Hedley Verity (18 May 1905 - 31 July 1943) was an England cricketer. He was primarily known as a left-arm spinner. He batted right handed, and was also a good fielder at short leg.

Verity was born in Headingley, Leeds, and married Kathleen Metcalfe on 7 March 1929.

He did not play first-class cricket until the age of 25, largely because of the imposing presence in the Yorkshire side of Wilfred Rhodes, despite the fact that Rhodes was by that time well into his fifties. Verity's first-class debut came on 21 May 1930, when he took part in a friendly match against Sussex. He made his County Championship bow ten days later against Leicestershire at Hull.

Verity made an immediate impact in first-class cricket, topping the English bowling averages in his very first season, as he was to do again in his final year, 1939. He was considered easily the finest left-arm spinner in England throughout the 1930s. He took at least 150 wickets every year from 1931 to 1939 inclusive, and over 200 in each of the three seasons between 1935 and 1937. His best was 216, averge 13.18, in 1936. In 1931, Verity took 10-36 against Warwickshire at Headingley, and the following season produced the extraordinary innings analysis of 19.4-16-10-10 (including a hat-trick) against Nottinghamshire, also at Headingley. This latter performance remains a world record in a first-class match. In 1933, against Essex at Leyton, he took 17 wickets in one day, one of only three occasions in the history of cricket when this has been done. In 1933, 1935, 1937 and 1939 he had the lowest bowling averages in England.

Verity played in 40 Test matches for England between 1931 and 1939. In June 1934, he took 15-104 against Australia at Lord's, no less than 14 of those wickets coming in the space of a single day. This performance helped England to their only Ashes victory at the ground in the 20th century. He once opened the batting in a Test - against Australia at the Adelaide Oval on the 1936/37 Ashes tour.

On 1 September, 1939, the very last day of county cricket before the competition was suspended during World War II, Verity was part of the Yorkshire team playing against Sussex at Hove. He set up a fine win by skittling the opposition for just 33 in their second innings, returning the exceptional analysis of 6-1-9-7. Verity never played first-class cricket again.

Upon the outbreak of war, Verity joined the Green Howards, and was sent to Northern Ireland, where he played some cricket as part of military XIs. He then spent some time in India, before being sent to become part of the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943. By this time a captain, he was wounded during the Eighth Army's advance on Catania and was taken prisoner by the Germans. After being transferred into Italian hands, he died at Caserta a few days later as a result of the wounds he had received in action.

Verity was named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1932.

See also

• Brian Close