About Les Ames
Leslie Ethelbert George Ames (3 December 1905 – 27 February 1990) was an English cricketer and footballer. He was a wicket-keeper and batsman for the England cricket team and Kent County Cricket Club. Born at Elham, Kent, Ames began his first-class career with his home county of Kent in 1926, and was a regular player until the 1950s. Ames played 45 tests for England, and was part of the England squad that won the ashes in the infamous bodyline series of 1932–33. In his obituary, Wisden described him as the greatest wicket-keeper-batsman of all time. He is the only wicket-keeper-batsman to score a hundred first-class centuries, and was a Wisden cricketer of the year in 1928. == Early career == Born in Elham, Kent, in 1905, he was mentored by Francis MacKinnon, an ex-county player who lived in the village and then, after leaving the Harvey Grammar School, Folkestone, by Gerry Weigall, the Kent county coach, who encouraged him to learn to keep wicket so he would have a better chance of playing for the county. He received the call to play for Kent while playing in West Malling and made his debut for the county on 7 July 1926 against Warwickshire at the Nevill Ground in Royal Tunbridge Wells. He scored 35 and took four catches, despite not playing as a wicket-keeper in the match. He played one more County Championship match that season before becoming a regular in the 1927 season.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.