Wisden 1950-1959

1950 - 1959

The people of England were not affluent by today's standard as they entered this decade. Only ten per cent of the vehicles on the road were privately owned and most homes did not have television, but by and large they were happy with their lot and could see a future. The globe's hotspots were far from their shores. Cricket enjoyed ten years of un-interrupted progress. Pakistan brought the number of test playing nations to seven, England, Australia, South Africa and West Indies were the strong nations but India, New Zealand and Pakistan were each capable of serving up an unpleasant surprise for any nation that took them lightly.

The conservative party ruled Britain continuously once they were re-elected in 1951, also the year of "the Festival of Britain". King George VI passed away in 1952 and was succeeded by his daughter Elizabeth who was crowned at Westminster Abbey in a momentous year. 1953 saw England's Roger Bannister run the first four-minute mile, Edmund Hilary and a Sherpa, Tensing Norgay made the first conquest of Everest and after nineteen fruitless years England prevailed to win a hard-fought Ashes series. The country was bro