‘Noddy’

Martin Chandler | 9:09am BST 28 July 2024

Published: 2024
Pages: 72
Author: Ross, Derek
Publisher: Red Rose Books
Rating: 3.5 stars

Geoff ‘Noddy’ Pullar played 28 times for England between 1959 and 1963. A middle order batsman who was selected by England to open the batting the reluctant opener scored four centuries, and averaged more than 43, yet by the age of 28 his Test career was over.

Pullar played for Lancashire and then, in 1968, he moved on to Gloucestershire. Perhaps it was that move that deflected my interest from him, but he always seems to have been one to have slipped through the net as far as anything substantial being written about him is concerned.

It was therefore with no little anticipation that I opened this one, a first book from Derek Ross. As a man who nervously watched Pullar, in just his second Test, become the first Lancastrian to score a Test century at Old Trafford Ross is writing about a childhood hero, but despite his admiration for his subject being clear throughout it would be unfair to label Noddy as a hagiography.

I now understand that it was a knee injury that was the immediate cause of Pullar’s England place being lost, and that when he was approached about his availability for a recall in 1966 he felt obliged to indicate to the selectors that he felt his knee could not be relied on for a five day Test. I also now know that, as I had always assumed, it was a falling out with Lancashire that caused the move south in 1968 and, two years later, that the failing knee brought a premature end to Pullar’s career.

The bulk of the book is a match by match account of Pullar’s Test career, drawing upon contemporary reports, on occasion Ross’s own recollections and the views subsequently expressed by others. It is an interesting account of a period that is not generally covered in any great depth in other books.

But the book is not just the story of a man whose Test average was a full eight runs higher than his First Class average. Pullar’s background is explained, and there is a look at his county career as well, and of his life after leaving the game up until his death at the age of 79 in 2014.

Ross’s writing style is an engaging one and there are plenty of anecdotes from friends, family, teammates and opponents which give a clear impression of the thoroughly decent man that Pullar was. Personally, as an Englishman and Lancastrian of a particular vintage I found Noddy to be a fascinating account of a life and career I had always wanted to know more about.