Originally Posted by Wisden

Tom Hayward, who died on July 19, 1939, aged 68, at his Cambridge home, was one of the greatest batsmen of all time.
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For 20 years in succession, 1895-1914, he scored over 1,000 runs each season in first-class cricket. In 1904 he made 3,170, and in 1906, 3,518, which still stands as the record aggregate in first-class cricket. Hayward, 273, and Abel, 193, made a world record for the fourth wicket, 448 against Yorkshire at The Oval in 1899.

Originally Posted by Wisden

Murdoch had a long career as a cricketer but his fame will rest mainly on what he did for the Australian teams of 1880, 1882, and 1884. He captained the three elevens, and in all three he was incontestably the finest batsman. Within the last ten years his performances have been to some extent eclipsed by Victor Trumper, but comparison between the two men would hardly be fair, their methods being so different. Sufficient that in his own day Murdoch had no serious rival among Australian batsmen, and except WG Grace scarcely a superior in England.

Originally Posted by Dave Liverman

A fine allrounder, a superb medium fast left arm bowler, and a natural hitter. He is best remembered, perhaps for his partnership with Sid Barnes on the 1911-12 Ashes tour, where their pairing was all but unstoppable. His bowling was characterised by pace off the pitch, good length, and generally a leg stump line, backed by a packed leg-side field. He bowled mostly left arm round with considerable swing, and could break the ball back to hit the stumps, but most of his victims were caught in the leg trap. He was at his best when partnered with "Tiger" Smith, his county wicket-keeper, who made some astonishing leg side stumpings from his bowling. He was a free hitter with the bat, but based on sound foundations. He attacked the bowling from the outset, and his finest innings was possibly his triple hundred in a day for his county (a county record that stood until passed by LaraÕs 501). He had contemplated giving up first-class cricket in 1911, but on changing his mind, captained Warwickshire to their first Championship. Only 25 when cricket halted for the first world war, his career was ended by a war-time motor-cycle accident. "..there was about all his cricket an atmosphere of supreme confidence and inexhaustible vitality" wrote HS Altham.

Originally Posted by Wisden

William Eric "Bill" Bowes, who died in hospital on September 5, 1987, aged 79, was one of the great bowlers of his day. He is often, for convenience, loosely classed as fast, but Robertson-Glasgow, writing in the early days of the war, described him, correctly, as the most difficult fast-medium bowler in England. It was, no doubt, partly because he never tried to acquire the extra yard or two of pace which would have put him indisputably in the ranks of the fast that he was such a fine bowler. And like most of the great, he came off the pitch faster than the batsman expected.

Originally Posted by Howe_zat (Post 2927904)

Voted for TBY, morgie and rvd.