Coordinates: 52°30′43″N 2°05′45″W / 52.5119°N 2.0957°W / 52.5119; -2.0957

Dudley (ⁱ/ˈdʌdli/ DUD-lee) is a large town in the West Midlands county of England, and the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. At the 2001 census (according to the Office of National Statistics), the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the one of the largest settlements in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without its own university.

Dudley is part of the West Midlands conurbation, and is located south of the city of Wolverhampton. It is the largest town in the Black Country region of England, and for many years the town (but not the castle, which was classed as part of Staffordshire) formed part of an exclave of the county of Worcestershire. Despite the more recent changes in county borders, the town still remains part of the Anglican Diocese of Worcester.

Dudley unsuccessfully bid to receive city status in 2012, losing out to Chelmsford, Perth and St. Asaph.

Arthur Dudley Nourse (12 November 1910 - 14 August 1981) was a South African Test cricketer and batsman

The son of batsman Arthur (Dave) Nourse, Nourse played 34 Test matches in a long career of sixteen years. At the time of his retirement, he held the highest batting average of any South African batsman (currently surpassed only by Jacques Kallis and Graeme Pollock).

Nourse also captained his country in fifteen matches, and it was as captain that he played what Cricinfo describes as "his most renowned innings". Against England in 1951 he batted with a broken thumb, but scored 208 to win South Africa the game. Nourse retired from cricket after that series.

Nourse was named after William Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley who was the Governor-General of Australia. He was born a few days after Dave Nourse scored a double hundred against South Australia where was touring with the South African team. When Earl Dudley heard about the innings and the baby, he expressed the wish that he be named after him.