English · Dover, Kent, England · Born 19 June 1903 · Died 1965-07-01English batsman and all-rounder who held the world record Test score of 336 not out from 1933 to 1994 and averaged 58.45 across 85 Tests during England's dominant interwar era.
At Auckland in 1933, Wally Hammond scored 336 not out — then the highest individual score in Test history — going from 200 to 300 in just 47 minutes and striking 10 sixes in an innings that stood as the England Test record for over seven decades. He survived a near-fatal illness in 1926 that kept him out for a season, returning the following year to score over 1,000 runs in the month of May alone. Hammond's signature innings came in New Zealand in 1933, where he scored 336 not out at Auckland — at the time the highest individual score in Test history — including 10 sixes, going from 200 to 300 in just 47 minutes. His overall Test record of 7,249 runs at an average of 58.45 stood as the highest aggregate in Test cricket until surpassed by Colin Cowdrey in 1970, while his 22 Test centuries remained an English record for 73 years. A magnificent player in all conditions, Hammond averaged 66.33 in Tests played away from England, including seven centuries and 1,981 runs across 19 Tests in Australia. He was the leading English batsman in the county averages for eight consecutive seasons from 1933 to 1946, and became a rare professional-turned-amateur to captain England in 1938, succeeded eventually by Len Hutton. Hammond finished his first-class career with 50,551 runs and 167 centuries, and is widely ranked alongside W.G. Grace, Jack Hobbs and Don Bradman as one of the four greatest batsmen the game has produced. He died on 1 July 1965 in Kloof, South Africa, having fallen into financial difficulty in his later years.
One of England's greatest all-round batsmen of the pre-war era
How They Played
Powerful, elegant driving off both front and back foot with immense physical strength
Lasting Impact
Widely regarded as one of the four greatest batsmen in cricket history, alongside Grace, Hobbs and Bradman
Career Honours
- Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1928
- held England's Test record individual score (336*) for decades
- ICC Cricket Hall of Fame