White Rose cap when batting. He strolls casually along by the side of Percy, keeping his weather eye open for the wicket-keeper's end and the honour of taking the first ball. Holmes and Sutcliffe shared 74 century stands in all first-class matches including 69 for Yorkshire. 19 of these exceeded 200 and 4 were over 300, including their world record stand of 555 at Leyton in 1932. Yorkshire won the title 8 times in the seasons that Holmes and Sutcliffe opened the innings together. Hobbs and Sutcliffe In September 1922, Sutcliffe played in a Scarborough Festival match for C I Thornton's XI against MCC and, for the first time, was paired with Jack Hobbs in an opening partnership. They put on 120 in their only innings until Hobbs was out for 45; Sutcliffe went on to make 111. Following his successful season with Yorkshire in 1922, Sutcliffe was in contention for a place on the England tour of South Africa in the winter of 1922–23, especially as Jack Hobbs declined to tour. The selectors evidently felt that Sutcliffe was not yet ready but they were, "as events would prove, wise to delay his promotion" as it ensured that Sutcliffe would have Hobbs as his "influential guide on the international stage". Percy Holmes was also overlooked and England's openers in the 1922–23 series were Andy Sandham, Frank Mann and Jack Russell. The partnership of Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe, opening the innings together for England from 1924 to 1930, is the most famous in cricket history. With partnerships of 136 and 268 in their first two Test matches together, they were a success from the start and The Cricketer said: Hobbs is undoubtedly the sauciest run-stealer in the world today. In Sutcliffe, he has found the ideal partner in the felony, for the Yorkshireman unhesitatingly responds to his calls, showing absolute confidence in Hobbs' judgement. England wicket-keeper Les Ames, himself a top-class batsman, commented on their running together between the wickets by emphasising the placement of the stroke, which was so correct that they could "just play and run". Ames said they were not fast runners and that "Herbert only strolled". Sutcliffe readily acknowledged his debt to his "influential guide" by naming his eldest son after him and writing, in a booklet published in 1927, that he doubted if Hobbs had an equal and that, as a batsman, "he stands alone