Leonard Oakley (11 January 1916 – 9 January 1974) was an English cricketer who played eight first-class games for Worcestershire County Cricket Club either side of the Second World War. A bowler, in 14 innings he never scored more than 11 runs.

Leonard Oakley
Personal information
Full name
Leonard Oakley
Born(1916-01-11)11 January 1916
Stourbridge, Worcestershire, England
Died9 January 1974(1974-01-09) (aged 57)
Dudley, Worcestershire, England
BattingLeft-handed
BowlingSlow left arm orthodox
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1935–1948Worcestershire
FC debut26 June 1935 Worcestershire v Middlesex
Last FC18 June 1948 Worcestershire v Lancashire
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 8
Runs scored 43
Batting average 4.77
100s/50s 0/0
Top score 11
Balls bowled 708
Wickets 12
Bowling average 32.75
5 wickets in innings 1
10 wickets in match 0
Best bowling 6/64
Catches/stumpings 2/–
Source: CricketArchive, 20 September 2007

Oakley made his debut for Worcestershire against Middlesex at Worcester in late June 1935, taking the single wicket of Fred Price and scoring 6 and 0 from number ten. He played against Gloucestershire a few days later, taking one more wicket, and made two wicketless appearances in 1937, but those games comprised his entire remaining pre-war career.

He returned to first-class action with a bang in June 1946, taking eight wickets against the Royal Air Force in what was to prove the RAF's last first-class match. His first innings 2-18 and second-innings 6-64, which contributed largely towards his county's victory, were the only times he ever took more than two wickets in a first-class innings.[1] However, two subsequent County Championship games brought Oakley only one wicket in total, and he played no more for two years.

In June 1948, Oakley took 5–44 in each innings of a Second XI match against Glamorgan II,[2] and was recalled to the first team for the Championship match with Lancashire at Manchester a week later. However, he could manage only 1-71 from 17 overs, and he never played first-class cricket again.

Notes

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  1. ^ "Worcestershire v Royal Air Force in 1946". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 September 2007.
  2. ^ "Worcestershire Second XI v Glamorgan Second XI in 1948". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 September 2007.
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