Cyril Poole

Wisden obituary
Cyril Poole, who died on February 11, 1996, aged 74, was splendidly entertaining member of the Nottinghamshire side of the 1950s. He made three Test appearances on the second-string MCC tour of the subcontinent in 1951-52 and scored half-centuries in both innings on his debut in Calcutta. But he did not have enough application to be a serious contender for a home Test place in such a strong era, and instead acquired a reputation as one of the most gifted and audacious left-handed batsmen on the circuit, and a great fielder. Poole, from the mining area round Mansfield, started as a footballer and, at 15, became Mansfield Town's youngest-ever player before going on to Gillingham and Wolves. He did not make his first-class debut until he was 27, in 1948, but thereafter became a steady county run-scorer, passing 1,000 regularly, and making 1,860 in 1961 when he was already 40. There was about him the vague hint of the chancer off the field. He would regularly borrow any bat that was lying around the dressing-room, never worrying about the weight or other technicalities. It is said his team-mates tried to cure him with a trick bat, which was merely a shell filled with sawdust. He scored about 70 with it and apparently never noticed.
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack