TRIBUTES have been paid to Brian Close, perhaps the toughest cricketer in history, after he died on Sunday, aged 84.
The Yorkshire and England hero's exploits include taking on a fearsome West Indies pace attack without a helmet, or much protection at all, in a test match at Old Trafford in 1976, as seen here....
What is less well known about Close is the part Port Vale, or at least Vale Park, played in his career.
Thanks very much to Vale historian Phil Sherwin, who, coincidentally,...
