or a dour defender ,in a crisis. He actually scored 4,504 runs. in first-class cricket at an average of 13.09, including an innings of 70 against Hampshire at the Oval in 1936, when he shared a stand of 168 for the ninth wicket with E. R. T. Holmes in 75 minutes. He represented the Players' against the Gentlemen four times between 1931 and 1935.
The Cricketer, Spring 1960