Willie Watson - Double International Football and Cricket - died 84 years on April 24th 2004

by A.C. de Silva

A Double International - the only man to play World Cup Football and Test Cricket for England was Willie Watson. In Cricket he played for Yorkshire, Leicestershire and England while at Football he played for England's National Team. He made 223 Football League appearances.

Born in Boulton on Dearne, Yorkshire, England, Watson, a left-handed batsman, made his debut for Yorkshire in 1939, and was a regular in the side for a dozen of years after World War II. He made his Test debut against the South Africans in 1951, and did well.

Never had fixed place

But at a time when England was rich in batting talent, Watson rarely commanded a regular place and his 23 Test matches were spread across eight years. His most famous innings was one of 100, in almost six hours, with Trevor Bailey contributing to a partnership of 163, enabled England to save the second Test at Lord's in 1953 against the Australians, when the game appeared to be lost. In 1954 he was named "Wisdon's Five Cricketers of the Year."

Despite being a stylish left-hander, his Test career was a series of stops and starts. He even found himself dropped after his efforts at Lord's for the final Ashes series clinching victory. Nevertheless, he was one of the five Wisdon Cricketers of the Year in 1954.

Watson' toured in the West Indies in 1953-54, and scored his second Test century in Jamaica. His final Test appearance was in New Zealand in March 1959. Watson's highest first class score was 257, for the MCC against British Guiana at Georgetown.

Cricket career received late boost

Watson's cricket career received a late boost. When, in 1958, he left Yorkshire and joined Leicestershire as Assistant Secretary and Captain. A popular if quiet skipper, he temporarily regained his England place, and was also instrumental in a limited revival of the Leicestershire's fortunes. He played his last first-class match for Leicestershire in 1964.

He wrote his memoirs, Double International, in 1954. Watson emigrated to South Africa in 1968, to coach the Wanderers.

As a footballer, Watson was a cultured wing-half for Huddersfield Town, Sunderland and Halifax Town. He made 211 league appearances for Sunderland, in his seven seasons at the club. He played for England four times, gaining his first cap in England's 9-2 Victory over Northern Ireland in November 1949.

He was a member of the squad for the 1950 FIFA World Cup, though he did not appear in any of the games in the tournament in Brazil.

He had two spells in charge of Haliflex, from 1954 to 1956 and later from 1964 to 1966 and also managed Bradford City from 1966 to 1968, where he laid the foundations of a promotion-winning team, but his biggest successes were cricket.