Ken Shuttleworth, the bustling fast bowler who gave Lancashire its extra bite in the late-1960s and earned five England caps, has died at the age of 80. The St Helens-born seamer made his Test debut on the 1970-71 Ashes tour and took five wickets in the second innings at Brisbane, helping Ray Illingworth’s side towards that memorable series win.
Tall, broad-shouldered and fully committed to a long, chest-pumping run-up, Shuttleworth broke into the Lancashire side in 1964. His extra pace complemented the relentless accuracy of Brian Statham and Ken Higgs. “I was bowling as quick as what you see the fast bowlers bowl now,” Shuttleworth told The St Helens Star in 2021, a claim few of his team-mates ever disputed.
The numbers back him up. Over 11 summers at Old Trafford he claimed 484 first-class wickets at 22.92, adding a further 99 after a late-career switch to Leicestershire. His best figures – 7 for 41 against Essex at Leyton in 1968 – sat inside a season haul of 73. Two years later he bettered that, bagging 74 at a shade over 21.
Selection for England felt inevitable once he began roughing up county line-ups, yet injuries arrived as regularly as wickets. He toured Pakistan with Richie Benaud’s Commonwealth XI in 1967-68 and played in the Rest of the World Test at Lord’s in 1970, but it was Illingworth’s Ashes squad that gave him a proper crack. Shuttleworth featured in the first two Tests, both draws, and made history in the inaugural one-day international at Melbourne, dismissing Keith Stackpole to become England’s first wicket-taker in the format.
“I just took it as another game,” Shuttleworth said of his Test bow in Brisbane. “We got stick, which you expect when you’re out there, but we were the first team since Douglas Jardine’s in 1932 to win the Ashes in Australia.”
Back home, the explosion of limited-overs cricket suited him down to the ground. Lancashire’s three consecutive Gillette Cups (1970-72) and Sunday League titles in 1969 and 1970 owed plenty to his brisk, attacking spells. His 5 for 13 at Trent Bridge in 1972 – Garry Sobers among the victims – remains one of Lancashire’s most-replayed clips.
Shuttleworth left for Leicestershire in 1975, closing his first-class career three seasons later before a stint on the Staffordshire league circuit. Business interests occupied him for a spell, but the lure of the game proved strong and he returned as a first-class umpire. Lancashire acknowledged his contribution by inducting him into their Hall of Fame in 2021.
He is survived by his wife, Barbara, and daughters, Sara and Hannah. Tributes have already flowed from former team-mates and opponents alike. Many remember the swing, the stamina and, above all, the uncomplicated outlook of a cricketer who preferred deeds to decoration.
