The Gregorys - Chapter Two

Dave Gregory

The birth of Edward and Mary Gregory’s third son in 1845 occurred at a time of considerable change for the colony of New South Wales. Sir George Gipps was nearing the end of his eight years as governor, with public criticism and opposition to his land and education policies leading to his replacement by Sir Charles FitzRoy. Australia’s main cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide were scattered ports that relied largely on sea-borne communication. There were no operative passenger railways and no telegraph system. Each of the colonies were keen to maintain its independence, it being clear that a British push for federation would fail. The schism between the colonies was such that the press in each centre actively promoted the separation of the colonies, primarily away from the control of the Governor residing in Sydney.

In spite of these differences, the various colonies were about to enter a period of prosperity. The 1840s was a period of depression with a severe drought and financial downturn, but the discovery of gold and the changing face of industrialization meant that Sydney and Melbourne began a period of prosperity. This change in the fortunes of the colonies, associated with the large-scale immigration of gold hunters, provided the perfect stimulus for the development of inter-colony cricket matches. The timing of this change was ideal for children of Edward Gregory, providing opportunities for them that their father’s generation never had.

David William Gregory was born on the 15th of April, 1845 in Fairy Meadow, near Wollongong, eighty kilometres south of Sydney. He was the seventh child of Edward and Mary and lived his early life at the Government School House in Wollongong. Dave led a normal childhood for the age, with games of cricket with his brothers a standard part of his upbringing. His father, Edward’s, enthusiasm for the game ensured that Dave and all his siblings, both male and female, were instructed in the basics of the game.

Dave’s early years included education at firstly at Mr McDonald’s Private School at Underwood’s Paddock in Paddington, and then at the St James Church of England School in Sydney. The Governor of the Colony, Sir William Dennison, presented medals for meritorious conduct to pupils at the school, and during the presentation ceremony, he informed the male students that if they were able to gain good results in their studies, a job would be made available for them. The fifteen year old Dave Gregory listened to the speech carefully, and took the Governor at his word. After he received a medal for meritorious conduct in 1860, he went to government house and informed the Governor that “I’ve come about that job, sir”. His audacity was rewarded with a place as a probationer in the Auditor-General Department, starting in January 1861, and he was appointed as a Clerk in May. Dave moved to Paddington in Sydney, living initially with his brother Ned.

Dave’s cricket career began in the 1860s playing in the Domain with his brothers. The Governor of the time, Sir William Denison, along with two other cricket enthusiasts, William Tunks and Al Park, had all donated five pounds each in order to develop a pitch suitable for play. This was achieved with hard work, shovels and a spirit level to ensure its flatness. Dave played games along with his brothers Ned, Walter, Charlie and Arthur for the National Club against other teams of the time, such as the Currency Lass Hotel, which was composed of Australian-born players, or varying teams of regimental cricketers. He made his debut in Sydney cricket for the National Club as a 17 year old in November 1862. He struggled to make an impression over the next few years, and had dropped back to the National’s second XI by 1865.

Dave Gregory was very fortunate in that he had received regular coaching from his father Edward early on in his life. This instilled in him the basics of the game and held him in good stead throughout his career. As Dave grew up and progressed in the game, he attracted the attention of, and received ongoing instruction from, English player William Caffyn who was residing in Sydney at the time. Billy Caffyn was to play an integral role in the development of the standard of play in Australia and was instrumental in the progress of Dave’s cricketing career.

Caffyn was a professional cricketer, who had trained as a barber in England. He had a long professional career, playing for Surrey from 1849 to 1863. He toured Australia twice with English sides, initially with H.H. Stephenson’s team in 1861/62. Caffyn was a very fine batsmen, leading the English player’s batting averages on the 1861/62 tour with 419 runs at 23.27, and he also opened the bowling for the team with his round-arm deliveries. He returned with George Parr’s team in 1863/64, the only player from Stephenson’s side who was selected to come back again for the second tour. Photographs of Caffyn show him batting with only the one glove, located on his bottom, right hand.

Caffyn was attracted to stay in Australia at the conclusion of the Parr tour, through an offer to coach with the Melbourne Cricket Club. The sum on money that Caffyn was offered was three hundred pounds per annum, a very substantial amount for the time. Caffyn stayed in Victoria for the next year, but he was persuaded to move to Sydney for the 1865/66 season, with the lure of a hairdresser’s shop the incentive. The Melbourne Cricket Club were very considerate, allowing him out of his three year contract. He maintained this shop for the next six years in conjunction with his wife, until her ongoing ill-health necessitated their return to England in 1871. Caffyn had hoped that a move to Tasmania may have assisted his wife’s health, but a letter to the Hobart Cricket Association in 1869 was met with a flat rejection from their secretary.

As a coach, Caffyn never tried to make two players alike, allowing them to develop their skills naturally. This was in contrast to the other major coach in Australia at the time, another English professional Charles Lawrence, who encouraged all of his protégés to play back whenever possible. The efforts of Caffyn and Lawrence were largely responsible for closing the vast divide in cricketing ability that existed in the mid 1860s between Australia and the mother country. Lawrence is best remembered now for his organization of the first ever Australian team to tour England, the Aboriginal side of 1868, but he was also an outstanding player and coach in Victorian cricket.

By the age of twenty, Dave Gregory had developed into a very physically impressive individual. He stood six foot two inches tall (187cms), and weighed fourteen stone and four pounds (90.7kgs). His height was emphasised further by his straight back and upright bearing. In spite of this though, the most noticeable feature of Dave Gregory’s physical appearance was his magnificent beard. This aspect of his appearance no doubt took a few years to develop, but his whiskers became famous around the country and were as much his calling card as the facial hair that has adorned modern players such as Dennis Lillee and Merv Hughes.

Like his father Edward, Dave played for the Australian Club in Sydney. He was a natural right hander with both bat and ball, and whilst he was primarily a round-arm bowler in his early days, his batting was starting to develop under the guidance of William Caffyn. He worked hard on his game, and only a year after he had been dropped back the National’s second XI, Dave was selected to play his first game for NSW against Victoria. This match took place on his home ground of the Domain, and was a timeless match starting on the 26th of December, 1866. It took place a decade after the first ever inter-colony game between New South Wales and Victoria.

New South Wales captain Charles Lawrence won the toss and opted to send the Victorian team in. Dave bowled the first ball of the game to J.B. Turner, and one hundred minutes later the Victorian innings was over with only 74 runs on the board. Dave’s inaugural wicket in first class wicket was John Conway, the Victorian number three, caught by Lawrence. He finished with 3 for 36, whilst his fellow opening bowler Nathaniel Thomson took 3 for 33. They were the only two bowlers required in the innings, with the other four wickets all falling to run outs.

New South Wales had managed a lead of 19 runs at stumps on the first day, with six wickets still in hand. Dave batted at number eleven in the New South Wales innings, and Conway extracted his revenge by bowling him for a duck. New South Wales scored 145, with Dave’s mentor Caffyn top scoring with 24. Victoria went back in a second time, and performed even worse than in the first innings. Dave took 4 for 31, including both openers for only 2 runs, and Victoria were all out for 58. New South Wales had won by an innings and 13 runs, and with a total of eight thousand spectators watching, the timeless match had finished inside two days.

The Australian Club folded completely in September of 1867. Dave, along with his brothers, joined the Warwicks Club which immediately became the strongest team in Sydney. His reasons for joining Warwicks can only be guessed at, but the presence of William Caffyn at Warwicks was probably one of the major motivations. It was undoubtedly a good move for his batting, as the continuing assistance of Caffyn saw an ongoing improvement in Dave’s batting statistics. Dave moved up the order with Warwicks to start opening the batting. These changes were to show immediate benefit, with Dave and Charles Oliver combining for an opening partnership of 155 against the strong Alberts Club in his first season.

In the 1860s there were only spasmodic inter-colonial games, and it was therefore twelve months between Dave’s initial and second match. This was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and was another timeless match that started on Boxing Day 1867. Lawrence again won the toss and asked Victoria to bat, but this time round the tactic was not as successful. Victoria totalled 252, with Dave bowling ten wicketless overs for thirty four runs. New South Wales reply commenced at the beginning of day two, and they were bowled out for only 158. Whilst Dave’s improved batting had seen him promoted from number eleven to number nine, the result was unfortunately the same, and he was dismissed by Tom Wills for a duck. New South Wales were asked to follow on, and whilst Dave was demoted to number eleven again, he finally managed to get his initial runs, remaining 2 not out in his side’s score of 173. Victoria were left with only 82 to win, a score they achieved with the loss of only three wickets, with Dave again went wicketless.

Whilst Dave’s cricket was intermittent for both Warwicks and New South Wales through the mid to late 1860s, his rise through the Auditor-General Department had started in earnest. His abilities as a clerk and his manner of dealing with both other employees and the public had brought him attention within the Auditor-General Department, and he was promoted to oversee the performance of other public servants within the department. His physical appearance was also gaining him attention, being known by many women around Sydney as “handsome Dave”. Photos of Dave show his facial hair to great effect, but they also reveal a stern expression. It would be easy to use this type of photograph now as an illustration of Dave’s strict nature and sober demeanor, but the technology of the day demanded a rigid expression be maintained for a prolonged period of time, and as such, all pictures tended to have a similar degree of seriousness.

The photos could not hide the glean in his brown eyes that hinted at the genial and fun loving personality that family members and friends said existed under a serious exterior. He was twenty two when he married Mary Ann Hitchings in the Paddington Church of England in 1867. This union was to produce them eleven children over the following twenty years. Their first child Sydney was born in 1869, and he was followed by Herbert (1871), Percy (1873), Albert (1875), Emmeline (1876), Leslie (1877), Coralie (1880), Arthur (1881), Pearl (1883), Alfred (1885) and Ruby (1887).

Dave’s next inter-colonial game took place at the Domain and was scheduled to last from the 4th to 6th of March, 1869. While Dave was picked primarily as a bowler, his improved batting performances for Warwicks had been noticed and he moved up to no. 7 in the New South Wales batting order. The home team batted first yet again, and Dave opened the bowling, taking one for ten off ten overs. Victoria collapsed dismally, only making sixty one. New South Wales responded to that with an impressive total of thirty seven all out. Dave second top scored from his place in the middle order, a feat less impressive than it appears as his innings was only 9.

Nonetheless, his batting must have been sufficiently impressive on this occasion to encourage his captain Joseph Coates to promote him to open the batting for New South Wales for the first time in their second innings. New South Wales were chasing 173 for victory, after dismissing Victory for 149. Dave had taken 4 for 34, and he then second top scored for the second time in the game. Once again it was not nearly enough, with Victoria winning by seventy eight runs. New South Wales were dismissed for under one hundred again, and Dave only managed 15 out of the team total of 95.

Dave’s next game for his state occurred nearly a year later on the 24 February, 1870. Throughout the first half of the game Dave’s performances were not impressive. He bowled only six wicketless overs in Victoria’s first innings of 181, and then scored 14 in New South Wales reply of 164. When Victoria batted again they managed the good total of 337, but New South Wales’ star was Dave Gregory who toiled away for almost twice as many overs as any other bowler. He took his first five wicket haul for fifty five runs off nearly forty four ball overs. Interestingly all five of his victims were bowled. New South Wales captain Charles Lawrence promoted Dave up the order to number three in the second innings, but the move failed with him being bowled for only 2. Victoria continued their dominance over New South Wales, winning by 265 runs.

Dave’s batting had continued to improve with the guidance and continuing instruction of William Caffyn and New South Wales captain Charles Lawrence. This betterment is reflected in his ever improving record with his club side in Sydney. His bowling was still very effective in 1871, with Dave winning the club averages with the impressive figure of 3.35 runs per wicket. In 1872 he again won the bowling averages with a slightly higher figure of 4.14 runs per wicket, but he also headed up the batting, averaging 25 runs an innings. He proved that this wasn’t a fluke by again winning the batting trophies in 1873.

In the match starting on the 9 March 1871, Dave showed his increasing abilities as an allrounder being selected to open both the batting and the bowling for New South Wales. The game was at the Albert Cricket Ground and whilst his team was at the wrong end of the score card four days later by 48 runs, Dave could be well satisfied with his first score of over fifty. His score of 51 helped New South Wales to a lead on the first innings, but the team collapsed second time round for only 84, with Dave’s contribution being 10.

In the game against Victoria commencing on the 30 March, 1872, Dave was selected to bat at number three and also open the bowling. Once again Victoria were the champions, this time to the tune of an innings and 26 runs. Dave had a less than successful game with scores of 11 and 7, and twenty two wicketless overs. Up to this point, the Melbourne Cricket Ground was a very unhappy place for Dave, with New South Wales losing every game played there. This was remedied in Dave’s next first class game on 26 December 1872, when he was selected to play against Victoria at the MCG for the Rest of Australia. The Rest was a combined side composed of eight players from New South Wales, three from South Australia and two from Tasmania. This composite team managed to provide Dave with his first win over Victoria since his initial first class game six years earlier, with victory coming by five wickets. The transition of Dave from a bowler to a batsman was becoming clearer; whilst he opened the batting in both innings for the Rest he only bowled a total of three overs out of the nearly two hundred bowled by the Rest in the game. Part of the reason for his reduction in bowling related to Dave being no-balled for throwing in the first innings by umpire George Curtis. Some of the gloss of the victory was removed as it was a game against the odds, with the Rest playing with thirteen against Victoria’s eleven. In spite of this discrepancy in numbers between the two teams, the game has been granted official first class status.

In 1873, W.G. Grace led a team of English players on a tour of Australia. All of the games in this tour were against the odds, and Dave Gregory played games against Grace’s team for the Eighteen of New South Wales and for a Combined Fifteen of New South Wales and Victoria. Dave’s performances with the bat led the Eighteen to a famous victory by eight wickets, with him top scoring for the match. His performances were not so noteworthy for the 15, and they collapsed to lose to Grace’s side by 218 runs. Dave, taught by his father to be a keen observer of the game, took notice of the tactics and techniques of English players, and in particular their fielding positions. This habit was one that would serve him well in the years to come.

Dave found himself at the middle of a dispute between two clubs regarding the use of the Military and Civil Ground which would later become the Sydney Cricket Ground. Dave was playing with the newly formed East Sydney Cricket Club, which had free use of the Military and Civil Ground. Another new club, the Civil Service Club asked Dave to join them as he was a civil servant, but he declined and remained with the East Sydney Club. The Civil Service Club used their influence within the government, and they gained the use of the Military and Civil Ground at the expense of the East Sydney Club. This caused a considerable amount of bad feeling, and it was perhaps ironic that the first team the Civil Service played in the 1874/75 season was East Sydney. Dave top-scored for East Sydney with a half century, and their total of 219 proved far too much for the Civil Service side, which could only score 59 and 44. The Sydney Mail’s comment at the time that “the Civil Service Club came in like a lion, and, if present appearances be any criterion, will probably retire lamb-like” proved remarkable accurate, with the Civil Service Club folding at the end of the season. Dave’s decision to remain loyal had been vindicated.

Over the next four years, Dave’s bowling at a first class level ceased almost completely. He played four first class games against Victoria over this period, bowling only in one of them. His batting continued to improve and he was recognised primarily as a stubborn and somewhat stodgy opening batsman, but one who could hit out strongly on occasions. His improved technique, still being honed with the assistance of fellow players such as Charles Bannerman, resulted in an excellent double in NSW victory over Victoria that started on the 25th of February, 1876. He scored 36 out of New South Wales’ total of 99; a score that was put into perspective by Victoria’s reply of only 37. Dave then drove New South Wales’ advantage home, by scoring his highest first class score of 74 in the second innings. Victoria’s reply of just 95 left New South Wales as convincing winners, with Dave’s contribution with the bat central to their victory.

Dave was selected to open the batting for New South Wales against a team of English tourists under the captaincy of J Lillywhite at the Albert Ground in a two day game starting on the 15 January, 1877. This game followed his participation in two unexpected wins against Lillywhite’s team, but both games were played against the odds. This match was on an even basis, and the English side regained a considerable amount of pride, even though the game ended in a draw. Lillywhite’s XI made 270 following the New South Wales captain Ted Evans choosing to field first. Dave failed in the first innings with only 3, and New South Wales could only total 82. New South Wales had to follow-on, and when time ran out they were 6 for 140 and still well short of avoiding an innings loss. Once again emphasizing Dave’s emergence as a batsman, he held together the New South Wales response through a patient and undefeated 53.

At the conclusion of this game, Dave had played a total of 12 first class games. He had accumulated the first class batting figures of 331 runs at an average of 15.76 with only three half centuries and a highest score of 74. Even taking into account the significantly lower batting performances of the age, his statistics did not compare well against other players. Dave’s bowling figures were more acceptable, having taken 21 wickets at the average of 16.19 with best figures of 5 for 55. The problem was that his bowling had become less penetrative in the previous few years, and there was still a nagging suspicion about the legitimacy of his action. Dave had never captained New South Wales, and yet the cricketing moment that would lead to his ongoing place in history was about to happen. He was named as the captain of the combined New South Wales and Victorian cricket team to take on the English XI in the game that was to be recognised as the inaugural Test match.

References for The Gregorys

In response to Soulberry's request, here is an (currently incomplete) listing of the references used so far. I'll update it again in the not too distant future.

Bibliography

Cricket Reference Books

• Australian Cricket : A History. Moyes, A.G. Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1959
• The Paddock that Grew. Dunstan, Keith. Cassell Australia, Melbourne, 1975
• The Formative Years of Australian Cricket 1803-1893. Pollard, Jack. Sydney, 1987.
• The Wisden Book of Test Cricket Volume 1. Frindall, Bill. MacDonald and Jane, London, 1978
• ABC Australian Cricket Almanac 1990-1994. Edited by Derriman, Phillip and Dundas, Ross. ABC Books, Sydney
• The Oxford Companion to Australian Cricket. Edited by Cashman, Richard, Franks, Warwick, Maxwell, Jim, Stoddart, Brian, Weaver, Amanda and Webster, Ray. Oxford University Press, 1996
• Australia versus England : A Pictorial History of every Test Match since 1877. Frith, David. Richard Smart Publishing, Sydney, 1993.
• A Century of Cricketers. Moyes, A.G. Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1950
• Mollydookers: The World’s Greatest Left-Handed Batsmen. Pollard, Jack. Five Miles Press, Sydney, 1995
• At the Wickets; New South Wales Versus Victoria. Hedley, Harry W. Centennial Printing and Publishing Company Ltd. Melbourne, 1888.
• England Versus Australia at the Wicket. Brumfitt, George and Kirby, Joseph. Brumfitt and Kirby, Yorkshire. 1887.
• The Players : A Social History of the Professional Cricketer. Sissons, R. Sydney, 1987.
• The Black Lords of Summer. Mallett, Ashley. University of Queensland Press, 2002.
• A Social History of English Cricket. Birley, Derek. Aurum Press, London, 1999.
• Cricket Walkabout. Mulvaney, John and Harcourt, Rex. The MacMillian Company of Australia, South Melbourne. 1988.
• By his own Hand. Frith, David. Random Century Australia, Sydney. 1990.
• ‘Ave A Go Yer Mug! Australian Cricket Crowds from Larrikin to Ocker. Cashman, Richard. Sydney, 1984.
• The Grand Old Ground. Derriman, Phillip. Cassell Australia Limited, North Ryde. 1981.
• The Top 100 and the 1st XI. Derriman, Phillip. The Fairfax Library, Sydney. 1987.
• Australian Cricket Crowds : The Attendance Cycle. Cashman, Richard. University of New South Wales, Sydney. 1990.
• The ABC Guide to Australian Test Cricketers. Smith, Rick. ABC Books, Sydney. 1993.
• Australian Bowlers from Spofforth to Lindwall. Moyes, A.G. Harrap, Sydney. 1953.
• Australian Batsmen from Charles Bannerman to Neil Harvey. Moyes, A.G. Harrap, Sydney, 1954.
• Australian Cricket Annual; A Complete Record of Australian Cricket. 1895/6, 1896/7 and 1897/8. Davis, John C. (editor). Sydney. 1896, 1897 and 1898.

Cricket Autobiographies/Biographies

• With Bat and Ball. Giffen, George. Ward Lock, London, 1898
• Farewell to Cricket. Bradman, Don. Tom Thompson, Sydney, 1994.
• The Larwood Story. Larwood, Harold with Perkins, Kevin. W.H. Allen, London, 1960
• On Top Down Under. Robinson, Ray and Haigh, Gideon. Wakefield Press, 1996
• 10 for 66 and all that. Mailey, Arthur, Phoenix
• Cricket’s Great Families. Meher-Homji, Kersi, Garry Sparke and Associates, Ashburton. 1980
• Cricketing Reminiscences and Personal Recollections. Grace, W.G. London, 1899.
• Seventy One Not Out. Caffyn, W. London, 1899.

Cricket and Sport Anthologies

• The Longest Game : A Collection of the Best Cricket Writing from Alexander to Zavros, from the Gabba to the Yabba. Edited by Buzo, Alex and Grants, Jamie. Mandarin. Melbourne, 1992.
• Six and Out : Stories of Australia’s Cricketing Heroes. Edited by Pollard, Jack. Viking, Melbourne, 1990.
• The Picador Book of Cricket. Edited by Guha, Ramachandra. Picador, London, 2001.
• Cricketers and their Historic Deeds. Gregory, Albert. A Collection of newspaper clippings at Mitchell Library.
• Cuttings and Notes on Cricket. Gregory, Albert. A Collection of newspaper clippings at Mitchell Library.
• 200 Seasons of Australian Cricket. Edited by Hutchison, Garrie and Ross, John. Pan MacMillian Australia, 1997.
• Australian Sport Through Time. Cashman, Richard (senior consultant). Random House, Australia. 1997.
• Sport in History : The Making of Modern Sporting History. Cashman, Richard and McKernan, Michael. Brisbane, 1977.
• The Ashes Captains. Cotter, Gerry. Century Hutchinson, Surry Hills. 1989.

Historical Texts and Records

• Census of NSW – November 1828. Edited by Sainty, Malcolm and Johnson, Keith. Library of Australian History, Sydney, 1985.
• General Return of Convicts in New South Wales 1837. Edited by Butlin, N.G., Cromwell, C.W. and Suthern, K.L. ABGR, Sydney, 1987.
• General Muster and Land and Stock Muster of New South Wales 1822. Edited by Baxter, Carol. ABGR, Sydney, 1988.
• General Muster of New South Wales 1814. Edited by Baxter, Carol. ABGR, Sydney, 1987.
• People Arriving in Australia 1788-1828. Donohue, James Hugh. J.S. Shaw North Publishing, Sydney, 2002.
• The People of Australia 1788-1828. Donohue, James Hugh. J.S. Shaw North Publishing, Sydney, 2001.
• Attorney General and Justice – Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages; Microfilm copies of Registers of Baptisms, Burials and Marriages 1787-1856. The Archives Authority of New South Wales, Sydney, 1984.
• Index to Births, Marriages and Funeral Notices in the Sydney Herald 18th April 1831 to 30th July 1842. Complied by Sainty, Malcolm and Johnson, Keith. Privately Published. Sydney, 1972.
• Family and Local History Sources in the Sydney Area. Edited by Fairs, Jennie and Meadley, Dom. Meadley Family History Services, 1995.
• Australian Federation: The Influence of Economic Interests and Political pressures, Parker, R.S., Historical Studies Vol. 3, No. 13 Nov 1949.
• London : The Biography. Ackroyd, Peter. Chatto and Windus, Great Britain. 2000.
• A History of London. Inwood, Stephen. MacMillian, London. 1998.
• Rising Damp – Sydney 1870-90. Fitzgerald, Shirley. Oxford University Press, Melbourne. 1987.
• The Accidental City : Planning Sydney since 1788. Ashton, Paul. Hale and Iremonger, Sydney. 1993.
• History of Australian Bushranging Part 1. White, Charles. Lloyd O’Neil, Victoria. 1970.
• History of Australian Bushranging Part 2. White, Charles. Lloyd O’Neil, Victoria. 1970.
• Frank Gardiner : Bushranger to Businessman 1830 to 1940. Morrison, Alec. John Willey and Sons, Queensland. 2003.
• A History of Australia IV. 1851-1888. Clark, C.M.H. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne. 1980.
• A Shorter History of Australia. Blainey, Geoffrey. William Heinemann Australia, Melbourne. 1994.
• Edmund Barton. Bolton, Geoffrey. Allen and Unwin, St Leonards, Sydney. 2000.
• The Oxford History of Australia : Volume 3 - 1860 to 1900. Kingston, Beverley. Oxford University Press, Melbourne. 1988.
• The Royal Australian Navy Historical Naval Events Year by Year. Lind, Lew. Reed Books Pty Ltd. 1982.

Internet Sites

Convict Information Sites

http://www.shoal.net.au/~whybrow/convicts.htm
http://www.members.iinet.net.au/~perthdps/convicts/confem46.html

British Judiciary

http://www.oldbaileyonline.com

Census Information and Records

http://www.records.nsw.gov.au

Miscellaneous Sites

http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au


Family Member Interviews

• The Hon. Mr Rae Else-Mitchell – (Dave Gregory’s grandson).
• Mr John Chapman (Ned Gregory’s Great grandson)
• Dr Bruce Chapman (Ned Gregory’s Great Great grandson)

Journal Articles

• The Rise and Fall of the Australian Club 1822-1868. Cashman, Richard. Sporting Traditions, Vol. 5. November, 1988.
• Cricket in the Doldrums : The Struggle between Private and Public Control of Cricket in the 1880s. Montefiore, David. Australian Society for Sports History No. 8. 1992.
• Cricket and Australian Nationalism in the Nineteenth Century. Mandle, W.F. Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, 59, December, 1973.

Newspapers

• Age (Melbourne)
• Australasian (Melbourne)
• Argus (Melbourne)
• Australian Star (Sydney)
• Bulletin (Sydney)
• Daily Telegraph (Sydney)
• Evening News (Sydney)
• Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney)
• Truth (Sydney)

Magazines

• Australian Cricket
• Inside Edge

Miscellaneous Sources

• The Making of Australian Consciousness. Malouf, David. The Boyer Lectures. First Broadcast on Radio National, November 15, 1998.
• Australian Test Cricketers, Rick Smith, ABC Books, Sydney 2000.
• Passport to Nowhere, Bernard Whimpress, Walla Walla Press, Petersham, 1999
• The A-Z of Australian Cricketers, Edited by Richard Cashman, Warwick Franks, Jim Maxwell, Erica Sainsbury, Brian Stoddart, Amanda Weaver, Ray Webster, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1997.
• The Wisden Book of Test Cricket 1876-77 to 1977-78. Complied and Edited by Bill Frindall. MacDonald and Jane’s, London, 1978.
• The Oxford Companion to Australian Sport. Edited by Wray Vamplew, Katherine Moore, John O’Hara, Richard Cashman and Ian Jobling. Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1994.
• Sport in the National Imagination. Richard Cashman, Walla Walla Press, Petersham, 2002.

The Gregory Era - Chapter 1

Part 1 - Edward William Gregory

The start of cricket in Australia can be traced right back to the time of the First Fleet. 1787 saw a number of coincidences that were perhaps indicative of the importance that cricket would assume to the future nation of Australia. The year that Arthur Phillip set sail from Portsmouth to become the first Governor also saw the foundation of the Marylebone Cricket Club in England, and Thomas Lord established his first ground in London that would eventually become known as the home of cricket. It is likely that many of the early immigrants, both voluntary and otherwise, had played a version of cricket in their native England, and they introduced the game to Australia.

The earliest record of cricket being played in Australia occurred on the 8^th of January 1803, when a game of cricket was played between officers and crew of the MHS Calcutta on a field that is now Hyde Park. There are mentions of the game at a schoolboy level as well as other military matches, but it is now believed that the first official club in Sydney was the Australian Cricket Club. In Jack Pollard’s comprehensive history of the game, Australian Cricket 1803-1893 The Formative Years, it is claimed that a group of regimental players formed the Military Cricket Club prior to the Australian Club in 1826, but this appears to be open to interpretation of what constitutes an actual club. Richard Cashman contends, in his article The Rise and Fall of the Australia Club 1826-1868, that the Military Cricket Club did not exist as an independent association, but rather was a combination of varying regiments for one-off specific matches. The Military undoubtedly played cricket in the 1820s and 1830s, but it appears that these were simply teams of players put together for a single game, rather than a formal club with defined membership criteria, a constitution and a financial footing.

Regardless of which club was actually the first, the Australian Club was founded by a group of players following an informal match on the 7 August, 1826. The Australian newspaper reported on this event two days later, but details of the actual game at the Old Race Course, Hyde Park, are very limited. It is known that the club was established in 1826 but, as The Australian reported on the 3 January 1827 that the Australian Club had held its periodical meeting on New Year’s day two days earlier. One of the early members of the Australian Club was Edward Gregory.

The role of the Gregorys in the development of Australia’s national game began on the 28 July 1814, when Edward William Gregory (hereafter referred to as Edward Snr. to avoid confusion with his oldest son whose name was also Edward William), arrived at Port Jackson with his wife Henrietta, their daughter Ann Hannah and three sons Edward, Charles and George. They travelled together on the convict ship the Broxbornebury under the command of Master Thos. Pitcher Jr. The ship embarked from England on the 22 February, 1814 and the voyage occupied a total of one hundred and fifty six days. Henrietta was one of one hundred and twenty female convicts who left England on the ship. Two died during transportation, a figure that was considered acceptable for the time and no doubt helped by the fact that a surgeon travelled with the ship. Henrietta, who was thirty nine at the time of her transportation, had been employed as a domestic servant in London. She was sentenced to serve a total of fourteen years following her conviction on the 16^th of September 1813 at the Old Bailey for “Having forged bank notes in her possession”. Evidently, Henrietta was caught trying to purchase some household items in London with a forged £5 note. Whilst it is not documented in official records, the family story is that Edward was the actual forger of the note, but it was Henrietta who was caught trying to use it. There was insufficient evidence to convict Edward, but Henrietta could not escape transportation. The harsh sentence was not unusual for the time.

Records of Henrietta’s husband Edward are extremely limited, but it is clear that he was not a convict and chose to emigrate voluntarily to Australia with his wife and family. Details of Edward snr. are difficult to extract accurately from official documents, due partially to the poor information from the period, but also as a consequence of the fact that there were three separate men by the name of Edward Gregory in Sydney in the mid 1810s. One arrived to serve a seven year term as a convict on the Coromandel, and another arrived as a free landholder on the Surrey. After this the records become blurred, with simply references to a generic Edward Gregory in official paperwork. The most probable scenario involves Edward snr. working as a labourer in Sydney, as there are references to this during the time that the other two Edward Gregorys would have either been a landowner or serving time on an iron-gang. A few years later the 1822 Muster revealed that labourer was the second most common form of occupation after Government Servants, and is highly likely that Edward snr worked in this role from the time of his arrival.

It is not possible to establish an accurate date of birth for the children of Edward snr. and Henrietta, but it is clear that all four were born in London. Ann’s date of birth is believed to be 1802, Edward’s 1805, Charles three years later in 1808, and George subsequently in 1812. Upon arrival in Sydney, Henrietta was assigned to the Female Factory in Parramatta, even though she lived nearby with her family. The factory had been established in 1804 and was a single long room in which women and girls made rope and span and carded wool. Conditions here were abysmal, with many horror stories of women being chained to each other, or even to animals.

As a married woman, Henrietta was better off than many of the other single women at the Factory. Many women had to take up prostitution to survive, and the system of selection for servants involved the officers and free gentry picking the pretty young women and having them virtually under their total control. It was also a common practice of the time that any free settler could choose to marry a woman at the Factory. The unmarried women were lined up and the man could drop his handkerchief at the foot of the woman of his choice. If she picked it up, the marriage was virtually immediate. Most women took this option, even if they did not know their future husband, as was preferable to remaining in the harsh conditions of the Factory.

The family lived in Sydney for five years before Henrietta died in 1819, and Edward snr. promptly returned to England alone. This left his three young sons to be taken in by the Male Orphanage Institute for care and upbringing, whilst Ann was of an age to live independently. It is pure conjecture to attempt now to guess as to Edward snr.’s reasons for this decision, but it is interesting that Edward snr. chose to travel with Henrietta to Australia following her sentencing in 1813. It is possible that Henrietta used the fact that Edward snr. had been the forger of note that convicted her as a means of ensuring that he came with the family. Convict and shipping records indicate that the entire family was nominally Protestant, but divorce was not available easily to the common person until the late nineteenth century. In spite of this, though, if Edward snr. had been unhappy with the marriage, Henrietta’s conviction and deportation may have been an ideal opportunity for him to sever his ties with the family. Yet Edward snr. did not avail himself of this excuse, and opted to also move across the world with her. What happened to the family between their arrival in 1814 and 1819 is unclear, but the death of his wife Henrietta saw Edward snr.’s remove himself from any further involvement with his children. This departure would tend to support the hypothesis that Henrietta may have been using Edward’s involvement in the forgery as a means of coercing him to support her. Edward snr.’s role in the development of his sons was limited to their early years, but his position as the patriarch of the Gregory family in Australia remains significant. Without his presence in Sydney, it is highly probable that the three boys would have been admitted the Male Orphanage Institute upon their arrival, as was common for children of convict women. Many of these children were forced into crime to survive, and then were often convicted themselves.

The powers of the Governor of New South Wales in the early nineteenth century covered almost all aspects of daily life in the colony. The surviving records maintained by the colonial secretaries attest to this variety of decision making, reflecting a considerable diversity of events. Hannibal Hawkins MacArthur, who married the daughter of Governor King and was the nephew of John MacArthur, served as the Colonial Secretary from February 1820, and his records include an entry on the 8 October, 1823, which referred to a deposit into the Savings Bank as the result of a sale of the effects of parents of orphan children of Edward Gregory snr. It appears that not only did Edward Snr. abandon his children upon his return to England, but that any possessions that they may have had claim to were sold to pay for their care at the Male Orphanage Institute.

Ann Gregory had started work in the colony as a dressmaker and she married a teacher, Joshua Bushell, in 1823. She had maintained contact with her brothers whilst they were in the Male Orphanage. The Colonial Secretary’s papers report that Ann received “payment for the care of child (Edward) by Male Orphanage Institute”. All three of Edward and Henrietta’s sons grew up in the Male Orphanage Institute, and as they came of age were apprenticed out into the care of local tradesmen. Edward, who was approximately fourteen when his mother died, was initially trained as a shoemaker. His brother George later followed him into this profession, whilst Charles became a successful tailor. Edward was fortunate to be able to commence his apprenticeship soon after entering the Institute, as it meant that he had a source of income that limited his need to resort to crime in order to survive. Edward worked as a shoemaker for a number of years, but he changed his career by gaining employment as a school teacher about 1827. Edward’s intellectual capacity had been identified years earlier at the Male Orphanage, as he received a medal for his excellent abilities in reading in January 1821.

Edward played cricket for the Australian Club from early in its history. In contrast to some of the other organizations such as the Amateur Club, established six years later on the 4 September 1832, the majority of the Australian Club members were born in the new colony. Edward was one of only seven original members in the club who were born overseas, but his move to Australia as a child undoubtedly assisted his acceptance. The Australian Club had a number of very influential members, including the editor of The Australian, Francis Stephen, and John Richard Hardy, a Cambridge University graduate who is widely acknowledged as introducing round arm bowling to Australia.

The main records from this period of time were published in the newspapers. Whilst there are references to Edward’s involvement with the club, the earliest mention of his participation in games occurred in September, 1832. A game commenced on the 3 September that year between two teams of fourteen players all from the Australian Club. Thomas Broughton and George Stubbs chose and captained their respective teams in a two day match that ended in an exciting tie. The lack of accurate details surrounding this match make it difficult to assess whether Edward Gregory took part, as he is not mentioned in the scores as published in the Australian newspaper, he is, however, specifically identified as participating in a report of the match.

It was said that Edward was not a gifted player, but he was enthusiastic and showed a capacity, garnered no doubt by his experience in the schooling system, to teach others the basics of the game. He was considered to be only a moderate batsman, but he was counted as one of the best fieldsmen of the day, with a remarkable catching capacity. Edward’s categorization as a far better fielder than batsman tends to be supported by his record. In a game against the Amateur Club on the 29^th of October, 1832, Edward failed to score a run in the Australian Club’s total of 134, being bowled by C. Roberts. He made up for this by taking three catches in the Australian Club victory by an innings and 38 runs, with the Amateur Club being dismissed for 56 and 42. The Australian’s report made specific mention of the fielding standards of the Australian Club, saying the Amateur batsmen “possessed no chance”.

On the 27 May, 1833 Edward played in a match between the ‘Singles’ and the ‘Married’, another match between members of the Australian Club. Whilst the Married team was favoured to prevail, a remarkable innings of 57 not out by J. Rickards led the Singles to an easy win. This was the first time that an individual score in excess of fifty had been recorded in a Sydney match. The precise margin of victory is difficult to determine, as the Australian and the Sydney Herald carried different scorecards and team totals. In either case, Edward’s contribution was not significant, making only 4 in the first innings and 7 in the second.

On the 25 May, 1835 Reverend John McGarrie married Edward to Mary Ann Smith at the Scot’s Church in Elizabeth Street, Sydney. Mary was born in 1817 into a poor family, but she was not the only member of the family to gain fame. Her brother, John Thomas Smith, commonly known as J.T., was described as the ‘Whittington of the South’, a reference to the fact that he rose from his humble background to be elected Mayor of Melbourne on seven occasions, as well as becoming a member of parliament. Edward and Mary had thirteen children over a twenty eight year period. Their children were Eliza (1835), Emma (1837), Edward (1839), Walter (1841), Mary (1843), David (1845), Charles (1847), George (1849), Alice (1851), Albert (1854), Ernest (1857), Arthur (1861), and Louisa (1863).

Around the time as Edward’s wedding, The Australian Club faced a major crisis in its existence. The team lost two successive matches to the Military team, the second by the significant margin of nine wickets, and this prompted widespread recriminations. An intense debate resulted in claims that the side was losing as a consequence of the recent influx of ‘immigrants’ into the side which had been predominantly composed of locally born players. Letters were exchanged in the Australian, on the 10 March 1835 by an individual using the pseudonym of ‘A Player’ that supported the overseas born members, whilst ‘Tom, The Native’ responded in the Sydney Morning Herald on the 12 March 1835 with a harsh rejection of ‘emigrants’.

It is believed that ‘A Player’ was probably H.F. Gisborne, the son of the Member of Parliament for Derbyshire, whilst ‘Tom, The Native’ was Thomas Stubbs, one of the Australian Club’s principal bowlers. This split between the two rival factions of the club was significant and almost disastrous for the future of cricket in Australia. The Australian Club was the major force in Sydney cricket, and if the club had folded completely at this time, it would have been highly detrimental to the growth of the game locally. The division did result in three years of internal wrangling. An attempt was made to form a break-away team of only locally-born players failed, and very few of the overseas players ever played for the club again. It was not until the 1837/38 season that the Australian Club again played regularly. It is significant that the side could only field three players who had previously represented the club, one of whom was the English-born Edward Gregory.

After this split, Edward and the Australian Club reentered Sydney cricket with a match against the Union Club in early January 1838. By all accounts, the unseasoned Australian Club players were greatly outclassed by their rivals. In light of his previous experience, Edward batted at the fall of the first wicket in both innings. Unfortunately, this was of no benefit to the Australian Club as he failed to score in either innings. The Union Club recorded a victory by 64 runs, which was a very large margin in a game in which neither side totaled more than 100 in any of the four innings.

The spirit in which this first game was played led to a follow-up match just afterwards on the 5 February. Edward opened the batting in both innings, but he managed to repeat his efforts of the first game by being bowled for a duck both times. His younger brother George also played for the Australian Club in this match, and he performed slightly better by Edward by scoring 4 not out and 2. The game was much closer than the previous match, but the Union Club won by 17 runs.

A third match between the two clubs took place on the 11 June, 1838, with Union Club again victorious, this time by six wickets. The date of this game shows that no cricket season had been established, with games being played in both summer and winter. Edward dropped down the order to the fall of the fifth wicket, and scored 3 and 6. This is not quite as disastrous as it sounds, as only four players reached double figures in the match. One of the most significant features of this game was that the first ever 6 in Sydney cricket was scored. It did not, as may be expected, involve a strike over the boundary fence and was in fact all run. These three games were to form the start of the club’s return to its place as the preeminent side in Sydney cricket, a role it maintained until its demise during the late 1850s and its eventual folding in 1868. Edward continued his association with the club until his move to Wollongong in 1840, but his influence was to be far greater with respect to his children.

Edward was an enthusiastic player for the Australian Club, but it was as a teacher and coach of the game that it appears he was most talented. His early career change from a shoemaker to a teacher was inspired, and he went on to become a master at Cape’s Grammar School in Castlereagh St. This school was opened on the first of April 1824 by Governor Thomas Brisbane under the headmastership of William Cape. Edward joined the school around three years after its opening, by which time William Cape had resigned as headmaster, and had been replaced by his son and namesake, William Cape jr. Edward remained at the school for about thirteen years before moving to Wollongong to continue his career.

The 1841 Census reveals that Edward and his young family were residing in Market St, Wollongong at the Government School House. Edward’s suitability to teaching was underlined by the fact as he was able to successfully impart to his children the skills of the game he himself did not possess in vast quantities. Whilst his involvement with the Australian Club and its vital role in cricket in New South Wales was important, the passing on of his knowledge and skills to his many children remains his critical contribution to Australian cricket.

Edward’s early life was undoubtedly traumatic. Uprooted from his birthplace of England to a foreign country at the age of nine following the conviction and transportation of his mother, the subsequent death of his mother whilst he was still a teenager, his immediate abandonment by his father into the dubious care of the Male Orphanage Institute; these factors could have all easily led to a life of crime and a bitter and twisted individual. The fact that he was able to overcome these initial setbacks to achieve a successful life speaks well of the man that started the Gregory cricketing dynasty. Edward died in Paddington, Sydney in 1879 at the age of approximately 74. His wife Mary lived until 1901, and twenty of their descendents represented New South Wales in a diversity of sports including not only cricket but also athletics, rugby and sailing.

In her poem ‘Old Botany Bay’, Mary Gilmore wrote of the founding of a nation, but the words can apply equally well to Edward Gregory, and his place in Australian cricket history.

I’m old,

Botany Bay;

Stiff in the joints,

Little to say. I am he

Who paved the way

That you might walk

At your ease today.

I am the conscript

Sent to hell

To make the desert

The living well.

I bore the heat.

I blazed the track,

Furrowed and bloody

Upon my back.

I split the rock;

I fell the tree;

The nation was,

Because of me.

The Gregory Era - Introduction

OK, long time between drinks. I have, however, not been completely idle. I decided a while ago to stop writing the shorter profile pieces and instead sink my teeth into something a bit longer. The Gregory family and their contribution to the development of cricket in Australia is the focus of my current cricketing obsession. What follows is the introduction, and I'll also post up chapter one. I am currently around 80,000 words into the project (around 2/3 s finished) - if people enjoy it, I'll keep posting it up.

Cheers,

Stuart

In March 1877, a combined team of cricketers from New South Wales and Victoria took the field against a side of touring Englishmen. Whilst the historical significance of this game was not evident at the time, it is now universally recognised as the first ever Test cricket match. The man elected by his team-mates to lead this united Australian team was David Gregory.

Cricket chronicles many famous families from which multiple members have been chosen to represent their country. In recent years, Australia has produced the Waugh, Lee and Chappell brothers, but the past has also included other famous families such as the Benauds, Harveys, Archers and Bannermans. Possibly Australia’s most famous clan, however, is the Gregorys, whose role in Australian cricket dates back to the start of the game in Sydney. The Gregory family and the development of cricket in the colony of Australia grew hand in hand. Throughout the formative years of first-class and Test cricket, many members of the family played an integral role in assisting Australia to start competing at an international level.

It is indicative of the hold that Sir Donald Bradman has cast over the public in Australia that there are so many biographies of his life, while there remain only limited works dedicated to other highly accomplished cricketers. Three generations of the Gregory family provided four Test representatives, including two captains and Australia’s inaugural Test leader. The contribution of this one family is even more remarkable as there were also another four cricketers who were selected for their state and three representatives in the NSW Women’s team.

It is perhaps symbolic that the final Test match by a member of the Gregory family in 1928 was the also the first by Bradman. The rise of Bradman coincided with the end of the Gregory era, and his feats overshadowed more than one or two other great and worthwhile performers. As an example of this, Charles MacCartney, Australia’s leading batsman in the years between Victor Trumper’s final Test and the emergence of Donald Bradman, had to wait until 2004 until a biography of his life was published. It is important today to recognise that without the pioneering efforts of Gregory family, the development of cricket in Australia would not have progressed as rapidly as it did during its early years, and their contribution has for a long time been underestimated.

Cultural Differences Part II

I commented a while back about the cultural differences between our countries (Cultural Differences in Cricket) , and how this could possibly lead to the problems we are sadly seeing now. At the time I was thinking mostly of on-field behaviour (i.e. sledging versus team appealing), however, I have been thinking recently about off-field cultural differences as well.

I am probably being overly simplistic in this viewpoint, but in the past few decades the three teams that most often threaten legal action are Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan. In contrast, I don't remember the West Indies making similar legal threats to try and win a point. Is this a cultural difference? Is legal action very commonplace as a threat in India etc? Legal action in sport in Australia is fairly rare - I don't know about other countries.

Is this another example of the cultural differences between our respective countries? I am not trying to start an argument about who is right or wrong, and this isn't particularly to do with the recent sagas. It is more an opportunity for us to explore whether this is another one of the issues that sees both sides misunderstanding the motives of the other.

Project Snow

Apologies for the delay in updating the blog - real life and laziness gets in the way :).

Many people may not be familiar with Project Snow, or how close world cricket came to a serious split. This summary of Project Snow is written based upon the information provided in Graham Halbish’s book, Run Out. As such, the information must be considered in light of any potential biases as there is no ‘other side’ to the story.

In 1996, there was potentially a major schism in the world of cricket. The ICC was starting to show major cracks in its supposed united front, with the entire structure under review. The sub-continent teams had been making a significant, and to be fair, overdue, claim for the England/Australia dominated council to be more equitable. However, as with any process of change, there were egos and powerplays on both sides that were preventing a suitable compromise to be reached. The running of the World Cups and the lucrative sponsorship and television rights made for some very interesting politics.

In 1996, the ICC chairman was Sir Clyde Walcott. He expressed his frustration with the role, feeling that it had become non-cricket related and focused primarily upon legal arguments from the various individual countries who were all more interested in feathering their own nest than the good of the game. Walcott’s term was up, and the voting process to replace him became a farce. It was this election, and the associated political games, that prompted Australia, West Indies, England and New Zealand to devise a plan that was eventually called ‘Project Snow’.

Interestingly, Australia did not see the sub-continent as having caused the problem, but rather South Africa. India put forward Jagmohan Dalmiya their nomination for chairman, whilst Australia nominated Malcolm Gray. As expected, the sub-continent supported the nomination of Dalmiya, whilst England, West Indies and New Zealand support Gray. South Africa initially indicated they supported Australia’s nomination. However, Ali Bacher, who was the managing director of the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA), then started playing both sides off against each other. After many years in the wilderness, South Africa were starting to try and flex their political muscles. The Australian camp were not upset with the Indian nomination of Dalmiya, or the support from Pakistan and Sri Lanka. That was expected. However, South Africa’s games had thrown the whole process into turmoil. The Indians didn’t know if they could rely on South Africa, and neither did Australia. In the end, South Africa abstained and the vote was tied at 4-4. This failure to arrive at a clear decision was a disaster, with legal challenges and complaints being thrown by both sides.

Australia, England, West Indies and New Zealand now realized that South Africa could easily jump into bed completely with the sub-continent. The cricketing boards of the four countries were particularly dismayed at the way South Africa were acting, and they agreed to examine their options. The job was given to Australian Cricket Board CEO Graham Halbish to draw up a plan of series involving Australia, West Indies, England and New Zealand. It was recognized that there was significant money in India, however, without the big drawcards of Australia, England and West Indies (who were not yet on the slippery slope to oblivion they are now), it was felt unlikely that the sub-continent could survive on their own for long. At that time, the biggest tours for Australia were England and West Indies, and the proposed program saw them each touring Australia once every three years.

This plan, code named Project Snow, was presented to the CEOs of the England, West Indies and New Zealand boards. Incidentally, the name Project Snow came from ICC CEO David Richards, even though he knew nothing about it. Information was sought from Richards about an issue, and he advised them that he was snowed into his house, and nothing was as important as his ‘Project Snow’ of shoveling tons of the white stuff off his driveway. They then decided to use this innocent comment as the code-name for their plan. Thankfully, common sense eventually prevailed and Sir John Anderson, the New Zealand representative, was able to come up with a solution to the issue of chairmanship of the ICC that prevented the plan going any further.

It is a bit scary to consider how close the cricketing world came to a disastrous split, and we hope that the ICC can start showing some leadership and less partisanship in order to ensure that all countries and people are equally represented.

The Sub-Continent is the hardest place the bat (or why Hussey is the greatest)

The Sub-Continent is clearly the hardest place in the world to bat. Of the batsmen with the top six averages of all time (for players with over twenty tests), only Hussey has managed to conquer the sub-continent. Bradman, Pollock, Sutcliffe and Paynter all failed to score a single run away from home against India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka or even the lowly Bangladesh. Headley did managed to atleast get off the mark in the sub-continent, but ended up with a combined away average of a dismal 2 against all four of the sub-continental teams. This is in sharp contrast to Hussey, who averages over 80 in the sub-continent. It is clear from these statistics that the sub-continent is easily the hardest place to get a great batting record, and as such, Hussey’s record just underlines the fact he is the greatest batsman of all time.

Happy new year everyone!