Harry Trott

Last updated

He was by no means anxious for the post, but almost from the first match it was perfectly clear that he was in every way fitted for it. Of course the continuous success of his side made his duties far more pleasant and easy than those of some previous captains, but we feel quite sure that in a season of ill-fortune he would have earned just as great a reputation. Blessed with a temper that nothing could ruffle, he was always master both of himself and his team whatever the position of the game. More than that his judgement in changing the bowling was rarely or never at fault.

— Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, [57]

Although the team was considered successful, in spite of the failure to recapture The Ashes, the problems between the players and the administrators continued. Before the team departed Australia, the players arbitrarily replaced one of the selected players without recourse to the ACC. [48] After the final match in England, Trott and his players broke an agreement to return home in time for the 1896–97 Australian season. Instead, they organised matches in North America and New Zealand.

"A national institution"

Fond of hats, Trott was seldom seen without one. Harry Trott by Rolfe.jpg
Fond of hats, Trott was seldom seen without one.

Trott retained the captaincy when Andrew Stoddart returned to Australia with his English team in 1897–98. Stoddart's team got away to a good start when they won the First Test in Sydney by nine wickets, K. S. Ranjitsinhji scoring 175 runs. [58] With Joe Darling, Trott devised a plan to curb Ranjitsinhji's run scoring. An exponent of the leg glance, "Ranji" would take a last look at the field before he took guard. Taking advantage of this fact, after he took strike, the Australians deliberately weakened the off side with two men placed about 10 m (33 ft) away from him. Bowling a leg side line, the Australians aimed for a catch from a shot played to that side. [59] Darling said of the plan, "As soon as he had his last look and the bowler was at the point of delivering the ball, we shifted positions by a few yards, sometimes one way, sometimes the other. Occasionally, only one would move and sometimes none would move. [...] This eventually put him clean off his game." [59] The English captain Archie MacLaren agreed saying, "Ranji is in a blue funk". [59] Regardless of the tactics, Ranji made 457 runs at an average of 50.77 for the Test series. [60]

Australia fought back to win the Second Test in Melbourne by an innings and 55 runs with Trott scoring 79 runs. [61] The Third and Fourth Tests were both won by Australia as they retrieved The Ashes. [62] The Fifth and final Test in Sydney would be Trott's last. In the Sydney heat, Australia won the Test by 6 wickets but Trott had an attack of sunstroke. This caused him to lose the sight in one eye before his last Test innings, where he made 18 runs. [1] In a review of the Test series Wisden noted that "the Australians owed much to the unfailing skill and tact of Trott as a captain". [62]

During the course of the Test series, a major convention was in progress to discuss the proposed federation of the Australian colonies. However, the victory over England dominated the attention of the Australian public and some newspapers decried the focus on cricket when important matters were being discussed. Another editor remarked in defence of the public, "We believe that Harry Trott and his ten good men and true have done more for the federation of Australian hearts than all the big delegates put together." [1] In reply to complaints about leave granted to Trott to play cricket, his proud employers at the Post office responded "Harry Trott is a national institution." [3] Passers-by, including men and their families, would stop and look at Trott's home in Albert Park "with the deference of worshippers at a shrine", in the words of cricket writer Ray Robinson. [1]

The impetus for federation did not extend to the administration of cricket, however. The ACC continued to attract criticism for being ineffectual and at a meeting of the Victorian Cricket Association in July 1898, Trott (in his capacity as a delegate for the South Melbourne club) tabled a motion that Victoria secede from the ACC. [63] Although the proposal was defeated by a single vote, Trott was one of twelve Test players who signed a letter to the ACC secretary calling for the disbanding of the organisation. [64] Failing to win the support of the players, the ACC folded in January 1900 following the withdrawal of the New South Wales Cricket Association. [65]

Illness and recovery

Less than six months after leading his team to victory over England, Trott endured a severe mental illness. [3] While visiting his mother on 8 August 1898, Trott collapsed and lost consciousness. Later, on the train home with his wife, he had another convulsive fit and yet another at 10 pm that evening, in the presence of a doctor. Trott passed in and out of consciousness over the next four weeks, unable to work or even communicate. [3] His supporters raised £453 to send him for two weeks at a private retreat at Woodend, a small town north-west of Melbourne. The treatment was unsuccessful and Trott continued to suffer from insomnia, memory loss and apathy. [3]

Hospitalisation

Kew Asylum, circa 1885-1887--around ten years before Trott's commitment KewAsylum.jpg
Kew Asylum, circa 1885–1887—around ten years before Trott's commitment

Because Trott's illness precluded his selection for the 1899 Australian team to England, the Australian captaincy passed to Joe Darling. On 8 May 1899, Trott was committed to the Kew Asylum, a psychiatric hospital in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. [3] The facility opened in 1871 during an era when large asylums were in vogue. By the time of Trott's admission, expert opinion had changed; in January 1898 The Argus reported a specialist's claim that the asylum was likely to make a patient, "just mad enough to be put under restraint"—that is, worse rather than better. [3] Trott was recorded as suffering "dementia" and "alcoholism", although there is little empirical evidence for either diagnosis. Cricket writer Gideon Haigh suggests that his symptoms would possibly be identified in modern times as depressive psychosis and treated with antipsychotics or electroconvulsive therapy. [3]

Doctors observed that Trott continually stood in one place, showing little interest in events around him. A doctor noted on Trott's file: "Refuses to converse not appearing to be able to follow what is said to him. Answers questions in monosyllables. Does not rouse up when subjects are spoken of that formerly he was interested in." [3] Attempting to reach him, doctors sent Trott to play cricket, which he did in a "mechanical, indifferent fashion". In a departure from normal hospital procedure, he was allowed newspapers reporting the details of Darling's Australian side in England; this left him unmoved. Trott's friend Ben Wardill, the secretary of the Melbourne Cricket Club, visited in November 1899 but Trott did not recognise him. [3] A fellow patient, when released, wrote of Trott: "Here is a well-known cricketer, whom we once treated as a hero. But alas! Like everything else, times have changed and he is almost forgotten." [3]

Return to cricket

In February 1900, Trott played in a cricket match for the asylum team against the North Melbourne Rovers club. To the astonishment of his treating doctors and his teammates, he scored 98 runs in 40 minutes, including 20 fours and a six. [3] While the doctors remained cautious about his chances of recovery, Trott played in further matches against other visiting teams and in April 1900, he took a hat-trick against a team from the Commercial Travellers Association. Declared to be "recovered", Trott was discharged after spending 400 days at Kew Asylum. He returned to the South Melbourne team and captained Victoria against Tasmania at Launceston (taking eight wickets) during the 1900–01 season, but otherwise failed to recapture the form that made him captain of his country. [6]

To aid his convalescence, the Postmaster-General's Department—Trott's employer—transferred him to the post office at Bendigo in central Victoria. [66] In 1902–03, he turned up uninvited to a Bendigo United Cricket Club practice session and asked to join in. He played five first-class matches during 1903–04, scoring 268 runs at an average of 26.80 and taking 13 wickets at 23.53 runs each. [11] [67] In his final appearance of the season, he led Victoria against Plum Warner's touring English team. [1] He captained the Carlton club for two seasons, before spending two seasons with Fitzroy. [6] During the 1907–08 season, he led XVIII of Bendigo against the touring English team and made a farewell first-class appearance against the tourists for Victoria. [1] Opening the bowling, Trott returned 5/116, including the wickets of England's leading batsmen Jack Hobbs and George Gunn. [68] Trott later returned to South Melbourne, where he played until the age of 44. [6] He led the club on a tour of New Zealand in 1912–13 and in the next season (his last) he topped the club's batting and bowling averages, for the fifth time as a batsman and the third time as a bowler. [1]

Personal life

Recent photo of Trott's house, where passers-by stopped to look "with the deference of worshippers at a shrine" TrottHouse.jpg
Recent photo of Trott's house, where passers-by stopped to look "with the deference of worshippers at a shrine"

Trott spent his entire working life in the Post Office, employed as a postman and mail sorter. [3] He married Violet Hodson in Fitzroy on 17 February 1890 and the couple had one son. [2] In 1911, Trott became a selector for the Victorian team when Hugh Trumble resigned to take the secretaryship of the Melbourne Cricket Club. Trott's high standing in the cricket community saw the other candidate for the position withdraw rather than oppose him. [69] In 1912, Trott took the side of the "Big Six", the Australian cricketers opposed to the newly formed Australian Board of Control for International Cricket's attempt to wrest control of touring Australian sides from the players. At an "indignation meeting" at the Athenaeum Hall on Collins Street in Melbourne, the Argus reported Trott as saying that "to say he was disgusted with the Board of Control was to put it mildly" and that "[h]e would like to shake hands with the six men who had stood out against the Board". [70]

At the age of 51, Trott died of Hodgkin's lymphoma, at his home in inner-suburban Albert Park on 9 November 1917. He was buried at Brighton Cemetery where, two years later, a large monument was erected over his grave, paid for by the Victorian Cricket Association and cricket enthusiasts. [2] [71] His great-grandson, Stuart Trott, played 200 games for St Kilda and Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League between 1967 and 1977. [72] The South African-born English cricketer Jonathan Trott is said to be a distant relation of Harry and Albert Trott. However, it has now been proved that this is incorrect. Jonathan’s family originates in Woodbridge, Suffolk, whereas Harry and Albert’s family originates in Yorkshire. [73]

Trott's role in Australian cricket was recognised by the clubs for which he had played. Until 2005, Trott's club team, South Melbourne Cricket Club was based at Harry Trott Oval in Albert Park, [74] while Bendigo United Cricket Club, for whom Trott played in 1902, still play at the Harry Trott Oval in the Bendigo suburb of Kennington. [1] [75]

Context

An innings-by-innings breakdown of Trott's Test match batting career, showing runs scored (red bars) and the average of the last 10 innings (blue line). Harry Trott graph.png
An innings-by-innings breakdown of Trott's Test match batting career, showing runs scored (red bars) and the average of the last 10 innings (blue line).

Playing style

The authoritative cricket journal Wisden Cricketers' Almanack , in an obituary, wrote "Australia has produced greater cricketers than Harry Trott, but in his day he held a place in the front rank of the world's famous players. He was a first-rate bat, a fine field at point, and his leg breaks made him a very effective change bowler." [77] As a batsman, Trott scored his runs mostly in front the wicket. He often lifted his on-drives and was an exponent of the late cut. [1] George Giffen said of Trott, "On a good wicket, I have seen Harry Trott adopt forcing tactics worthy of the big hitter, and in the very next match play keeps on a difficult pitch with wonderful skill." [78] Wisden Cricketers' Almanack described Trott as "one of the soundest [Australian batsman], combining as he does vigorous hitting with a strong, watchful defence". [37]

Trott was able to obtain turn from all types of pitches bowling his loopy leg spinners, through varying his pace and flight. [1] He was noted for giving young batsmen a full toss on the leg side, allowing the batsman to hit it to the boundary. The next ball would seem identical, but for a subtle change in the position of a fielder, resulting in a catch and the comment, "That first ball was to give you confidence, son. The second to teach you a lesson." [79] Warwick Armstrong, a childhood admirer and later teammate of Trott, said "Trott had an almost uncanny knowledge of batsman who were likely to succumb to his wiles and after he had met with a success, he would at once take himself off and put on some other bowler of a different type." [80] Wisden thought his bowling was "too slow to be effectual against good batsmen" [15] and "that though he may now and then get a wicket, runs are sure to come at the rate of six or eight an over". [37]

Clem Hill said, "As a captain Harry Trott was in a class by himself—the best I ever played under. Harry was quick to grasp a situation. He saw an opponent's weakness in a second. [...] Time and time again, he got a champion batsman's wicket by putting on a bowler he knew the batsman did not like." [1] The English batsman K. S. Ranjitsinhji considered Trott as a captain "without a superior anywhere today". [3] Wisden thought him, "with the exception of [ Billy Murdoch ] ... incomparably the best captain the Australians had ever had in this country." [81] The sporting newspaper The Referee wrote, "[Trott's] bowlers felt he understood the gruelling nature of their work and that they had his sympathy in the grimmest of battles." Some English professional cricketers thought less of Trott's captaincy; wicket-keeper William Storer said, "I like a captain to have a settled plan, [Trott] just seemed to do whatever he thought of at the moment." [1]

Personality

Trott's sense of humour was well known. He originated a persistent myth that workers at the Sheffield steelworks generated extra plumes of smoke when the Australians were batting at nearby Bramall Lane, in order to reduce the quality of the light. [1] When Australia played the Gentlemen of Philadelphia in the United States, a local reporter asked Trott why Australians did not play baseball. He replied: "Running around in circles makes us giddy." [1] When Trott, a humble postman, met the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) in 1896, his teammates admired his natural ease of manner in the presence of royalty. Given a cigar by the Prince, Trott simply smoked it, to the surprise of those who thought a royal souvenir worth keeping. With this in mind, Trott later played a practical joke when he returned home. Gathering cigar butts on board the ship before disembarking in Australia, he distributed them to his friends claiming it was the one given to him by the Prince of Wales; he asked the recipients not to tell others in case it provoked jealousy. [1] Trott was extremely fond of hats; a teammate described him as "... the only man I have seen who, in the nude, had to have a hat on his head". [3]

Jack Pollard wrote "It was said that [Trott] never made an enemy and was universally admired." [78] His rival, England captain Archie MacLaren said "I would give anything to play the game as keenly and yet as light-heartedly as Trott's lads did." [82] He was "imperturbable, good-humoured ... few Australian captains have been better liked and respected". [2]

The personal popularity that Harry Trott enjoyed ... was remarkable. One is inclined to think that no Australian captain before or since, was liked so much by his opponents. By sheer force of character he overcame the disadvantages involved in lack of education, and won the warm regard of men with whom, apart from the comradeship of the cricket field, he had nothing in common.

— Wisden Cricketers' Almanack obituary [77]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Robinson (1996), pp. 67–74.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Pierce, Peter (1990). Trott, George Henry Stevens (1866–1917). Australian Dictionary of Biography, Online Edition. Australian National University . Retrieved 8 April 2008.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Haigh (2004), pp. 107–115
  4. ↑ "Victoria v Australian XI: Other First-Class matches 1885/86". CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 April 2008.
  5. ↑ "South Australia v Victoria: Other First-Class matches 1885/86". CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 April 2008.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Fiddian, Marc (1992). "Trott, George Henry (Harry) Stevens". extract from Australian All-Rounders – From Giffen to Gilmour. Victorian Premier Cricket. Archived from the original on 21 July 2008. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
  7. ↑ "Victoria v A Shaw's XI: A Shaw's XI in Australia 1886/87". CricketArchive. Retrieved 19 April 2008.
  8. ↑ "Australian XI v A Shrewsbury's XI: A Shrewsbury's XI in Australia 1887/88". CricketArchive. Retrieved 19 April 2008.
  9. ↑ "Australian XI v GF Vernon's XI': GF Vernon's XI in Australia 1887/88". CricketArchive. Retrieved 19 April 2008.
  10. ↑ Harte (2003), p 154.
  11. 1 2 "First-class Batting and Fielding in Each Season by Harry Trott". CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 May 2008.
  12. ↑ Horan (1989), pp. 128–129.
  13. ↑ "England v Australia: Australia in England 1888 (1st Test)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 19 April 2008.
  14. ↑ "First Test match: England v Australia 1888". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online archive. John Wisden & Co. 1889. Retrieved 19 April 2008.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "England 2 Australia 1: The Australian team in England, 1888". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online archive. John Wisden & Co. 1889. Retrieved 19 April 2008.
  16. ↑ "New South Wales v Australian XI: Other First-Class matches 1888/89l". CricketArchive. Retrieved 19 April 2008.
  17. 1 2 Pollard (1988), p. 405.
  18. ↑ Robinson (1996), p. 62.
  19. ↑ "First-class Batting and Fielding for Australians: Australia in England 1890". CricketArchive. Retrieved 19 April 2008.
  20. ↑ "Cambridge University Past and Present v Australians: Australia in England 1890". CricketArchive. Retrieved 19 April 2008.
  21. ↑ "First-class Bowling for Australians: Australia in England 1890". CricketArchive. Retrieved 19 April 2008.
  22. ↑ "The Australians in England, 1890". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online archive. John Wisden & Co. Retrieved 19 April 2008.
  23. ↑ Harte (2003), p173.
  24. ↑ "Australia 2 England 1: The England team in Australia, 1891–92". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online archive. John Wisden & Co. 1893. Retrieved 19 April 2008.
  25. ↑ Whitington (1974), p 45.
  26. ↑ "First Test: England v Australia 1891–92". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online archive. John Wisden & Co. 1893. Retrieved 19 April 2008.
  27. ↑ "Test Batting and Fielding for Australia: Lord Sheffield's XI in Australia 1891/92". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  28. ↑ "Test Bowling for Australia: Lord Sheffield's XI in Australia 1891/92". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  29. ↑ Harte (2003), pp 176–177.
  30. 1 2 "The Australian team in England, 1893". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online archive. John Wisden & Co. 1894. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  31. ↑ "Test Batting and Fielding for Australia: Australia in England 1893". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  32. ↑ "First-class Batting and Fielding for Australians: Australia in England 1893". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  33. ↑ "Test Bowling for Australia: Australia in England 1893". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  34. ↑ "Test Batting and Fielding for Australia: Australia in England 1893". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  35. ↑ "England v Australia: Australia in England 1893 (2nd Test)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  36. ↑ "Second Test match: England v Australia 1893". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online archive. John Wisden & Co. 1894. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  37. 1 2 3 "All-Round Cricketer of the Year – 1894: Harry Trott". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. John Wisden & Co. 1894. Retrieved 17 April 2008.
  38. ↑ "Victoria v New South Wales: Sheffield Shield 1894/95". CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 May 2008.
  39. ↑ "Australia v England: AE Stoddart's XI in Australia 1894/95 (1st Test)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  40. ↑ "Australia v England: AE Stoddart's XI in Australia 1894/95 (2nd Test)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  41. ↑ "Third Test: England wilt in the heat". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. John Wisden & Co. 1896. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  42. ↑ "New South Wales v Victoria: Sheffield Shield 1894/95". CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 May 2008.
  43. ↑ "Australia v England: AE Stoddart's XI in Australia 1894/95 (4th Test)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  44. ↑ Harte (2003), p 185.
  45. ↑ "Australia v England: AE Stoddart's XI in Australia 1894/95 (5th Test)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  46. ↑ "Fifth Test Match: The Match of the Century". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online archive. John Wisden & Co. 1896. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  47. ↑ "England in Australia, 1894–95". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online archive. John Wisden & Co. 1896. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  48. 1 2 Harte (2003), p 187.
  49. ↑ Frith (1984), p 36.
  50. 1 2 "First Test Match: England v Australia 1896". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online archive. John Wisden & Co. 1897. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  51. 1 2 "England v Australia: Australia in England 1896 (1st Test)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  52. ↑ "England v Australia: Australia in England 1896 (2nd Test)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  53. 1 2 "Second Test: England v Australia 1896". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online archive. John Wisden & Co. 1897. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  54. ↑ "Third Test Match: England v Australia 1896". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online archive. John Wisden & Co. 1897. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  55. ↑ "First-class Batting and Fielding for Australians: Australia in England 1896". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  56. ↑ "First-class Bowling for Australians: Australia in England 1896". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  57. 1 2 3 "The Australians in England, 1896". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. John Wisden & Co. 1897. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  58. ↑ "Australia v England: AE Stoddart's XI in Australia 1897/98 (1st Test)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  59. 1 2 3 Pollard (1986), p. 139.
  60. ↑ "Test Batting and Fielding for England: AE Stoddart's XI in Australia 1897/98". CricketArchive. Retrieved 21 April 2008.
  61. ↑ "Australia v England: AE Stoddart's XI in Australia 1897/98 (2nd Test)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
  62. 1 2 "England in Australia, 1897–98". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online archive. John Wisden & Co. 1899. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  63. ↑ Coleman (1993), p 186.
  64. ↑ Harte (2003), p 196.
  65. ↑ Harte (2003), p 202.
  66. ↑ Perry, p. 75.
  67. ↑ "First-class Bowling in Each Season by Harry Trott". CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 June 2008.
  68. ↑ "Victoria v Marylebone Cricket Club: Marylebone Cricket Club in Australia 1907/08". CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 June 2008.
  69. ↑ Haigh (2001), p. 222.
  70. ↑ Haigh (2001), p. 232.
  71. ↑ Coleman (1993), p 292.
  72. ↑ Main, p. 441.
  73. ↑ "Notable Trotts". Trott One-Name Research Group. Retrieved 1 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  74. ↑ Ahmed, Nabila (19 November 2004). "South Melbourne draws stumps, heads south-east". The Age . Retrieved 21 April 2008.
  75. ↑ "Significance of Harry Trott". Bendigo United Cricket Club. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  76. ↑ "Statsguru – GHS Trott – Test matches – All-round analysis". Cricinfo . Retrieved 15 April 2008.
  77. 1 2 Pardon, Sydney (1918). "George ('Harry') Trott". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online archive. John Wisden & Co. Retrieved 21 April 2008.
  78. 1 2 Pollard (1988), pp. 1068–1069.
  79. ↑ Haigh (2001), p. 24.
  80. ↑ Haigh (2001), p. 25.
  81. ↑ "England 2 Australia 1: The Australians in England, 1896". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online archive. John Wisden & Co. 1897. Retrieved 18 April 2008.
  82. ↑ Pollard (1986), p. 140.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Hughes</span> Australian cricketer

Kimberley John Hughes is a former cricketer who played for Western Australia, Natal and Australia. He captained Australia in 28 Test matches between 1979 and 1984 before captaining a rebel Australian team in a tour of South Africa, a country which at the time was subject to a sporting boycott opposing apartheid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wally Hammond</span> English cricketer

Walter Reginald Hammond was an English first-class cricketer who played for Gloucestershire in a career that lasted from 1920 to 1951. Beginning as a professional, he later became an amateur and was appointed captain of England. Primarily a middle-order batsman, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack described him in his obituary as one of the four best batsmen in the history of cricket. He was considered to be the best English batsman of the 1930s by commentators and those with whom he played; they also said that he was one of the best slip fielders ever. Hammond was an effective fast-medium pace bowler and contemporaries believed that if he had been less reluctant to bowl, he could have achieved even more with the ball than he did.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hedley Verity</span> English cricketer

Hedley Verity was a professional cricketer who played for Yorkshire and England between 1930 and 1939. A slow left-arm orthodox bowler, he took 1,956 wickets in first-class cricket at an average of 14.90 and 144 wickets in 40 Tests at an average of 24.37. Named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1932, he is regarded as one of the most effective slow left-arm bowlers to have played cricket. Never someone who spun the ball sharply, he achieved success through the accuracy of his bowling. On pitches which made batting difficult, particularly ones affected by rain, he could be almost impossible to bat against.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Trott</span> Australian cricketer

Albert Edwin Trott was a Test cricketer for both Australia and England. He was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1899. He is believed to be the only batsman to have struck a ball over the top of the Lord's Pavilion. He is also one of only two players to take two hat-tricks in the same first-class innings, the other being Joginder Rao. Despite his notability, having played in 375 first-class matches including 5 Tests, he was almost penniless when he committed suicide at the age of 41.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Yardley</span> English cricketer

Norman Walter Dransfield Yardley was an English cricketer who played for Cambridge University, Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England, as a right-handed batsman and occasional bowler. An amateur, he captained Yorkshire from 1948 to 1955 and England on fourteen occasions between 1947 and 1950, winning four Tests, losing seven and drawing three. Yardley was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1948 and in his obituary in Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, he was described as Yorkshire's finest amateur since Stanley Jackson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilfred Rhodes</span> English cricketer (1877–1973)

Wilfred Rhodes was an English professional cricketer who played 58 Test matches for England between 1899 and 1930. In Tests, Rhodes took 127 wickets and scored 2,325 runs, becoming the first Englishman to complete the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in Test matches. He holds the world records both for the most appearances made in first-class cricket, and for the most wickets taken (4,204). He completed the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in an English cricket season a record 16 times. Rhodes played for Yorkshire and England into his fifties, and in his final Test in 1930 was, at 52 years and 165 days, the oldest player who has appeared in a Test match.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian cricket team in England in 1948</span> Visit to England by the Australian cricket team in 1948

The Australian cricket team in England in 1948 is famous for being the only Test match side to play an entire tour of England without losing a match. This feat earned them the nickname of "The Invincibles", and they are regarded as one of the greatest cricket teams of all time. According to the Australian federal government, the team "is one of Australia's most cherished sporting legends". The team was captained by Don Bradman, who was making his fourth and final tour of England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Johnson (cricketer)</span> Australian cricketer (1917–1998)

Ian William Geddes Johnson, was an Australian cricketer who played 45 Test matches as a slow off-break bowler between 1946 and 1956. Johnson captured 109 Test wickets at an average of 29.19 runs per wicket and as a capable lower order batsman made 1,000 runs at an average of 18.51 runs per dismissal. He captained the Australian team in 17 Tests, winning seven and losing five, with a further five drawn. Despite this record, he is better known as the captain who lost consecutive Ashes series against England. Urbane, well-spoken and popular with his opponents and the public, he was seen by his teammates as a disciplinarian and his natural optimism was often seen as naive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clem Hill</span> Australian cricketer

Clement "Clem" Hill was an Australian cricketer who played 49 Test matches as a specialist batsman between 1896 and 1912. He captained the Australian team in ten Tests, winning five and losing five. A prolific run scorer, Hill scored 3,412 runs in Test cricket—a world record at the time of his retirement—at an average of 39.21 per innings, including seven centuries. In 1902, Hill was the first batsman to make 1,000 Test runs in a calendar year, a feat that would not be repeated for 45 years. His innings of 365 scored against New South Wales for South Australia in 1900–01 was a Sheffield Shield record for 27 years. The South Australian Cricket Association named a grandstand at the Adelaide Oval in his honour in 2003 and he was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hugh Trumble</span> Australian cricketer (1867–1938)

Hugh Trumble was an Australian cricketer who played 32 Test matches as a bowling all-rounder between 1890 and 1904. He captained the Australian team in two Tests, winning both. Trumble took 141 wickets in Test cricket—a world record at the time of his retirement—at an average of 21.78 runs per wicket. He is one of only four bowlers to twice take a hat-trick in Test cricket. Observers in Trumble's day, including the authoritative Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, regarded him as ranking among the great Australian bowlers of the Golden Age of cricket. He was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1897 and the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame, established in 1996, inducted him in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Darling</span> Australian cricketer

Joseph Darling was an Australian cricketer who played 34 Test matches as a specialist batsman between 1894 and 1905. As captain, he led Australia in a total of 21 Tests, winning seven and losing four. In Test cricket, he scored 1,657 runs at an average of 28.56 per innings, including three centuries. Darling toured England four times with the Australian team—in 1896, 1899, 1902 and 1905; the last three tours as captain. He was captain of the Australian cricket team in England in 1902, widely recognised as one of the best teams in Australian cricket history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Giffen</span> Australian cricketer

George Giffen was a cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. An all-rounder who batted in the middle order and often opened the bowling with medium-paced off-spin, Giffen captained Australia during the 1894–95 Ashes series and was the first Australian to score 10,000 runs and take 500 wickets in first-class cricket. He was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame on 26 February 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin McCool</span> Australian cricketer (1916–1986)

Colin Leslie McCool was an Australian cricketer who played in 14 Test matches between 1946 and 1950. McCool, born in Paddington, New South Wales, was an all-rounder who bowled leg spin and googlies with a round arm action and as a lower order batsman was regarded as effective square of the wicket and against spin bowling. He made his Test début against New Zealand in 1946, taking a wicket with his second delivery. He was part of Donald Bradman's Invincibles team that toured England in 1948 but injury saw him miss selection in any of the Test matches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Godfrey Evans</span> English cricketer

Thomas Godfrey Evans was an English cricketer who played for Kent and England. Described by Wisden as 'arguably the best wicket-keeper the game has ever seen', Evans collected 219 dismissals in 91 Test match appearances between 1946 and 1959 and a total of 1066 in all first-class matches. En route he was the first wicket keeper to reach 200 Test dismissals and the first Englishman to reach both 1000 runs and 100 dismissals and 2000 runs and 200 dismissals in Test cricket. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1951.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Melville</span>

Alan Melville was a South African cricketer who played in 11 Tests from 1938 to 1949. He was born in Carnarvon, Northern Cape, South Africa and died at Sabie, Transvaal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Ring</span> Australian cricketer (1918–2003)

Douglas Thomas Ring was an Australian cricketer who played for Victoria and for Australia in 13 Test matches between 1948 and 1953. In 129 first-class cricket matches, he took 426 wickets bowling leg spin, and he had a top score of 145 runs, which was the only century of his career.

Richard Pollard was an English cricketer born in Westhoughton, Lancashire, who played in four Test matches between 1946 and 1948. A fast-medium right-arm bowler and a lower-order right-handed batsman who made useful runs on occasion, he played for Lancashire between 1933 and 1950, taking 1,122 wickets in 298 first-class matches; he is 10th highest wicket-taker for Lancashire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Hildreth</span> English cricketer

James Charles Hildreth is a former English professional cricketer who played for Somerset County Cricket Club. He attended Millfield School, Somerset. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional right-arm medium pace bowler. Hildreth represented England at all youth levels including the 2003–04 Under-19 World cup held in Bangladesh. He made his first-class debut in 2003 and became a regular member of the side from the start of the 2004 season. The James Hildreth Stand was opened by him at Somerset County Cricket Ground on 21st September 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian cricket team in England in 1884</span> Cricket tour

The Australia national cricket team toured England in 1884. The team is officially termed the Fourth Australians, following three previous tours in the 1878, 1880 and 1882 seasons. The 1884 tour was a private venture by the thirteen players who each invested an agreed sum to provide funding, none of Australia's colonial cricket associations being involved. Billy Murdoch captained the team and George Alexander acted as player-manager. The Australians played a total of 32 matches in England, 31 of which have first-class status.

An England cricket team toured Australia in the 1897–98 season to play a five-match Test series against the Australia national cricket team. The team was captained by Andrew Stoddart and, except in the Test matches when it was called England, it was generally known as A. E. Stoddart's XI. The playing strength of the team was weakened by Stoddart acceding to a request from the Australians to bring “new blood”. As a result established players including JT Brown, Albert Ward and Bobby Peel were not selected.

References

Harry Trott
Harry Trott.jpg
Personal information
Full name
George Henry Stevens Trott
Born(1866-08-05)5 August 1866
Collingwood, Victoria
Died9 November 1917(1917-11-09) (aged 51)
Middle Park, Victoria, Australia
NicknameHarry
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm leg spin
Role All-rounder
International information
National side
Test debut(cap  53)16 July 1888 v  England
Last Test26 February 1898 v  England
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
Australian first-class cricket season leading run-scorers (1850–51 to 1899–1900)

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.