Harry Lee ( cricketer ) Henry William " Harry " Lee ( 26 October 1890 – 21 April 1981 ) was a professional English cricketer who played first - class cricket for the Marylebone Cricket Club ( MCC ) and Middlesex County Cricket Club between 1911 and 1934 . He made one Test appearance for England , in 1931 . An all - rounder , Lee was a right - handed batsman and bowled both off break and slow - medium pace bowling with his right arm . He scored 1 , 000 runs in a season on thirteen occasions . Part of the County Championship winning sides in 1920 and 1921 , Lee aggregated 20 , 158 runs and took 401 wickets in first - class cricket . The son of a greengrocer , Lee worked hard to earn himself a place in the Middlesex side in the years before the First World War , eventually getting his chance in 1914 when other players had joined the early war effort . Lee enlisted in the army in September 1914 and served until December 1915 ; although shot in the leg , declared dead and taken prisoner of war , he survived and returned to play for Middlesex in 1919 . He secured his place in the team with three strong all - round seasons , and was twice part of a top four when each batsman scored a century in the same innings — he shares this achievement with Jack Hearne . Less prolific through the mid - 1920s , he scored runs heavily once again towards the end of the decade . He made his only Test appearance in 1931 , drafted into the England team after injuries and illness depleted the squad . He continued playing county cricket until 1934 , when he was released by Middlesex aged 44 , to allow the county to develop younger players . He umpired first - class cricket from his retirement until the Second World War , standing in 153 matches . Lee ' s career was overshadowed by more attractive , faster - scoring batsmen in the team , such as Hearne and Patsy Hendren . His two younger brothers also played first - class cricket ; both Jack and Frank moved to Somerset after failing to break into the Middlesex team . All three brothers scored centuries during the 1931 season , the first instance of three professional brothers doing so in first - class cricket . Two years later , all three were involved in a single dismissal : Harry was caught by Frank off the bowling of Jack in a county match . At the time of his death in 1981 , Lee was the second - oldest living Test cricketer . Early years . Lee was born in Marylebone , London on 26 October 1890 , the eldest of three boys , all of whom progressed to play first - class cricket . His father was a greengrocer and a coal merchant who followed cricket closely in the London evening papers . During Lee ' s youth , he developed his cricket by playing against lamp - posts , and reflected in his autobiography that : " If a bowler can clean bowl a man nine times out of ten against a lamp - post , he will not miss a full - sized wicket when he gets the chance . " His cricketing talent was encouraged at school ; he first attended Barrett Street School and then St . Thomas ' s School in Portman Square . Both schools had headmasters who were sports enthusiasts , and at St . Thomas ' s the headmaster , Mr . Despicht , offered a penny to any schoolboy who could bowl him out , a feat Lee achieved regularly . Mr . Despicht also taught Lee to concentrate on bowling a good length , and Lee played primarily as a bowler during his school years . During his final year at St . Thomas ' s , the school reached the final of the local Church School ' s League Shield , and Lee earned victory for his school with six wickets . When Lee left school , he worked with his father as a greengrocer , a job he liked , but not enough to stop him writing a letter to the Marylebone Cricket Club , asking for a job on the ground staff at Lord ' s Cricket Ground . Along with approximately 25 other boys , Lee was invited for a trial at Lord ' s early in 1906 , and bowled under the observation of Alfred Atfield and the head groundsman , Tom Hearne . Lee described his first over as " six of the worst balls that anyone can ever have pitched " , but as his nerves calmed , he improved , and was eventually selected as one of the five ground staff boys by Hearne . As a ground boy , Lee had numerous tasks ; sweeping , dusting and cleaning the seats , preparing nets , marking the pitch , weeding and similar . On a match day , jobs included selling scorecards , operating the score - board or fielding in the practice nets . All of this left little time for the boys to practise their own game . No formal coaching was in place , but Lee was guided by a few different players ; England internationals Teddy Wynyard and Albert Trott among them . In the 1909 and 1910 seasons , Lee started to gain some attention from Middlesex County Cricket Club : he scored 39 runs in a match for the Middlesex Colts in 1909 , and 60 runs against Reading Cricket Club in 1910 . He was making more appearances for the Marylebone Cricket Club ( MCC ) , collecting runs and wickets regularly , but not prolifically . In 1911 , when a number of the Middlesex side were missing due to trial matches for England selection , Lee was invited to join the team for two County Championship matches in the south - west , against Somerset and Gloucestershire . Placed at number eleven in Middlesex ' s batting order , Lee batted once in a rain - affected match against Somerset , remaining four not out , and was not required to bowl . Lee did bowl against Gloucestershire , but remained wicketless from nine overs in the match . Lee was given greater opportunities in 1912 , appearing seven times for Middlesex in the Championship . The first of these appearances , against Warwickshire at Edgbaston , brought Lee his first wicket in first - class cricket when he caught Charles Baker off his own bowling . He claimed five wickets in the match , and another three against Nottinghamshire a month later , to total eight wickets for the season at 9 . 50 runs apiece and finish technically at the top of the county ' s bowling average s for the season . Lee joined the MCC bowling staff in 1913 at the invitation of A . J . Webbe , but he was used sparingly in first - class cricket that season , playing just three times , all for Middlesex . In the first of these matches , Lee scored 35 not out at the end of Middlesex ' s innings , helping his side to avoid the follow - on . His " plucky knock " was praised by captain Pelham Warner , who promoted him to bat at number five in the fourth innings , by which stage the game was heading for a draw . During 1913 , although certainly not a regular in the Middlesex team , Lee asked his captain for his county cap , a request which Warner responded to with surprise that he had not already received it , and promptly asked for one to be sent down . In the 1914 season , Lee almost doubled his total of first - class appearances . Two early season appearances against Oxford and Cambridge universities brought a few runs , and a match for the MCC against Hampshire saw Lee bat at number six in both innings . He played just twice in the County Championship prior to August , both times against Warwickshire . The start of the First World War in early August initially resulted in the cancellation of Middlesex ' s tour of the northern counties , Yorkshire and Lancashire , but this decision was later reversed , and Middlesex took a heavily weakened side on the tour . Due to regular opening batsman William Robertson being unavailable , Lee was promoted to open the batting alongside Frank Tarrant . He scored 30 and 16 against Yorkshire , followed by 1 and 44 not out against Lancashire . Lee and Tarrant continued to open for Middlesex for the remainder of the season , and against Nottinghamshire , Lee scored his first century in first - class cricket . Having been dismissed for 17 in the first innings , Lee scored 139 runs in the second , and shared a partnership of 183 runs with Patsy Hendren , who also reached his century . First World War . Prisoner of war . Initially , even after the declaration of war , Lee did not feel that there would be any impact on his life , and was looking forward to playing cricket in the 1915 season . After learning that the MCC and Middlesex County Cricket Club were keen to support the war effort , and encountering members of the Territorial Force marching through London , Lee changed his mind and enlisted into 13th ( County of London ) Battalion ( part of the all - Territorial Force London Regiment ) in Kensington ( the battalion was usually known as " The Kensingstons " as it recruited largely from that area of London ) on 1 September 1914 . At this time the pre - war battalion had been split into two , with the " first line " , 1 / 13th Battalion , of men who had volunteered for overseas service then being based in Abbots Langley , Hertfordshire , this unit would be sent to France in November 1914 . The " second line " , 2 / 13th Battalion , of men who had not volunteered for overseas service and new recruits was initially at White City , London prior to moving to Maidstone , Kent in January 1915 . In December 1914 a " third line " battalion , 3 / 13th Battalion , was formed as an additional training unit . This was based at Richmond Park . He was posted to 1 / 13th ( County of London ) Battalion on 25 February 1915 , and joined them in France just over a week later . Lee participated in the Battle of Neuve Chapelle in mid - March , an Allied offensive to regain the French village of Neuve - Chapelle . The village was retaken from the Germans , but the plan to press on and also capture Aubers was abandoned . Following this attack , the Germans heavily refortified the area and were expecting further attacks . The battle , part of a larger offensive known as the Battle of Aubers Ridge , commenced on 9 May . The Kensingtons formed part of 25th Brigade , and were one of the lead infantry units in the northern pincer of the attack , targeting Fromelles . Lee was part of D Company , which along with C Company led the Kensingtons during the assault . During the attack , the initial objectives were achieved , but at heavy cost . However , the attacking forces soon ran out of ammunition and retreated the following morning . Of the 550 men that the Kensingtons had engaged , there were 499 casualties , including 13 officers ; in total the British casualties numbered over 11 , 000 men . During the attack Lee was shot in the leg ; a bullet hit his left thigh and fractured his femur . He lay for three days between the lines having been given up for dead . A memorial service was held after the announcement of his death . After three days , Lee was found by the Germans and transported to hospital in Valenciennes . The ten - hour journey was initially made in the passenger compartment of a train , with sacks of straw , before he transferred to a Red Cross train at Lille . For the first week he was looked after by the French Red Cross , before the Germans took over . He remained in Valenciennes for six weeks , and remained bedridden for the duration of his stay . After this time , he was transferred to a second hospital in Hannover . For the first half of the two - day journey , Lee had to lie on a wooden seat with a blanket under him and his leg in an iron case , which hurt his back significantly , and was provided with no food . The second half of the journey was completed on a Red Cross train . During his stay in Hannover , Lee began to heal quickly , but after receiving advice from a fellow prisoner , he greatly exaggerated the injury , and was selected to be returned to England . He began the journey on 1 October 1915 , and boarded the boat for England five days later . Although Lee had amplified the severity of his injury , in England he discovered that one of his legs would be permanently shorter than the other , and he had suffered significant muscle death . He was told that he would neither be able to fight nor play cricket again . He was discharged from the army on 4 December 1915 , and was eligible for the Silver War Badge to show that he had served honourably . He later also received the 1914 - 15 Star , British War Medal and Victory Medal . After leaving the army , Middlesex paid for Lee to be treated by a specialist , and he was able to play a match for the Army Service Corps against Lancing College in early 1916 , in which he scored a century . Coaching in India . Having been invalided out of the Army , Lee worked as a filing clerk in the War Office , a position which allowed him plenty of time to play cricket with the MCC and in other wartime matches . Towards the end of the summer in 1916 , he met Frank Tarrant ' s wife , who suggested that Lee should accompany her husband to work in India . He readily accepted , but before he was able to leave , his mother died and Lee felt that he should remain at home to look after his two young brothers . A year later , with the household settled , Lee took Tarrant up on the offer . He was originally booked on the " Nyanza " , which was sailing to Bombay , but was transferred to the " Nagoya " at the last minute , which sailed directly to Lee ' s final destination of Calcutta . The " Nyanza " was torpedoed out of Plymouth , and though it returned to port , 49 lives were lost . During the " Nagoya ' s " journey , the convoy of which it was part was attacked passing through the Mediterranean Sea by the German U - boat " UB - 50 " . One of the ships , the " City of Lucknow " , an 8 , 000 ton cargo steamer in the convoy , was sunk . The rest of the journey was completed without incident , despite a rumour that the " Emden " , a German light cruiser , lay in wait for the convoy . In India , Lee worked as a football and cricket coach for the Maharaja of Cooch Behar , but was treated more like a guest than a paid retainer . He played a few first - class matches during his time in India , and in his first match in the country , for the Maharaja ' s XI against Lord Willingdon ' s XI , Lee claimed his maiden five - wicket haul , taking five wickets and conceding eleven runs . He added another three wickets in the second innings to record the best bowling analysis of the match . In November 1918 , Lee played for England against India . The Indian team did not have Test status , which was not attained until 1932 , but they had a strong team , and dominated the match against an England side which was far from representative . Lee claimed four wickets in the match for the concession of 177 runs , and made scores of eight and nine with the bat . Lee ' s highest score , and only century in first - class cricket in India was made in a match he was playing against the Maharaja of Cooch Behar ' s team . Appearing instead for MC Bird ' s XI , Lee opened the batting and scored 104 runs . He also claimed seven wickets in the match , which his side won by an innings . Return to county cricket . Despite the injury he sustained during the war , when county cricket resumed in 1919 , Lee took his leave of the Maharaja and returned to England to resume his career with Middlesex . County Championship matches were played over two days , an experiment which was unpopular with Lee , who described it as a " nightmare season " . Even with these shorter matches , Lee passed 1 , 000 first - class runs in a season for the first time in his career , and won himself a regular place in the Middlesex side . He scored four centuries during the season , including one in each innings of a charity match played against Surrey at The Oval . During the first innings , he reached 163 , sharing a second wicket partnership of 226 with Jack Hearne , and in the second he scored 126 . His batting average for the season was 40 . 76 ; the first of only three times that it would exceed 40 during his career . The championship reverted to three - day matches for 1920 , and Lee enjoyed his greatest successes as a batsman during the season . He scored centuries in successive matches in mid - May , reaching 102 against Warwickshire at Lord ' s , and then 119 against Sussex at the same venue . Against Sussex , each of Middlesex ' s top four batsmen scored centuries ; in addition to Lee ' s 119 runs , Pelham Warner scored 139 , Nigel Haig 131 , and Hearne remained 116 not out when the side declared . This was the first time the feat had been achieved in first - class cricket . Lee also took eleven wickets in the match , taking five in the first innings and six in the second to complete his maiden ten - wicket haul . In doing so , he became one of only eight Middlesex cricketers to have taken ten wickets in the same match as scoring a century . Playing against Hampshire at Southampton the following month , Lee scored his first double century , being 221 not out when Middlesex declared . He was also not out in the second innings , meaning that he was on the pitch for the full duration of the match . In total , Lee scored 1 , 518 runs at an average of 43 . 37 in first - class matches in 1920 . He ranked third amongst Middlesex batsmen — by both runs scored and batting average — in the County Championship , which the county won narrowly , completing victory in the final session of their final match . In " A History of Cricket " , H . S . Altham and E . W . Swanton praise Lee ' s " all - round excellence " during the season : in addition to his runs , he claimed 40 wickets in the Championship at an average of 22 . 40 . Lee ' s performances put him in contention for a place on the English touring party to travel to Australia that winter , but he eventually missed out on selection . Instead , he travelled to South Africa for the first of many winters playing and coaching in the country , accepting an invitation from the Wanderers Club in Johannesburg . For the second consecutive season , Lee scored in excess of 1 , 500 runs in all first - class matches in 1921 , aided by his highest career score ; 243 not out against Nottinghamshire . Lee batted for over six hours to reach the score in a match which Middlesex won by an innings . He only scored one other century during the season , 121 runs against Sussex , but passed 50 on nine occasions . However , he enjoyed his best season as a bowler , claiming 72 first - class wickets at an average of 19 . 66 , the best of his career . Middlesex won the County Championship once more , and Lee finished third in both the batting and bowling tables , behind Hearne and Hendren amongst the batsmen , and Jack Durston and Haig , the bowlers . After the season , he travelled once more to South Africa , this time to coach at both St . Andrew ' s School and Grey College in Bloemfontein . His obituary in the " Wisden Cricketers ' Almanack " states that by the end of 1921 his best years were over . Lee was certainly less prolific over the following few years : he averaged under 25 with the bat in each of the years from 1923 to 1925 , and only passed 1 , 000 first - class runs in the first of the three . For the second time in his career , Lee was part of a batting line - up in which each of the top four batsmen scored a century : against Hampshire in Southampton , Lee scored 107 , fellow opener Hugh Dales got 103 , Hearne reached 232 and Hendren remained 177 not out as Middlesex declared with 642 runs . In 1923 , he recorded his best bowling performance , taking eight wickets for the concession of 39 runs in the first innings against Gloucestershire at Cheltenham . He took a further four wickets in the second innings to help Middlesex to an eight wicket victory . He claimed 50 wickets for the third and final time that season , in which he was utilised heavily , being Middlesex ' s third most used bowler . He did not travel to South Africa in either of 1923 – 24 or 1924 – 25 , a fact which he describes as the " cause and effect " of his poor form in 1924 and 1925 . He travelled to South Africa again in 1926 , spending the first of three successive winters in Cape Town , coaching at South African College Schools . This coincided with a revival in his county cricket batting form ; in 1926 he passed 1 , 000 runs after missing out on the total for two years . Heading toward the twilight of his career , Lee enjoyed a batting renaissance in 1928 and 1929 . He averaged over 35 in each season , and scored runs heavily , reaching 1 , 715 runs in the first year and 1 , 995 in the second , the most in any season of his career . For the only time in his career , Lee was selected in 1928 to play for the professional " Players " team in the prestigious Gentlemen v Players fixture . Appearing in the contest at The Oval in early June , he opened the batting and scored 56 runs . The match finished as a draw with the final day lost to rain . In 1929 , he scored a century in each innings of a match for the second time , making 124 and 105 not out against a strong Lancashire bowling attack . Later that season , he scored his third and final double century , scoring 225 runs against Surrey at The Oval , during which he shared a second wicket partnership of 319 with Gubby Allen . Lee ' s 1 , 617 runs for Middlesex in the County Championship in 1929 made him their leading run - scorer , although both Hearne and Hendren topped 1 , 000 runs with superior averages . The following season saw Lee accumulate 1 , 485 first - class runs at an average of 26 . 05 , in the season which saw him play more matches than in any other : 34 in total . He reached a century only once , scoring 150 runs against Somerset at Taunton . Solitary Test . For the English winter of 1930 – 31 , Lee took on positions at both St . Andrew ' s College and Rhodes University , both in Grahamstown in South Africa . The MCC were touring that winter , and suffered heavily with injuries and illness . No fewer than seven players were missing at various stages , and the England captain , Percy Chapman , requested that Lee be excused from his coaching duties to join up with the touring party . Having believed he had secured this permission , he made his first appearance against Natal , scoring 14 runs in his only innings . He played in three further tour matches , twice making scores in the forties , but not reaching a half - century during the tour . His only Test appearance came in the fourth Test between England and South Africa . Lee opened the innings alongside Bob Wyatt and scored 18 and 1 in his two innings of the match , which finished a draw . During the match , the MCC were contacted by one of the schools he had been coaching at , which claimed that Lee had broken his contract by leaving without permission . Lee argued vehemently against these claims , citing the fact that the sportsmaster at the school had told Jack White that he had permission to leave , but the MCC were unmoved , and refused to issue Lee his England cap and blazer until he had apologised . Lee felt he had no need to apologise , and never received either cap or blazer , though small compensation came in the form of an England touring tie , which Jack Hobbs gave to him . Later career . Though now into his forties , Lee remained a regular in the Middlesex side in the early 1930s , and in 1931 he scored 1 , 291 runs at an average of 30 . 02 , including two centuries . Both of his brothers , Jack and Frank , also scored a first - class century during the season , Jack scored 113 for Somerset against Northamptonshire , and Frank carried his bat to remain 134 not out for Somerset against Sussex . The feat was the first instance of three professional brothers all scoring first - class centuries in the same season . Two years later , all three brother were involved in a dismissal : Harry Lee was caught for 82 runs by Frank from the bowling of Jack . Though Lee passed 1 , 000 first - class runs in each of 1932 and 1933 , he did so with averages under 25 , and in 1934 he was dropped from the Middlesex side in order to encourage some younger players to break into the team . He continued to appear for the MCC during the season , and scored a century against Cambridge University in early July . He was briefly recalled to the Middlesex team in August , and recorded a final century , reaching 119 against Warwickshire . Although he was successful in the subsequent match against Surrey , making scores of 65 and 38 not out , Middlesex terminated his contract at the end of the season , much to his disappointment . In 437 first - class appearances , Lee scored a total of 20 , 158 runs at an average of 29 . 95 . He scored 38 centuries and passed 1 , 000 runs in a season on 13 occasions . Upon the completion of his playing career , Lee began umpiring almost straight away , standing in non - first - class MCC matches . He petitioned Middlesex to be put forward for first - class duties for the following season , which they duly did . He was approved by the county captains , and umpired first - class cricket from 1935 until 1946 . He then returned to coaching , taking on a position at Downside School in Somerset from 1949 until 1953 . He was a regular attendee at Lord ' s throughout the remainder of his life , and by the time of his death in 1981 , he was England ' s second oldest Test cricketer . Playing style . In his own words , Lee was not a " brilliant youngster like Jack Hearne or Denis Compton , but an ordinary , average county cricketer " . Despite this assertion , Lee ' s 18 , 594 first - class runs for Middlesex rank him eleventh in their all - time list , and he is one of only seventeen cricketers to have scored over 5 , 000 runs and taken over 300 wickets for the county . H . S . Altham and E . W . Swanton suggested that figures alone do show his true worth , as at the time the Lord ' s pitch did not favour batsmen , and had he played his career on " some other ground where the pitch was a batsman ' s paradise , his figures would have borne a truer relation to his value . " Lee batted with a noticeable crouch , and scored predominantly on the leg side . His style was unattractive to watch , but effective , and although Hearne and Hendren drew most of the plaudits for their more colourful methods , Lee received praise for his toughness and courage .