'I THINK I have played my last innings for Yorkshire," said Captain Hedley Verity of the Green Howards as he lay injured in a cornfield in Italy.

He had. The man who single-handedly secured England's only Test match victory over the Australians at Lord's - until, of course, England's truly remarkable victory this weekend - died of his wounds in a Prisoner of War camp.

And he appears to have played his last innings in England on the green sward of Feethams in Darlington.

Verity was born in Headingley, Leeds, in 1905, and made his debut for England in 1931. A slow left-arm spinner with infinite variety, his date with cricketing destiny came in 1934.

It was the Second Test of that Ashes summer - the Aussies having won the First. On the opening day, England crawled to 293-5, Herbert Sutcliffe and Wally Hammond both going cheaply. On the second day, they were all out for 440 and Australia progressed to 192-3. Unnoticed, Verity took the last wicket of the day, dismissing the legendary Donald Bradman for 36.

As there were only four days to a Test, The Northern Echo's cricket correspondent said: "Unless the weather changes, a draw is inevitable."

The weather did change. Next day - Sunday, rest day - it poured with rain. The Lord's pitch was uncovered. The Aussies were on a sticky wicket.

They took to the crease on the Monday morning in conditions they hadn't encountered before - down under, most pitches were covered. To make matters worse, their fast bowler Tim Wall had scuffed up a nice patch of rough in the puddingy pitch for Hedley to exploit.

The Yorkshireman whistled through them, taking seven wickets at a cost of 61 runs. They followed on, and again the Yorkshireman skittled them out, taking eight for 43 as they slumped to 118 all out. England won by an innings and 38 runs.

Hedley had become the only player in Test match history to take 14 wickets in one day, and his match figures of 15 for 104 remain an English bowler's best return in the Ashes.

"It was one of the most remarkable scenes ever known at Lord's where England had not won a Test match against Australia for 38 years," said the Echo. England have - until today - not won a Test match there against the Aussies for 71 years. "And it followed one of the most amazing changes in a game ever seen in a day's play."

There were, of course, questions about the pitch. The England captain Bob Wyatt said: "There seems to be an idea that it was a sticky wicket, but it was not, though the spot was troublesome at one end. The Australians were splendid losers."

But "splendid losers" won the series - and the Ashes - 2-1.

In 1939, when the Second World War broke out, Hedley joined the Green Howards. With Captain Herbert Sutcliffe and Sergeant Leonard Hutton, he worked at the regimental depot in Richmond and represented Catterick Garrison.

In 1940, the Garrison's all stars played four fund raising matches in Darlington. The last, in which Verity excelled with the bat, was on August 31 at Feethams. He was then sent out to India - at one point, Middlesbrough's legendary footballer, Wilf Mannion, was his runner - only to be called back ready for the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943.

It was an invasion that cost him his life. As he lay mortally wounded in the cornfield, his last words to his men were: "Keep going, keep going."

Which is exactly what England have to do for the rest of this Ashes summer.

Published: 23/07/2005