Full name James Graham Binks Name Jimmy Binks National side England | Bowling style Legbreak Batting style Right-hand bat Role Cricket Player | |
 | ||
Born 5 October 1935 (age 88) ( 1935-10-05 ) Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England | ||
James Graham Binks (born 5 October 1935, Hull, Yorkshire, England) is a former English cricketer who played as a wicket-keeper for Yorkshire. Although he was regarded by many as the best wicket-keeper of his generation, his limited batting ability restricted him to just two Test match appearances for England, both on the 1963-64 tour to India. Ironically, because of injuries to other players, he opened the batting in three of his four Test innings.
Life and career
Binks' County Championship career is unique. Coming into the Yorkshire team in June 1955, he then played in every single Championship game played by Yorkshire until he retired at the end of the 1969 season. Yorkshire won the Championship seven times in this period.
Binks stands 19th on the all-time list of wicketkeepers, with 1,071 first-class dismissals to his name. He holds the record for the most catches in an English season, with 96 in 1960. With 11 stumpings also in this season, he is one of only seven wicketkeepers with more than 100 dismissals in a single English season.
With regard to Binks' short international career, the cricket commentor, Colin Bateman, stated, "Binks... oddly failed to reproduce the elegant assurance he brought to his work with Yorkshire. It may have had something to do with the fact that he was also asked to act as emergency opener".
Binks had had his benefit year in 1967 playing a range of matches around Yorkshire [4]. His benefit match in 1967 was at Headingley between 24, 26 and 27 June. Sir William Worsley, YCCC President stated 'No player in the history of Yorkshire cricket has served his County better than Jimmy Binks'.
Binks was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1969.