Important Notice
Unfortunately my right hand man, assistant and auctioneer David Robinson has been seriously unwell and is experiencing an extended stay in hospital, so it is with regret that I have to postpone the date of our forthcoming auction on 27th-29th November 2026.
The new anticipated date for the auction is Friday to Sunday, 8th-10th January 2027.
We wish David a speedy recovery in the meantime.
Kind regards
Tim Knight
Auction of Cricket, Football & Sporting Memorabilia including the Cricket Collection of Hedley Verity, Yorkshire & England
Knights Auctioneers last auction of Cricket, Football & Sporting Memorabilia was held on Thursday 6th, Friday 7th, Saturday 8th & Sunday 9th August 2026.
The sale included around 1900 lots and we have included some highlights below.
To view the results from the auction click here.
Our next sale will be on Friday 27th, Saturday 28th & Sunday 29th November 2026
Lot 769 Hedley Verity. Yorkshire & England 1930-1939. M.C.C. tour of Australia 'Bodyline' 1932-33. M.C.C. navy blue cloth Test touring cap, by E.C. Devereux of Eton, Bucks, with excellent raised embroidered touring emblem of St. George & Dragon in silver thread to front of cap. 'H. Verity' handwritten in black ink to inner label of cap. A rare Bodyline tour cap, one of only seventeen caps issued to the players on the tour. Along with the cap this lot includes his blazer pocket badge and tie from the series. A rare and almost unique cap, blazer badge and tie from the iconic series which caused such controversy and ill feeling with its leg theory bowling which has had long lasting repercussions on both Test and County cricket. From the Hedley Verity collection. Hammer unsold
Lot 1418 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 1875. 12th edition. 1874. 212pp. Second issue. Bound in dark brown boards, lacking original paper wrappers, with title and date in gilt lettering to spine. This book is from the library of John Arlott, cricket author, broadcaster and commentator and is signed by him to the title page in black ink. Previously sold in the Christie's auction of September 1992. Probably the rarest Wisden edition of them all. Hammer unsold
Lot 1052 Roy Kilner. Yorkshire, Europeans & England 1911-1927. Impressive hallmarked silver cigarette box with machine tooled decoration to the box lid. Inscription to front 'To Roy Kilner from Rowntree & Co Ltd, York to commemorate Australia Tour 1924-25'. The wood lined silver box, split into two sections internally, has hallmarks for Birmingham 1924 and makers marks for William Neale Ltd of Birmingham. The box measures 7.5"x3.5"x2.5" high. Some bumping to corners and minor bumping to some extremities of the case otherwise in good/very good condition. Hammer £240
Lot 277 Peter Alexander McAlister. Victoria & Australia, 1898-1911. Excellent extra large mono 'Imperial' cabinet card of McAlister, full length in batting pose wearing Australian cap. Very nicely signed in black ink to the photograph by McAlister. The photograph by T.W. Bolland of London, with photographer's blind stamp embossed to lower border of the image, taken in 1909 during the Australian tour to England. A superb image and a rarely seen large cabinet card especially in this signed form. Hammer £500
Lot 1010 William Gilbert Grace. Gloucestershire, London County & England 1870-1904. Very large and imposing, head and shoulders, bust of Grace sporting a forked beard and wearing a cricket shirt by artist William Henry Tyler SC (fl. 1880-1893). The plaster of Paris bust, produced in 1888, stands on a joined plinth and overall measures approx 32" tall, width: shoulders 24", back to front 13". Inscribed to back of bust 'W. Tyler. SC. 1888'. The bust and plinth are extremely heavy and weighs around 25 kilos. A large wonderful figure of an almost live size W.G. Grace enhanced with a glorious patina. Hammer unsold
Lot 766 Hedley Verity. Yorkshire & England 1930-1939. 'Ten wickets for 10 runs. Yorkshire v Nottinghamshire, 9th- 12th July 1932'. Original scorecard for the famous match played at Headingley where Hedley Verity took 10-10 runs for Yorkshire in Nottinghamshire's second innings. The folding scorecard with fully completed printed detail and nicely signed in ink by Verity to the centre of the scorecard. A rarely seen scorecard for this record breaking bowling analysis. From the Hedley Verity collection. Hammer £1500
Lot 1178 William Gilbert Grace. Gloucestershire & England 1865-1908. Rare and early mono real photograph postcard of Grace standing full length on the outfield at Trent Bridge, wearing batting attire and M.C.C. hooped cap, leaning on his bat. Very nicely signed in black ink by Grace to lower border. The postcard is postmarked 'Sydenham 18th July 1904' close to Crystal Palace where Grace was playing for London County v M.C.C., in which he top scored with 165. Hammer £1600
Lot 74 Warwickshire C.C.C. c.1900. Large album page comprising ten beautiful signatures in ink of Warwickshire players of the period on eight pieces lightly laid down to one side. Signatures are Frank E. Field, Tom S. Fishwick, Walter Quaife, William G. 'Willie' Quaife, Sydney Santall, Crowther Charlesworth, Arthur F.A. 'Dick' Lilley, John H.G. 'Jack' Devey, Alfred C.S. Glover, and Frederick Dickens. From a collection of similar signatures from the turn of the century. Hammer £170
Lot 611 'Indian Team. Winners Prudential World Cup 1983'. Official autograph sheet with printed title and players' names. Fully signed in ink by the fifteen members of the Indian team. Signatures are Kapil Dev (Captain), Amarnath, Azad, Binny, Gavaskar, Kirmani, Madan Lal, Sandeep Patil, Sandhu, Srikanth, Shastri, Sharma, Vengsarkar, Valson and Man Singh (Manager). India beat West Indies by 43 runs at Lord's 25th June 1983 to claim their first World Cup title. Hammer £1600
Lot 1059 Glenn McGrath. New South Wales & Australia 1992-2008. Australian sleeveless Test sweater worn by McGrath in the England v Australia 'Ashes' series played in England of the summer of 1997. The white sweater, by 'Silver Fleece of Australia', with Australian green and gold trimming and Australia emblem to the centre of the sweater. Initials 'G. Mc'' to neck label. McGrath was the leading Australian bowler in the series taking thirty six wickets for 701 runs giving an average of 19.47. Hammer £650
Lot 961 Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji. Sussex & England 1895-1920. Original mono cabinet card photograph of Ranjitsinhji standing at the wicket in batting pose wearing his Sussex cap. Nicely signed to lower border by Ranjitsinhji in black ink. Photograph by E. Hawkins & Co of Brighton. An excellent image. Hammer withdrawn
Lot 1568 'The Tour of the West Indian Cricketers, August & September 1886'. Charles Guy Austin Wyatt and Lawrence R. Fyfe. The Argosy Press, Demerara, West Indies 1887. 92pp. Mounted real sepia photograph of the team at the final match of the tour v Staten Island as frontispiece. Original pale blue stiffened card covers with replacement green cloth spine and gilt title to spine. The front board title reads 'The Tour of the West Indian Cricketers. Their Diary with details of matches played and a photograph of the team 1886'. The book describes the tour to Canada and the United States of America by a team of West Indian Gentlemen (all white) drawn from Jamaica, Demerara and Barbados and was the first by a West Indian team. A rare early West Indian tour book. Hammer unsold
Lot 267 Australia tour of England 1926. Impressive official sepia photograph of the Australian team who toured England in 1926, seated and standing in rows, wearing cricket attire and all dressed in their touring caps and blazers. The photograph, by T. Bolland of St Leonards, is laid down to official photographers mount, with printed title '16th Australian Eleven 1926' to lower border, and the mount very nicely signed in black ink above and below the image by all seventeen members of the touring party featured plus the Manager, Sydney Smith. An excellent image of the 1926 tourists with good strong signatures. Hammer £440
Lot 764 Hedley Verity. Yorkshire & England 1930-1939. England navy blue cloth Test cap with raised wired emblem of the three lions and crown to front. The cap made by E.C. Devereux of Eton, Bucks with 'H. Verity' handwritten in black ink to inner label of cap. The cap worn by Verity playing in the eighteen Test matches in England including his most successful Test, the second Test played at Lord's when he took fifteen wickets in the match, fourteen in one day. From the Hedley Verity collection. Hammer £2600
Lot 1414 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 1870. 7th edition. Original paper wrappers. The book cocked to the right, wear with loss to rear wrapper, old tape to spine, ink signature to the top border of the front wrapper, minor staining to the wrappers otherwise in good condition for its age and scarcity. Pages checked, complete. Hammer £900
Lot 312 'The Grace Family'. W.G. Grace in the West Gloucestershire team of 1866. Good very early original sepia photograph of the West Gloucestershire team that played Knole Park on the 12th and 13th July 1866. The team are depicted in cricket apparel and are seated on the grass in front of an oak tree with the ground and tents to background. The photograph features all five of the Grace brothers, William Gilbert (aged 17), Henry, Edward Mills, Alfred and Fred and their father Dr H.M. Grace plus two of their cousins Alfred Pocock and W.J.Pocock the players featured are H.W. Barber, H. Grunning, F. Baker, and R. Brotherhood, some of whom went on to play for the full Gloucestershire team when it was formed in 1870. A very early image of the Grace family just prior to the formation of the Gloucestershire County Cricket Club. Hammer £600
Lot 278 William James Whitty. New South Wales, South Australia & Australia, 1907-1926. Excellent extra large mono 'Imperial' cabinet card of Whitty, full length in bowling pose holding the ball and wearing Australian cap. Very nicely signed in black ink to the photograph by Whitty. The photograph by T.W. Bolland of London, with photographer's blind stamp embossed to lower border of the image, taken in 1909 during the Australian tour to England. A superb image and a rarely seen large cabinet card especially in this signed form. Hammer £550
Lot 1019 Ronald Thomas Stanyforth. Yorkshire, M.C.C. and England 1928-1933. Silver hallmarked cigarette case presented to Stanyforth by Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester at Christmas 1921. The case engraved to gilt inside 'Ronald from Henry. Xmas 1921'. Hallmarked for London 1918 and makers mark for Alexander Clark of London. The case with Stanyforth's initials to one side and to the other Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester's monogram. Rony Stanyforth was equerry to the Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of King George V. Hammer £250
Lot 472 'Famous Cricketers' circa 1890. Very large and beautifully presented colour lithograph featuring W.G. Grace to centre, full length at the crease, wearing M.C.C. cap, surrounding Grace are the cameo images of R. Abel, J.T. Brown, A. Shrewsbury. Prince Ranjitsinhji, Lord Hawke, A.E. Stoddart, A.C. Maclaren, W.L. Muroch, S.M.J. Woods, T. Richardson, W. Chatterton, J. Briggs, R. Peel and W.W. Read with title to lower border. An impressive large Victorian image. Hammer £260
Lot 265 Australian tour of England 1905. 'England v Australia, 5th Test, The Oval 1905'. Excellent large sepia photograph of the two teams, standing and seated in rows, the majority wearing blazers, caps and boaters, with the two Captains, F.S. Jackson and Joe Darling to centre. Players include, for England, Jackson, C.B. Fry, A.O.Jones, MacLaren, Hirst, Rhodes, Tyldesley, Spooner, Lilley, Brearley, Hayward, Darling, Trumper, Armstrong, Noble, Hopkins, Gregory, Kelly, Cotter, Duff, Newlands, Howell, Gehrs, Hill, McLeod etc. A wonderful photograph of the two teams presumably taken behind the Oval pavilion or similar. Good condition. Hammer £500
Lot 523 The Ashes. England v Australia 1926. Page on Surrey C.C.C. official letterhead beautifully signed in black ink by thirteen members of the Australian team for the 5th Test at Kennington Oval 14th- 18th August 1926 (timeless Test). Signatures of those who played are Collins (Captain), Bardsley, Macartney, Gregory, Woodfull, Richardson, Ponsford, Grimmett, Oldfield, Mailey, Andrews, also Ryder and Taylor. Hammer £140
Lot 1436 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 1897. 34th edition. Original hardback. Ink library stamp for the Liverpool Cricket Club to inside front board. A rare early hardback edition in lovely condition. The rare second issue of the original hardback, which was first introduced in 1896. Hammer £9500
Lot 784 The Ashes. England v Australia 1934. 'Verity's Match'. Original cricket ball with which Hedley Verity took a career best eight wickets for forty three runs for England against Australia in the second innings of the second Test at Lord's in June 1934. The ball with silver band around its seam is mounted on a silver finial and mounted to a wooden base on three cricket stumps with green baize base. The wooden base has a silver metal horizontal plaque with the inscription 'England v Australia, Lords 1934. H. Verity bowled 58.3 overs, 23 maidens, 104 runs for 15 wickets. Well Bowled Hedley.'. A unique memento of Verity's Test career-best bowling achievement. From the Hedley Verity collection. Hammer unsold
Lot 520 Australia 1902, Gentlemen of Philadelphia 1903, and Surrey 1908. Large album page nicely and fully signed to one side in black ink by all sixteen members of the 1902 Australian touring party to England, and ten of the Gentlemen of Philadelphia tour to England 1903. To the verso, thirteen signatures of the 1908 Surrey team. Australian signatures are Darling (Captain), Trumble, Carter, Armstrong, Gregory, Saunders, Hopkins, Duff, Howell, Trumper, Jones, Noble, Kelly, Hill etc. Hammer £1900
Lot 1060 Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. Bombay/ Mumbai, Yorkshire & India 1988-2014. Indian replica blue ICC World Cup shirt South Africa 2003 with Indian emblem and World Cup logo to chest. 'INDIA' to centre. Signed by Tendular to chest. The shirt was signed by Tendulkar for the vendor at the Test match at Lords in 2007. Hammer £240
Lot 1058 Andrew Richard Caddick. Somerset & England 1991-2009. England navy blue cloth Test cap, by Albion C&D of Australia, with embroidered three lions and coronet emblem of England to cap, worn by Caddick in the England v Australia 'Ashes' series played in England of the summer of 1997. Andrew Caddick was the leading England bowler in the series taking twenty four wickets for 634 runs giving an average of 26.41. Hammer £280
Lot 785 The Ashes. England v Australia 1934. 'Verity's Match'. Official scorecard for the 2nd Test played at Lord's, 22nd- 25th June 1934. The scorecard with complete printed and neatly handwritten scores in pencil. England scored 440 in their only innings, Leyland making 109 and Ames 120. In reply Australia reached 284 in their first innings, Hedley Verity taking seven wickets for 61 runs, Bill Brown scoring 105, and following on and on a rain affected pitch were bowled out for 118, Verity taking eight wickets for 43 runs. England winning by an innings and 38 runs. Nicely signed in black ink by Verity. Hammer £870
Lot 1066 Harry Butler Cave. Wellington, Central Districts and New Zealand 1945 to 1959. New Zealand black cloth Test cap, by Ballantyres of Timaru, Wellington, with embroidered 'silver fern' emblem of New Zealand to cap. Name to label 'H.B. Cave'. A rarer Test cap, not many New Zealand Test caps have passed through our auction rooms over the years. Hammer £700
Lot 1457 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 1918. 55th edition. Original hardback. Very good condition throughout. A rare wartime hardback edition with gilt titles to front board and spine very bright. Hammer £1300
Lot 789 Hedley Verity, Yorkshire & England. Unusual commemorative ceramic plate for ‘Hedley Verity, England’s Famous Spin Bowler’ with transfer printed vignette of Verity in bowling pose and title to face. Gold lustre to inner and outer rim. To verso, a transfer printed inscription 'Record Bowling by Hedley Verity against the Australians at Lord's. June 23 and June 25-1934. 15 wickets for 104. 7 wickets for 61, first innings, 8 wickets for 43, second innings. Other notable performances. 17 wickets for 91 in one day against Essex at Leyton July 14 1933. 10 wickets for 36 at Leeds against Warwickshire May 18 1931. 10 wickets for 10 at Leeds against Nottinghamshire. July 12 1932 (including the Hat Trick). The latter performance creating a World's Record- 19.4 overs, 16 maidens 10 runs for 10 wickets'. The plate by W. Ellis of 334 Broad Lane, Bramley, Leeds, stamp to base. The plate measures 9" diameter. Hammer £260