List of cricketers in Wills' Cigarettes Cricketers, 1928
# List of cricketers in Wills' Cigarettes Cricketers, 1928

The Wills' 1928 cricketers was a set of trading cards issued by the Imperial Tobacco Co. under its W.D. & H.O. Wills brand. It consisted of a series of 50 collectable cigarette cards to commemorate leading first-class cricketers who had played county cricket in the 1927 English cricket season; and including nine who had toured South Africa in 1927–28 with the Marylebone Cricket Club team. This set is now a collectible and, in mint condition, has an estimated value (2017) of £90.

## Overview

47 of the players chosen for the series, including the three who played for Glamorgan, were English. The three exceptions were the Australian Test fast bowler Ted McDonald; the Indian-born batsman Duleepsinhji, though he later played for England; and Douglas Jardine, who was born in India of Scottish parents. One player, Roy Kilner, had died in April 1928 just a few weeks before publication. All of the seventeen county clubs then taking part in the County Championship are represented in the series. Most of the players in the series were veterans in 1928, only ten being under 30. The oldest player was Wilfred Rhodes, aged 50; the youngest was Duleepsinhji, aged 22.

Each card has a 1–50 series number determined alphabetically by surname. All players are named on the front and back of the card by initials preceding surname. Players who had amateur status are prefixed "Mr." (e.g., Mr. A. P. F. Chapman) or, in two cases, "Hon." (e.g., Hon. F. S. G. Calthorpe). There is an artist's impression of each player on the front of the card; seventeen are portraits and 33 depict the player in action.

## Series information

### Key

* # – card number in series (i.e., 1–50)
* Player – the name is that given on the front and back of the card, except in the cases of Nobby Clark and Ted McDonald where significant errors have occurred
   * Player's name in bold – the player took part in Test cricket during his career (with the exception of McDonald, who was Australian, all the Test players represented England)
* Club – generally, the first-class club(s) whom the player represented in 1927 and was expected to represent in 1928
* Age – the player's age at 28 April 1928, the opening day of the first-class season; Roy Kilner's age is at 5 April 1928, the date of his death
* Type – an amalgam of initialisms (see below) which describe the player's style of batting and bowling (some players are specialist batsmen); and (if appropriate) wicketkeeper
* RHB – right-handed batsman
* LHB – left-handed batsman
* WK – wicketkeeper
* RF – right-arm fast bowler
* LF – left-arm fast bowler
* RFM – right-arm fast medium bowler
* LFM – left-arm fast bowler
* RM – right-arm medium pace bowler
* LM – left-arm medium pace bowler
* LB – right-arm leg break bowler
* OB – right-arm off break bowler
* SLA – orthodox slow left-arm spin bowler
* picture – confirms the card picture as a portrait or states the type of action being depicted
* notes – includes a summary of the "pen picture" on the back of the card
* WY ccyy – year in which the player was elected a Wisden Cricketer of the Year (i.e., the year of the Wisden issue)

## Checklist

| # | Player | Club | Age | Type | Picture | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | W. E. Astill | Leicestershire | 40 | RHB/OB | portrait | WY 1933. Toured South Africa in 1927–28 with the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) team. Wills says that Astill had been Leicestershire's best batsman since the end of the war, describing him as "sound and steady", noted for hitting hard in front of the wicket. |
| 2 | W. E. Bates | Glamorgan | 44 | RHB/SLA | batting | |
| 3 | G. Brown | Hampshire | 40 | LHB/WK | portrait | |
| 4 | Hon. F. S. G. Calthorpe | Warwickshire | 35 | RHB/RM | batting | |
| 5 | Mr. A. P. F. Chapman | Kent | 27 | LHB/LM/SLA | batting | WY 1919. |
| 6 | E. W. Clark | Northamptonshire | 25 | LHB/LF | portrait | On the Wills card, Clark's initials are given as "E. C.", but that is a publication error. His full name was Edward Winchester Clark and he was universally known as Nobby Clark. |
| 7 | A. E. Dipper | Gloucestershire | 42 | RHB/RM | batting | |
| 8 | Mr. J. W. H. T. Douglas | Essex | 45 | RHB/RFM | bowling | WY 1915. |
| 9 | G. Duckworth | Lancashire | 26 | RHB/WK | portrait | WY 1929. |
| 10 | K. S. Duleepsinhji | Cambridge University & Sussex | 22 | RHB/LB | portrait | WY 1930. Like his uncle, Ranjitsinhji, Duleepsinhji was usually called "Kumar Sri" and given the initials "K. S." on scorecards. This is actually incorrect usage because "Kumar" and "Sri" are both honorary titles. On the Wills card, "K. S. Duleepsinhji" is the style used. |
| 11 | Mr. G. F. Earle | Somerset | 36 | RHB/RF | portrait | |
| 12 | Mr. P. G. H. Fender | Surrey | 35 | RHB/RM/LB | batting | WY 1915. |
| 13 | A. P. Freeman | Kent | 39 | RHB/LB | bowling | WY 1923. Toured South Africa in 1927–28 with the MCC team. |
| 14 | G. Geary | Leicestershire | 34 | RHB/RFM | fielding | WY 1927. Toured South Africa in 1927–28 with the MCC team. |
| 15 | Mr. A. E. R. Gilligan | Sussex | 33 | RHB/RF | batting | WY 1924. |
| 16 | G. Gunn | Nottinghamshire | 48 | RHB/RM | batting | WY 1914. |
| 17 | C. Hallows | Lancashire | 33 | LHB/SLA | batting | WY 1928. |
| 18 | W. R. Hammond | Gloucestershire | 24 | RHB/RFM | batting | WY 1928. Toured South Africa in 1927–28 with the MCC team. |
| 19 | H. T. W. Hardinge | Kent | 42 | RHB/SLA | batting | WY 1915. |
| 20 | J. W. Hearne | Middlesex | 37 | RHB/LB | batting | WY 1912. |
| 21 | E. Hendren | Middlesex | 39 | RHB/OB | batting | WY 1920. Named "E. Hendren" on the Wills card, his full name was Elias Henry Hendren. He was universally known as "Patsy" Hendren. |
| 22 | J. B. Hobbs | Surrey | 45 | RHB/RM | batting | WY 1909 & 1926. |
| 23 | P. Holmes | Yorkshire | 41 | RHB/RM | batting | WY 1920. Toured South Africa in 1927–28 with the MCC team. |
| 24 | Mr. G. R. Jackson | Derbyshire | 31 | LHB | portrait | |
| 25 | Mr. D. R. Jardine | Surrey | 27 | RHB/LB | batting | WY 1928. |
| 26 | Mr. V. W. C. Jupp | Northamptonshire | 37 | RHB/RM/OB | batting | WY 1928. |
| 27 | The Late R. Kilner | Yorkshire | 37 | LHB/SLA | bowling | WY 1924. Roy Kilner died on 5 April 1928, a few weeks before publication. |
| 28 | H. Larwood | Nottinghamshire | 23 | RHB/RF | portrait | WY 1927. |
| 29 | B. Lilley | Nottinghamshire | 34 | RHB/WK | portrait | |
| 30 | E. A. McDonald | Lancashire | 37 | RHB/RF | bowling | WY 1922. On the Wills card, McDonald's name is incorrectly spelled "Macdonald". |
| 31 | Mr. F. T. Mann | Middlesex | 40 | RHB | batting | |
| 32 | C. P. Mead | Hampshire | 41 | LHB/SLA | portrait | WY 1912. |
| 33 | J. Mercer | Glamorgan | 35 | RHB/RFM | portrait | WY 1927. |
| 34 | C. W. L. Parker | Gloucestershire | 45 | RHB/SLA | portrait | WY 1923. |
| 35 | W. Rhodes | Yorkshire | 50 | RHB/SLA | bowling | WY 1899. |
| 36 | F. Root | Worcestershire | 38 | RHB/RFM | portrait | |
| 37 | A. C. Russell | Essex | 41 | RHB/RM | batting | WY 1923. During his career, Russell was always known as Albert Charles Russell but his real name, discovered much later, was Charles Albert George Russell. Even so, he was universally known as "Jack" Russell. |
| 38 | F. Ryan | Glamorgan | 39 | LHB/SLA | portrait | Named "F. Ryan" on the Wills card, his full name was Francis Peter Ryan. Although Ryan was English, he was born in India. |
| 39 | A. Sandham | Surrey | 37 | RHB | batting | WY 1923. |
| 40 | E. J. Smith | Warwickshire | 42 | RHB/WK | keeping wicket | This is the only picture in the series with landscape format page orientation. |
| 41 | Mr. G. T. S. Stevens | Middlesex | 27 | RHB/LB | batting | Toured South Africa in 1927–28 with the MCC team. |
| 42 | H. Sutcliffe | Yorkshire | 33 | RHB/RM | batting | WY 1920. Toured South Africa in 1927–28 with the MCC team. |
| 43 | M. W. Tate | Sussex | 32 | RHB/RFM | bowling | WY 1924. |
| 44 | Hon. L. H. Tennyson | Hampshire | 38 | RHB/RF | portrait | WY 1914. |
| 45 | L. Townsend | Derbyshire | 24 | RHB/RM/OB | portrait | WY 1934. Named "L. Townsend" on the Wills card, his full name was Leslie Fletcher Townsend. |
| 46 | E. Tyldesley | Lancashire | 39 | RHB/RM | batting | WY 1920. Toured South Africa in 1927–28 with the MCC team. Named "E. Tyldesley" on the Wills card, his full name was George Ernest Tyldesley. |
| 47 | Mr. J. C. White | Somerset | 37 | RHB/SLA | bowling | WY 1929. |
| 48 | W. Whysall | Nottinghamshire | 40 | RHB/RM | batting | WY 1925. Named "W. Whysall" on the Wills card, his full name was William Wilfrid Whysall. He was widely known by his nickname "Dodger". |
| 49 | F. E. Woolley | Kent | 40 | LHB/LM/SLA | batting | WY 1911. |
| 50 | Mr. R. E. S. Wyatt | Warwickshire | 26 | RHB/RM | portrait | WY 1930. Toured South Africa in 1927–28 with the MCC team. Wills describes Wyatt as "probably Warwickshire's best all-rounder" and as "a polished batsman of sound defence". |
