seen as anything more than a county player. That season, in addition to scoring a personal best 1510 runs for an average of over 26, Howorth took 118 County Championship wickets and was second to Tom Goddard in the averages in a summer unsuited to bowlers. His 7 for 52 on an extremely docile Trent Bridge pitch was the finest performance of his career, and placed Howorth into representative consideration, which he reached in the last Test match with considerable success: he took a wicket with his first ball in Test cricket. In that summer, Howorth took 164 wickets and it is noteworthy that he did not once take ten wickets in a match. Surprisingly, he was overlooked when Wisden chose its Wisden Cricketers of the Year, and was never to get another chance. Although he was the best bowler in the Tests for a weak side in the West Indies the following winter, in 1948, despite wetter weather, Howorth was disappointing with both bat and ball. In his benefit year of 1949, he was again second to Goddard in the averages, and managed a career-best 7 for 18 on a turning pitch at Northampton (only Ken Higgs and Bishen Bedi have taken more first-class wickets without once taking eight in an innings). Without achieving anything approaching his outstanding 1947 season, Howorth still headed Worcestershire's bowling averages in 1950 and 1951, but in the latter year his batting declined so much he only once reached fifty in an innings. However, it was still a surprise when early that summer he announced the 1951 season would be his last in county cricket, saying "I don't enjoy it as much as I used to" as a reason for this decision. Howorth bought and ran a newsagent's shop located outside the New Road, Worcester cricket ground, and died in Worcester in April 1980, at the age of 70. References 1909 births 1980 deaths England Test cricketers English cricketers Worcestershire cricketers Europeans cricketers People from Bacup Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers North v South cricketers Players cricketers West of England cricketers H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI cricketers M. Leyland's XI cricketers