About Roy Tattersall
Roy Tattersall (17 August 1922 – 9 December 2011) was an English cricketer who played for Lancashire and played sixteen Tests for England as a specialist off spin bowler. He was born at Tonge Moor, Bolton, Lancashire, England. Tattersall had an unusual style, quite different from the orthodox Jim Laker, who kept him out of a Test place for most of his career. Tattersall held his index finger around the seam of the ball and this allowed him to bowl a carefully disguised away-swinger to supplement his sharp off-break. He was rather faster than Laker, and this served to increase his penetration on the many wet wickets of his home county. Of small account as a batsman, he did nonetheless help Reg Simpson in a tenth wicket stand of 74 which helped to give England its first victory over Australia since their record win at The Oval in 1938. Tattersall, a late developer, began his first-class cricket career in 1948, at a time when English bowling was weak because World War II had decimated their pre-war pace attack. This won him the inaugural Cricket Writers' Club Young Cricketer of the Year award.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.