masterblaster
International Captain
Greg Chappell
Probably been said already, but I don't care.
Probably been said already, but I don't care.
-
Welcome to the Cricket Web forums, one of the biggest forums in the world dedicated to cricket.
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join the Cricket Web community today!
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.
The Name Game.
- Thread starter yaju
- Start date
lord_of_darkness
Cricket Web XI Moderator
Sean Ervine
Prince EWS
Global Moderator
Al Saharia Rokon (Bangladeshi batsman)
Keith Miller (Australia) Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1954
This from WCM June 1987 -
June 1987
Miller the magnificant
John Arlott recalls Keith Miller, Australia's charismatic allrounder of the 1940s and 1950s
Arguably the greatest Australian allrounder © The Cricketer
Keith Miller was arguably the greatest Australian allrounder; perhaps appreciated even more in England than in his own country. Here he became both a cricketing hero and a popular human being; for it is important to realise that, outstanding as he was at cricket, the game was for him only a part of living life as fully as a man might do. At home, though, he tended to find officialdom petty; and certainly it took its toll of him, above all by denying him the captaincy of Australia for which he was so well-qualified. There is, though, no great point in arguing a case for so well-loved a player; and indeed no-one ever needed it less.
He still comes to England to go horseracing (he physically grew out of his childhood ambition to become a jockey), though that, too, is for him only part of the scene he had come to like well. His Christian names – Keith Ross – date his birth: he was named after the pilots, Sir Keith and Sir Ross Smith, on Nov 28, 1919 while they were making history with their 27-day flight from England to Australia.
First sight of him – with no knowledge of his cricket – was as a young Australian air-force pilot at a hectic night party in Brighton during the war. His vitality then, as ever since, was immense. He has remained a man of character, humour and, as some may not always realise, strictness in human relations. It was, indeed, what he considered pettiness on the part of officialdom in Australia after his war service that drove him to his few – but fierce – protests. He played first for his native Victoria– 18 matches between 1937 and 1946–47: sheer economic necessity first drove him to New South Wales, for whom he played 50 matches between 1947–48 and 1955–56, captaining them during his later years. With his natural capacity for surprise, in 1959 he turned up at Trent Bridge to play for Nottinghamshire in a single match against Cambridge University, when he scored 62 and 102 not out, with 13 fours and two sixes in his century.
He was a genuine allrounder: as a batsman he could command; but he could relax and lumber. All his life, he rose to a challenge: he scored a century – 181 – on his first class debut. If he was a spectacular driver – and indeed he was – he was also a most delicate cutter, even of legspin. As a bowler he was usually categorised as fast medium; but he could at moments bowl even faster than his comrade-in-arms, Ray Lindwall; and more than once in a Test match, off a full run, he sent down a perfect length googly. In a match against Yorkshire on a turning pitch during the 1948 tour, he proved extremely effective as an offspinner (6 for 42 and 3 for 49); after which he made top score in a struggling innings. He had a poised and not unnecessarily long run, yet from time to time he would bowl at his fastest off a half-length approach. He moved the ball sharply off the seam and could make it lift quite alarmingly from only fractionally short of a length. All this is the more amazing for the fact that he first established himself in Australian State cricket as a batsman. Then, simply enough, in a Services match, he was thrown the ball to come on as fifth change and emerged forthwith as a natural pace bowler. In the field he was utterly brilliant; amazingly fast and nimble at cover-point for one over 6ft tall; and probably the finest slip fielder of his time, again an amazingly swift and lithe mover for his size.
He moved the ball sharply off the seam and could make it lift quite alarmingly from only fractionally short of a length © The Cricketer
With that Service side, the English public discovered him, and he made a glorious 185, at faster than a run a minute, for a Dominions XI at Lord's. When he returned with Bradman's side of 1948, England relished him in almost everything he did. This was true post-war cricket and Keith Miller rose to the occasion. In only the second match of the tour – against Leicestershire– he struck a most splendid 202 not out. In the very next match, he bowled out Yorkshire with those offspinners; and then made top score. In the first Test, with Lindwall injured and unable to bowl, Miller picked off the best of the England batting. At Leeds when, in the face of England's first innings of 496, Morris, Hassett and Bradman were hustled out for 68, it was Miller who settled in with Harvey to revive their batting. At The Oval, when Hutton and Crapp threatened to build a stand, it was Miller who came on to break the partnership. Yet, against Essex at Southend, on that same tour, when the Australians were making the highest total ever scored in a six-hour day of cricket, Miller simply pulled his bat out of the course of a straight ball from Trevor Bailey and allowed himself to be bowled. That tour established him in English cricket imagination and he has never fallen out of it. He came to England again in 1953 and 1956; in fact he was an Australian regular for some 10 years.
In his first Test against England– Brisbane 1946–47– he followed his 79 with a first innings 7 for 60; in the fourth made his first Test hundred – 141 not out. For that series he finished second in the batting to Don Bradman (384 runs at 76.80) and second to Ray Lindwall in the bowling with 16 wickets at 20.87. He rarely failed to make an impression on a match when the situation was tense and important; if it did not challenge him, he did not give a damn.
In 1950–51 he bowled crucially and batted quite magnificently at Sydney. In 1953, he made a significant 109 at Lord's. In West Indies, 1955, he made three hundreds and finished with an average of 73.16, including 147 at Kingston, his highest Test score, and 137 at Bridgetown.
He was the last man to care about figures but they must be adduced here to show his immense quality. Realise that, just after the start of his career, he lost five years to the Second World War and retired early – at 37 – after sustaining an injury in India. Yet when he left, after only (by modern standards) 55 Tests, he had the finest allround record in cricket history to that time. The second man, the monumental Wilfred Rhodes, no less, was 663 runs and 43 wickets behind him. In all cricket Keith Miller scored 14,183 runs at 48.90, with 41 centuries; took 497 wickets at 22.30, and held 136 catches. As a bowler in Tests, when he rose to the heights of his cricket, he took 170 wickets at 22.97 and made 2958 runs at 36.97, with seven centuries, plus 38 catches, many of them spectacularly prehensile.
He has been a happy man as a journalist, never forgets his friends and never misses a good party. Let no-one think, however, that this is simply a light-hearted partygoer; Keith Miller is a loyal and loving – but still humorous – family man; compassionate, kind, for all his humour. Perhaps of all the great cricketers he suffers fools, if not most gladly, most easily of all. Above all, he has produced much of the most exciting firstclass cricket – batting to beat the bowler; bowling to defeat the best of batsmen on good wickets; and plucking unbelievable catches out of the air.
© Wisden Cricket Monthly 1987
This from WCM June 1987 -
June 1987
Miller the magnificant
John Arlott recalls Keith Miller, Australia's charismatic allrounder of the 1940s and 1950s
Arguably the greatest Australian allrounder © The Cricketer
Keith Miller was arguably the greatest Australian allrounder; perhaps appreciated even more in England than in his own country. Here he became both a cricketing hero and a popular human being; for it is important to realise that, outstanding as he was at cricket, the game was for him only a part of living life as fully as a man might do. At home, though, he tended to find officialdom petty; and certainly it took its toll of him, above all by denying him the captaincy of Australia for which he was so well-qualified. There is, though, no great point in arguing a case for so well-loved a player; and indeed no-one ever needed it less.
He still comes to England to go horseracing (he physically grew out of his childhood ambition to become a jockey), though that, too, is for him only part of the scene he had come to like well. His Christian names – Keith Ross – date his birth: he was named after the pilots, Sir Keith and Sir Ross Smith, on Nov 28, 1919 while they were making history with their 27-day flight from England to Australia.
First sight of him – with no knowledge of his cricket – was as a young Australian air-force pilot at a hectic night party in Brighton during the war. His vitality then, as ever since, was immense. He has remained a man of character, humour and, as some may not always realise, strictness in human relations. It was, indeed, what he considered pettiness on the part of officialdom in Australia after his war service that drove him to his few – but fierce – protests. He played first for his native Victoria– 18 matches between 1937 and 1946–47: sheer economic necessity first drove him to New South Wales, for whom he played 50 matches between 1947–48 and 1955–56, captaining them during his later years. With his natural capacity for surprise, in 1959 he turned up at Trent Bridge to play for Nottinghamshire in a single match against Cambridge University, when he scored 62 and 102 not out, with 13 fours and two sixes in his century.
He was a genuine allrounder: as a batsman he could command; but he could relax and lumber. All his life, he rose to a challenge: he scored a century – 181 – on his first class debut. If he was a spectacular driver – and indeed he was – he was also a most delicate cutter, even of legspin. As a bowler he was usually categorised as fast medium; but he could at moments bowl even faster than his comrade-in-arms, Ray Lindwall; and more than once in a Test match, off a full run, he sent down a perfect length googly. In a match against Yorkshire on a turning pitch during the 1948 tour, he proved extremely effective as an offspinner (6 for 42 and 3 for 49); after which he made top score in a struggling innings. He had a poised and not unnecessarily long run, yet from time to time he would bowl at his fastest off a half-length approach. He moved the ball sharply off the seam and could make it lift quite alarmingly from only fractionally short of a length. All this is the more amazing for the fact that he first established himself in Australian State cricket as a batsman. Then, simply enough, in a Services match, he was thrown the ball to come on as fifth change and emerged forthwith as a natural pace bowler. In the field he was utterly brilliant; amazingly fast and nimble at cover-point for one over 6ft tall; and probably the finest slip fielder of his time, again an amazingly swift and lithe mover for his size.
He moved the ball sharply off the seam and could make it lift quite alarmingly from only fractionally short of a length © The Cricketer
With that Service side, the English public discovered him, and he made a glorious 185, at faster than a run a minute, for a Dominions XI at Lord's. When he returned with Bradman's side of 1948, England relished him in almost everything he did. This was true post-war cricket and Keith Miller rose to the occasion. In only the second match of the tour – against Leicestershire– he struck a most splendid 202 not out. In the very next match, he bowled out Yorkshire with those offspinners; and then made top score. In the first Test, with Lindwall injured and unable to bowl, Miller picked off the best of the England batting. At Leeds when, in the face of England's first innings of 496, Morris, Hassett and Bradman were hustled out for 68, it was Miller who settled in with Harvey to revive their batting. At The Oval, when Hutton and Crapp threatened to build a stand, it was Miller who came on to break the partnership. Yet, against Essex at Southend, on that same tour, when the Australians were making the highest total ever scored in a six-hour day of cricket, Miller simply pulled his bat out of the course of a straight ball from Trevor Bailey and allowed himself to be bowled. That tour established him in English cricket imagination and he has never fallen out of it. He came to England again in 1953 and 1956; in fact he was an Australian regular for some 10 years.
In his first Test against England– Brisbane 1946–47– he followed his 79 with a first innings 7 for 60; in the fourth made his first Test hundred – 141 not out. For that series he finished second in the batting to Don Bradman (384 runs at 76.80) and second to Ray Lindwall in the bowling with 16 wickets at 20.87. He rarely failed to make an impression on a match when the situation was tense and important; if it did not challenge him, he did not give a damn.
In 1950–51 he bowled crucially and batted quite magnificently at Sydney. In 1953, he made a significant 109 at Lord's. In West Indies, 1955, he made three hundreds and finished with an average of 73.16, including 147 at Kingston, his highest Test score, and 137 at Bridgetown.
He was the last man to care about figures but they must be adduced here to show his immense quality. Realise that, just after the start of his career, he lost five years to the Second World War and retired early – at 37 – after sustaining an injury in India. Yet when he left, after only (by modern standards) 55 Tests, he had the finest allround record in cricket history to that time. The second man, the monumental Wilfred Rhodes, no less, was 663 runs and 43 wickets behind him. In all cricket Keith Miller scored 14,183 runs at 48.90, with 41 centuries; took 497 wickets at 22.30, and held 136 catches. As a bowler in Tests, when he rose to the heights of his cricket, he took 170 wickets at 22.97 and made 2958 runs at 36.97, with seven centuries, plus 38 catches, many of them spectacularly prehensile.
He has been a happy man as a journalist, never forgets his friends and never misses a good party. Let no-one think, however, that this is simply a light-hearted partygoer; Keith Miller is a loyal and loving – but still humorous – family man; compassionate, kind, for all his humour. Perhaps of all the great cricketers he suffers fools, if not most gladly, most easily of all. Above all, he has produced much of the most exciting firstclass cricket – batting to beat the bowler; bowling to defeat the best of batsmen on good wickets; and plucking unbelievable catches out of the air.
© Wisden Cricket Monthly 1987
Warwick Armstrong (Australia) popularly known as "The Big Ship" Wisden cricketer of the Year 1903.
This from Cricinfo player page -
Profile:Warwick Windridge Armstrong was a huge figure in Australian cricket, both literally and metaphorically. Known as the "Big Ship" on account of his sheer physical size, the larger than life Armstrong gained dual reputations as a brilliantly enigmatic all-rounder and a player who flouted officialdom throughout his career. After making his debut for Victoria in 1898-99, the name that he made for himself on the field of play was as a forceful batsman, tidy legspin bowler, and ultimately one of Australia's finest ever captains. Following a string of consistent performances for Victoria, he was selected to represent the national team for the first time in 1901-02 and made an immediate impact, joining with Reg Duff to register the first ever century partnership for the last wicket in a Test match.
Such was the extent of Armstrong's success in the Test arena that his hold on a berth in the Australian side was only disrupted by his decision to decline to tour England in 1912 as a protest against the means by which the Board of Control had decided that the team would be managed. Even after such an open act of truculence, Armstrong remained extremely highly regarded, however, and was not only re-included in the side for Australia's very next Test match but was also promoted to the position of captain! It was in the subsequent ten games in which he carved the clearest niche for himself as one of the most successful players ever to don a baggy green cap; as Australia's leader, he guided the team to eight straight Test wins before closing with two draws.
Overall, Armstrong participated in 269 first-class matches, scored in excess of 16,000 runs and captured over 800 wickets. He also played in 50 Tests over a period that spanned close to two decades in total. To honour his contribution to the sport and his success therein, he was bestowed with several awards, the most recent of which came in early 2000 when he was posthumously inducted into Australian cricket's Hall of Fame.
John Polack
Wisden obituary
While a great allround player, he remains in one’s memory chiefly for his unequalled triumph in leading Australia to victory in eight consecutive Tests with England. After the first world war our cricket took a long time to settle down. During this period the England touring team, led by JWHT Douglas, lost all five matches, and the following summer Armstrong commanded Australia, who won the first three Tests and drew the other two. In that superb manner Armstrong terminated a remarkable career. Of colossal build at 42, Armstrong then weighed about 22 stone and bore himself in a way likely to cause offence, but he invariably carried his desires over all opposition and sometimes with good reason.
Born on May 22, 1879, Armstrong rose to prominence in the season of 1901–02, when he did well for Victoria before playing in the Tests of which AC MacLaren’s team won the first and lost the other four. Armstrong headed the Australian Test averages, thanks to being not out four times. His bowling then was hardly wanted, but, coming to England under Joe Darling, he took 81 wickets at 17.50 runs each, besides scoring 1087 runs, average 26. He surpassed these efforts on his second trip to England, making 2002 runs, average 48.82, and taking 130 wickets at 17.60 apiece, being top of both averages. These figures constitute a record, no other visitor to England having scored 2000 runs and taken 100 wickets in a season. His 303 not out at Bath was the highest innings hit on the tour, and his 248 not out contributed largely to victory by an innings and 189 runs over the Gentlemen at Lord’s.
If not quite so successful in 1909 he scored 1480 runs, average 46.39, and claimed 126 wickets at 16.23, being second in each table and by far the most effective bowler. He was absent from the Australian team that came over for the Triangular Tournament in 1912, but when he captained the 1921 side with such marked success he ranked third in batting and top of the bowling. With 1405 runs, average 43.90, and 106 wickets, average 14.56, he for the third time accomplished the cricketer’s double, so equalling the record for any Australian in England established by George Giffen twenty-five years before. In four tours in England he helped Australia win the Test rubber three times, the exception being in 1905, when FS Jackson won the toss in each of the five matches.
He was fortunate to lead a very powerful combination, with JM Gregory and EA McDonald, the fast bowlers, too much for England’s impoverished batting, while Macartney and Bardsley headed an exceptional array of batting talent, eight men having aggregates ranging from 2335 to 1032, with averages from 58 to 30. The only defeats suffered by that 1921 team were at Eastbourne and Scarborough when the serious part of the tour was over. Armstrong led Australia to victory at Nottingham, Lord’s and Leeds before rain ruined the Manchester match, and England recovered something of her lost prestige at The Oval.
On that occasion Warwick Armstrong acted in an extraordinary manner by way of emphasising his opinion that all Test matches should be played to a finish irrespective of time. When a draw was certain he rested his regular bowlers, went into the long field himself, an unknown position for him, and actually picked up and read a fully extended newspaper that was blown from the crowd! Clearly he was then indifferent to what happened; but he was very much alert a few weeks before at Old Trafford, where the England captain erred over a declaration. Rain prevented play on Saturday, and so the match became an affair of two days. With England’s score over 300 for four wickets the Hon LH Tennyson, at ten minutes to six, went on to the field and called the players in. Ernest Tyldesley and PGH Fender, the batsmen, left the field, but Armstrong demurred and sat on the turf near the stumps where he had been bowling. After a wait the Australians and umpires went to the pavilion, and Armstrong pointed out that the law, amended in 1914, showed that a closure in the circumstances of a lost first day could not be made later than an hour and forty minutes before the time for drawing stumps. It was amazing that no England official or player in the pavilion knew enough to prevent such a lamentable blunder; that the captain should be corrected by his Australian rival was a humiliating incident. The umpires, also at fault of course, were so muddled that when, after twenty minutes delay, play was resumed, Armstrong himself was allowed to commit an error by bowling the next over — two in succession.
Armstrong established a record by playing in 42 Test matches against England — one more than Clem Hill. In these games he scored 2172 runs, average 35.03, and took 74 wickets at an average cost of 30.91. He made four Test centuries against England — all in Australia — and in ten Tests with South Africa he twice reached three figures. Altogether 46 centuries stand to his name in first-class cricket. With MA Noble, Armstrong put on 428 at Hove against Sussex in 1902 — still an Australian record for the sixth wicket. In Sheffield Shield matches Armstrong scored 4,993 runs, average 49.93, and took 177 wickets at 24.16 runs apiece. At Melbourne in November 1920 he made two centuries for Victoria against South Australia — 157 not out and 245. In November 1912, in the corresponding match, also at Melbourne, he scored 250, his highest innings in these tournaments.
Very tall and slim when first coming to England, Armstrong was of quite different build nineteen years later, and his massive frame made him a dominating personality as captain, quite apart from his ability with bat and ball. If appearing ungainly at the wicket because of bent knees, almost inevitable in the case of such a big man, Armstrong was a splendid stroke player, with the drive and cut most in evidence, and his defence was untiring. Bowling slows, usually round the wicket from a great height, he did not turn the ball a lot, but his leg theory was so pronounced that on occasions he sent down over after over wide of the leg stump without being punished, because he dropped the ball with what really was deceptive flight and usually very little break. Against a field cleverly placed for catches, batsmen refrained from taking risks. In fact, Armstrong was adept at keeping down runs in emergency. John Tyldesley, at The Oval in 1905, countered this, stepping back a yard and cutting the alleged leg-breaks where no fieldsman stood.
Like many cricketers, after retiring from active participation in the game, Armstrong wrote for the Press, and his caustic Test criticisms created ill-feeling of a kind which should not be associated with cricket.
Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack
This from Cricinfo player page -
Profile:Warwick Windridge Armstrong was a huge figure in Australian cricket, both literally and metaphorically. Known as the "Big Ship" on account of his sheer physical size, the larger than life Armstrong gained dual reputations as a brilliantly enigmatic all-rounder and a player who flouted officialdom throughout his career. After making his debut for Victoria in 1898-99, the name that he made for himself on the field of play was as a forceful batsman, tidy legspin bowler, and ultimately one of Australia's finest ever captains. Following a string of consistent performances for Victoria, he was selected to represent the national team for the first time in 1901-02 and made an immediate impact, joining with Reg Duff to register the first ever century partnership for the last wicket in a Test match.
Such was the extent of Armstrong's success in the Test arena that his hold on a berth in the Australian side was only disrupted by his decision to decline to tour England in 1912 as a protest against the means by which the Board of Control had decided that the team would be managed. Even after such an open act of truculence, Armstrong remained extremely highly regarded, however, and was not only re-included in the side for Australia's very next Test match but was also promoted to the position of captain! It was in the subsequent ten games in which he carved the clearest niche for himself as one of the most successful players ever to don a baggy green cap; as Australia's leader, he guided the team to eight straight Test wins before closing with two draws.
Overall, Armstrong participated in 269 first-class matches, scored in excess of 16,000 runs and captured over 800 wickets. He also played in 50 Tests over a period that spanned close to two decades in total. To honour his contribution to the sport and his success therein, he was bestowed with several awards, the most recent of which came in early 2000 when he was posthumously inducted into Australian cricket's Hall of Fame.
John Polack
Wisden obituary
While a great allround player, he remains in one’s memory chiefly for his unequalled triumph in leading Australia to victory in eight consecutive Tests with England. After the first world war our cricket took a long time to settle down. During this period the England touring team, led by JWHT Douglas, lost all five matches, and the following summer Armstrong commanded Australia, who won the first three Tests and drew the other two. In that superb manner Armstrong terminated a remarkable career. Of colossal build at 42, Armstrong then weighed about 22 stone and bore himself in a way likely to cause offence, but he invariably carried his desires over all opposition and sometimes with good reason.
Born on May 22, 1879, Armstrong rose to prominence in the season of 1901–02, when he did well for Victoria before playing in the Tests of which AC MacLaren’s team won the first and lost the other four. Armstrong headed the Australian Test averages, thanks to being not out four times. His bowling then was hardly wanted, but, coming to England under Joe Darling, he took 81 wickets at 17.50 runs each, besides scoring 1087 runs, average 26. He surpassed these efforts on his second trip to England, making 2002 runs, average 48.82, and taking 130 wickets at 17.60 apiece, being top of both averages. These figures constitute a record, no other visitor to England having scored 2000 runs and taken 100 wickets in a season. His 303 not out at Bath was the highest innings hit on the tour, and his 248 not out contributed largely to victory by an innings and 189 runs over the Gentlemen at Lord’s.
If not quite so successful in 1909 he scored 1480 runs, average 46.39, and claimed 126 wickets at 16.23, being second in each table and by far the most effective bowler. He was absent from the Australian team that came over for the Triangular Tournament in 1912, but when he captained the 1921 side with such marked success he ranked third in batting and top of the bowling. With 1405 runs, average 43.90, and 106 wickets, average 14.56, he for the third time accomplished the cricketer’s double, so equalling the record for any Australian in England established by George Giffen twenty-five years before. In four tours in England he helped Australia win the Test rubber three times, the exception being in 1905, when FS Jackson won the toss in each of the five matches.
He was fortunate to lead a very powerful combination, with JM Gregory and EA McDonald, the fast bowlers, too much for England’s impoverished batting, while Macartney and Bardsley headed an exceptional array of batting talent, eight men having aggregates ranging from 2335 to 1032, with averages from 58 to 30. The only defeats suffered by that 1921 team were at Eastbourne and Scarborough when the serious part of the tour was over. Armstrong led Australia to victory at Nottingham, Lord’s and Leeds before rain ruined the Manchester match, and England recovered something of her lost prestige at The Oval.
On that occasion Warwick Armstrong acted in an extraordinary manner by way of emphasising his opinion that all Test matches should be played to a finish irrespective of time. When a draw was certain he rested his regular bowlers, went into the long field himself, an unknown position for him, and actually picked up and read a fully extended newspaper that was blown from the crowd! Clearly he was then indifferent to what happened; but he was very much alert a few weeks before at Old Trafford, where the England captain erred over a declaration. Rain prevented play on Saturday, and so the match became an affair of two days. With England’s score over 300 for four wickets the Hon LH Tennyson, at ten minutes to six, went on to the field and called the players in. Ernest Tyldesley and PGH Fender, the batsmen, left the field, but Armstrong demurred and sat on the turf near the stumps where he had been bowling. After a wait the Australians and umpires went to the pavilion, and Armstrong pointed out that the law, amended in 1914, showed that a closure in the circumstances of a lost first day could not be made later than an hour and forty minutes before the time for drawing stumps. It was amazing that no England official or player in the pavilion knew enough to prevent such a lamentable blunder; that the captain should be corrected by his Australian rival was a humiliating incident. The umpires, also at fault of course, were so muddled that when, after twenty minutes delay, play was resumed, Armstrong himself was allowed to commit an error by bowling the next over — two in succession.
Armstrong established a record by playing in 42 Test matches against England — one more than Clem Hill. In these games he scored 2172 runs, average 35.03, and took 74 wickets at an average cost of 30.91. He made four Test centuries against England — all in Australia — and in ten Tests with South Africa he twice reached three figures. Altogether 46 centuries stand to his name in first-class cricket. With MA Noble, Armstrong put on 428 at Hove against Sussex in 1902 — still an Australian record for the sixth wicket. In Sheffield Shield matches Armstrong scored 4,993 runs, average 49.93, and took 177 wickets at 24.16 runs apiece. At Melbourne in November 1920 he made two centuries for Victoria against South Australia — 157 not out and 245. In November 1912, in the corresponding match, also at Melbourne, he scored 250, his highest innings in these tournaments.
Very tall and slim when first coming to England, Armstrong was of quite different build nineteen years later, and his massive frame made him a dominating personality as captain, quite apart from his ability with bat and ball. If appearing ungainly at the wicket because of bent knees, almost inevitable in the case of such a big man, Armstrong was a splendid stroke player, with the drive and cut most in evidence, and his defence was untiring. Bowling slows, usually round the wicket from a great height, he did not turn the ball a lot, but his leg theory was so pronounced that on occasions he sent down over after over wide of the leg stump without being punished, because he dropped the ball with what really was deceptive flight and usually very little break. Against a field cleverly placed for catches, batsmen refrained from taking risks. In fact, Armstrong was adept at keeping down runs in emergency. John Tyldesley, at The Oval in 1905, countered this, stepping back a yard and cutting the alleged leg-breaks where no fieldsman stood.
Like many cricketers, after retiring from active participation in the game, Armstrong wrote for the Press, and his caustic Test criticisms created ill-feeling of a kind which should not be associated with cricket.
Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack
Willie Watson (England) Wisden Cricketer of the year 1954 .One of England's few Double Internationals in Cricket and Soccer. Selected for World Cup 1950 in Brazil.
This from the Cricinfo player Page -
Profile:
Last summer Willie and Barbara Watson and my wife and I were entertained by the president of MCC during the Lord’s Test. Sir Tim Rice presented both of us with his brother Jonathan’s book, One Hundred Lord’s Tests, a happy reminder of the stand we had shared in against the Australians 50 years before. It was a delightful reunion, but sadly it was the last time we would meet as Willie died in Johannesburg, South Africa, on April 24, aged 84. However, many happy memories linger on. After all, we had toured the Caribbean and Australia together, I bowled against him for Essex, batted with him for England and trained with him on the Scarborough football ground before breakfast during the cricket festival, which was painful after several heavy nights.
Willie was a superb natural athlete and ball player who glided over football and cricket fields with both grace and pace. He was one of that very small select band who represented England at both cricket and football. This is something that will never happen again as football and indeed rugby have invaded the summer.
I believe Willie would have made more appearances at both cricket and football, if he had not spent five years in his late teens and early 20s in the army, instead of being coached by Yorkshire and Huddersfield Town Football Club. Our finest batsmen after the hostilities, Hutton, Compton and Edrich, had all established themselves at Test level in the late 1930s.
Willie was originally an inside-forward but became a wing-half when he signed for Sunderland in 1946. He played for England on four occasions in 1949 when he was better known for his football than his cricket and was also included in the English squad for the World Cup in Brazil in 1950. He did not play in a match, however, probably because his manager wanted a defensive rather than an attacking wing-half. What impressed Willie out there was the artistry and the footwork displayed by all of the South American footballers, not just their forwards.
Although Willie made his first appearance for Yorkshire in 1939, it was not until the War ended and he was released from the army that he established himself as a dependable, attractive middle-order stroke player and an outstanding athletic fielder in an era when the fielding was poor compared with present standards. Although the Yorkshire batting was always strong, it seemed to include good players that promised much but never quite made it, like Gerald Smithson who was picked for the 1947-48 West Indian tour. Although Willie soon became a permanent member in his county side he was never a regular fixture for England, probably due to a batting average of 25.85 in 23 Tests.
Originally he was known for his football more than his cricket, but this ended at Lord’s against the Australians when I joined him on the last day with the score at 73 for 4. We remained together for almost four hours, while Willie was at the crease for 346 minutes. He completed his century, the match was eventually drawn and he became a legend. Our partnership did illustrate that in certain circumstances a draw can be very exciting as spectators came through the turnstiles after lunch on the fifth day of a game that appeared lost. Sadly Willie was not chosen for the final Test when we regained the Ashes and he was picked for England again spasmodically. Willie joined Leicestershire in 1958, for whom he scored heavily and led with much charm until he retired in 1964.
In the 1950s Willie became player-manager of Halifax and later returned as manager in 1964 after a two-year stint as an England Test selector, and he also had a spell in charge of Bradford. In 1968 he found the perfect job for him as coach and administrator of the Wanderers in Johannesburg. It really was an ideal appointment and, not surprisingly with his knowledge and background, he settled very contentedly.
I count myself lucky to have known Willie so well. A delightful companion both on and off the field, whenever I had the good fortune to go to South Africa we would meet and simply talk and chuckle about the past, the present and the future as we quietly sipped a drink.
Trevor Bailey, The Wisden Cricketer
Wisden Cricinfo obituary
Willie Watson, who died on April 24, 2004, at his home in Johannesburg at the age of 84, was a graceful and correct left-hander who scored over 25,000 runs in a first-class career that spanned 25 years. He will probably be best remembered for a match-saving century in the 1953 Lord's Test against Australia, when his 109 – and his long partnership with Trevor Bailey – staved off what had seemed to be certain defeat.
Born in Bolton-on-Dearne in Bolton in 1920, Watson was a fine allround sportsman. Apart from cricket, in which he made his debut for Yorkshire in 1939, he was also a fine footballer. He played for Huddersfield, Sunderland and Halifax, and won four England caps. He was part of the first England squad that took part in the World Cup, in Brazil in 1950, although he didn't actually play a match. The following year he made his England Test debut, against South Africa at Trent Bridge, scoring 57 in his first match and 79 in his second. But Watson was jostling for a position with the likes of Hutton, Compton, Edrich, May, Graveney and Cowdrey, in a golden era of English batting, and found it difficult to nail down a regular place in the side. Even after that hundred on debut against Australia at Lord's in 1953, when his four-hour stand of 163 with Bailey saved the game, Watson wasn't secure: he was dropped before the end of the series, and missed the deciding final Test at The Oval, which England won to recapture the Ashes after 19 years.
Football commitments at an end, Watson toured West Indies in 1953-54, and added a second Test century in Jamaica. He flitted in and out of the Test side until the end of the decade, playing his last Tests in Australasia in 1958-59, when one of his team-mates was another double cricket/football international, Arthur Milton. Watson finished with 879 runs from his 23 Tests, at an average of 25.85. By then Watson was playing his county cricket for Leicestershire, whom he'd joined as assistant secretary and captain in 1958. He played on to 1964, finishing with 25,670 runs in all (39.86), including 55 centuries. His highest score was 257, for MCC against British Guiana at Georgetown in 1953-54, when he shared a stand of 402 with Tom Graveney, who made 231. In England Watson's best was 217 not out, for Leicestershire against Somerset at Taunton in 1961, when he shared an unbroken third-wicket stand of 316 with Alan Wharton, which remained a county record until 2003. And he carried his bat for his new county against his old one in 1959, scoring 79 not out in Leicestershire's total of 132 against Yorkshire at Grace Road. That season – which ironically followed what turned out to be his last Test appearance – turned out to be his most prolific one, as he passed 2000 runs for the first time and finished with 2212 at 55.30.
Watson was a Test selector for three years from 1962, and emigrated to South Africa in 1968 to coach at the Wanderers club in Johannesburg. He saw out his twilight years in South Africa in somewhat straitened circumstances, although he was always keen to join in the various reunions of England players over the years.
Steven Lynch (April 2004)
This from the Cricinfo player Page -
Profile:
Last summer Willie and Barbara Watson and my wife and I were entertained by the president of MCC during the Lord’s Test. Sir Tim Rice presented both of us with his brother Jonathan’s book, One Hundred Lord’s Tests, a happy reminder of the stand we had shared in against the Australians 50 years before. It was a delightful reunion, but sadly it was the last time we would meet as Willie died in Johannesburg, South Africa, on April 24, aged 84. However, many happy memories linger on. After all, we had toured the Caribbean and Australia together, I bowled against him for Essex, batted with him for England and trained with him on the Scarborough football ground before breakfast during the cricket festival, which was painful after several heavy nights.
Willie was a superb natural athlete and ball player who glided over football and cricket fields with both grace and pace. He was one of that very small select band who represented England at both cricket and football. This is something that will never happen again as football and indeed rugby have invaded the summer.
I believe Willie would have made more appearances at both cricket and football, if he had not spent five years in his late teens and early 20s in the army, instead of being coached by Yorkshire and Huddersfield Town Football Club. Our finest batsmen after the hostilities, Hutton, Compton and Edrich, had all established themselves at Test level in the late 1930s.
Willie was originally an inside-forward but became a wing-half when he signed for Sunderland in 1946. He played for England on four occasions in 1949 when he was better known for his football than his cricket and was also included in the English squad for the World Cup in Brazil in 1950. He did not play in a match, however, probably because his manager wanted a defensive rather than an attacking wing-half. What impressed Willie out there was the artistry and the footwork displayed by all of the South American footballers, not just their forwards.
Although Willie made his first appearance for Yorkshire in 1939, it was not until the War ended and he was released from the army that he established himself as a dependable, attractive middle-order stroke player and an outstanding athletic fielder in an era when the fielding was poor compared with present standards. Although the Yorkshire batting was always strong, it seemed to include good players that promised much but never quite made it, like Gerald Smithson who was picked for the 1947-48 West Indian tour. Although Willie soon became a permanent member in his county side he was never a regular fixture for England, probably due to a batting average of 25.85 in 23 Tests.
Originally he was known for his football more than his cricket, but this ended at Lord’s against the Australians when I joined him on the last day with the score at 73 for 4. We remained together for almost four hours, while Willie was at the crease for 346 minutes. He completed his century, the match was eventually drawn and he became a legend. Our partnership did illustrate that in certain circumstances a draw can be very exciting as spectators came through the turnstiles after lunch on the fifth day of a game that appeared lost. Sadly Willie was not chosen for the final Test when we regained the Ashes and he was picked for England again spasmodically. Willie joined Leicestershire in 1958, for whom he scored heavily and led with much charm until he retired in 1964.
In the 1950s Willie became player-manager of Halifax and later returned as manager in 1964 after a two-year stint as an England Test selector, and he also had a spell in charge of Bradford. In 1968 he found the perfect job for him as coach and administrator of the Wanderers in Johannesburg. It really was an ideal appointment and, not surprisingly with his knowledge and background, he settled very contentedly.
I count myself lucky to have known Willie so well. A delightful companion both on and off the field, whenever I had the good fortune to go to South Africa we would meet and simply talk and chuckle about the past, the present and the future as we quietly sipped a drink.
Trevor Bailey, The Wisden Cricketer
Wisden Cricinfo obituary
Willie Watson, who died on April 24, 2004, at his home in Johannesburg at the age of 84, was a graceful and correct left-hander who scored over 25,000 runs in a first-class career that spanned 25 years. He will probably be best remembered for a match-saving century in the 1953 Lord's Test against Australia, when his 109 – and his long partnership with Trevor Bailey – staved off what had seemed to be certain defeat.
Born in Bolton-on-Dearne in Bolton in 1920, Watson was a fine allround sportsman. Apart from cricket, in which he made his debut for Yorkshire in 1939, he was also a fine footballer. He played for Huddersfield, Sunderland and Halifax, and won four England caps. He was part of the first England squad that took part in the World Cup, in Brazil in 1950, although he didn't actually play a match. The following year he made his England Test debut, against South Africa at Trent Bridge, scoring 57 in his first match and 79 in his second. But Watson was jostling for a position with the likes of Hutton, Compton, Edrich, May, Graveney and Cowdrey, in a golden era of English batting, and found it difficult to nail down a regular place in the side. Even after that hundred on debut against Australia at Lord's in 1953, when his four-hour stand of 163 with Bailey saved the game, Watson wasn't secure: he was dropped before the end of the series, and missed the deciding final Test at The Oval, which England won to recapture the Ashes after 19 years.
Football commitments at an end, Watson toured West Indies in 1953-54, and added a second Test century in Jamaica. He flitted in and out of the Test side until the end of the decade, playing his last Tests in Australasia in 1958-59, when one of his team-mates was another double cricket/football international, Arthur Milton. Watson finished with 879 runs from his 23 Tests, at an average of 25.85. By then Watson was playing his county cricket for Leicestershire, whom he'd joined as assistant secretary and captain in 1958. He played on to 1964, finishing with 25,670 runs in all (39.86), including 55 centuries. His highest score was 257, for MCC against British Guiana at Georgetown in 1953-54, when he shared a stand of 402 with Tom Graveney, who made 231. In England Watson's best was 217 not out, for Leicestershire against Somerset at Taunton in 1961, when he shared an unbroken third-wicket stand of 316 with Alan Wharton, which remained a county record until 2003. And he carried his bat for his new county against his old one in 1959, scoring 79 not out in Leicestershire's total of 132 against Yorkshire at Grace Road. That season – which ironically followed what turned out to be his last Test appearance – turned out to be his most prolific one, as he passed 2000 runs for the first time and finished with 2212 at 55.30.
Watson was a Test selector for three years from 1962, and emigrated to South Africa in 1968 to coach at the Wanderers club in Johannesburg. He saw out his twilight years in South Africa in somewhat straitened circumstances, although he was always keen to join in the various reunions of England players over the years.
Steven Lynch (April 2004)
Mister Wright
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Winston Churchill (Former England Prime Minister, if my history is correct)
Played a bit of cricket in his time.
Played a bit of cricket in his time.