140 Facts About Charlie Macartney

Charles George Macartney was an Australian cricketer who played in 35 Test matches between 1907 and 1926.

Charlie Macartney was known as "The Governor-General" in reference to his authoritative batting style and his flamboyant strokeplay, which drew comparisons with his close friend and role model Victor Trumper, regarded as one of the most elegant batsmen in cricketing history.

Charlie Macartney made his Test debut in 1907, primarily as a left arm orthodox spinner who was considered to be a useful lower-middle order right-hand batsman.

Charlie Macartney reclaimed his Test position and made his maiden Test century in the same season, before establishing himself as the leading batsman in the team.

The First World War stopped all first-class cricket and Charlie Macartney enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force.

Charlie Macartney produced an Australian record score in England of 345 against Nottinghamshire.

Charlie Macartney reached 300 in 205 minutes and the innings took less than four hours.

Charlie Macartney topped the batting averages and run-scoring aggregates, which saw him named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1922.

Charlie Macartney became the second Australian to score a century in the first session of a Test match, and did so on a sticky wicket conducive to bowling.

Charlie Macartney was posthumously inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2007.

Charlie Macartney's flair was compared to that of Victor Trumper, and his determination to that of Don Bradman, who is generally regarded as the finest batsman in cricketing history.

Charlie Macartney's style was quite different from that of Trumper, but he generated fascination with his Trumper-like daring and supreme confidence.

Charlie Macartney's success was largely attributed to his eye, hand and foot co-ordination.

Charlie Macartney was known for preferring his team-mates to give him candid criticism rather than praise.

Fingleton noted that, early in his innings, Charlie Macartney had a strategy of aiming a shot straight at the bowler's head, in order to rattle him and seize a psychological advantage.

Charlie Macartney selected the heaviest bat from the batch that his team-mate brought out and stated "Now I'm going to have a hit".

Charlie Macartney possessed powerful hands, strong forearms and broad shoulders.

Charlie Macartney's batting suggested a racket player who hits winners from any position.

Charlie Macartney was known for his consistent length and his well-concealed faster ball which often caught batsmen off guard.

Charlie Macartney was known for his miserly attitude, often giving the impression that he would rather bowl ten consecutive maidens rather than take wickets if it meant conceding runs.

Charlie Macartney regularly practised on the Trumper family's backyard turf pitch.

Under Trumper's influence, Charlie Macartney became more audacious and adventurous; Unlike their English counterparts, the Australians were proud of their spontaneous play.

Charlie Macartney revered Trumper as both a cricketer and a person, and was to be a pall bearer when Trumper died in 1915 at the age of 37.

However, unlike Trumper, Charlie Macartney was known for his habit of "walking", the act of leaving the ground before or contrary to an umpire's decision if a batsman knows that he is out.

On one occasion, Charlie Macartney felt so guilty that the umpire had incorrectly ruled him not out despite a clear edge that he attempted to throw his wicket away with a wild airborne shot.

Charlie Macartney was born on 27 June 1886 in West Maitland, New South Wales.

Charlie Macartney was taught to play cricket as a child by his maternal grandfather George Moore, a slow roundarm bowler who represented New South Wales in three first-class matches against Victoria.

Charlie Macartney asserted that school cricket was insignificant in his development, believing that he learned more about cricket during informal summer cricket games with his brother at the local park, with their dog acting as a fielder.

Charlie Macartney was known for his dominant status at the Chatswood Oval.

Charlie Macartney then scored 70 not out in an innings triumph over South Australia.

Charlie Macartney failed to pass 25 in his remaining four matches for the season, but took at least one wicket in each game.

Charlie Macartney scored 185 runs at 26.43 and took 15 wickets at 28.20 in six matches.

Charlie Macartney continued his rise with a more productive and consistent second season with both the ball and bat.

Charlie Macartney took wickets in each match; he ended the season with 405 runs at 40.50, with two further fifties, and took 30 wickets at 18.20 in nine matches.

Charlie Macartney had a chance to stake his claim for national selection in a match for his state against the tourists.

Charlie Macartney made 9 and 13, unbeaten in both innings, as his partners were dismissed cheaply and left him stranded.

Charlie Macartney was viewed as a utility player, selected for the flexibility in his batting position and his left arm orthodox spin.

Charlie Macartney bowled three wicketless overs in the first innings, before scoring 35 in Australia's reply while batting at No 7.

Charlie Macartney took one wicket, that of leading English batsman Wilfred Rhodes.

Charlie Macartney's batting was largely ineffectual in the last two Tests; he failed to score more than 30 in any innings as he was moved to No 8 and then back to the opening position in the Fifth Test.

Charlie Macartney scored 524 runs at 27.58 and took 25 wickets at 28.76 in 12 matches.

Charlie Macartney then scored 100 in the return match, and ended the six matches of the summer with 319 runs at 53.17 and nine wickets at 29.89.

Charlie Macartney totalled 17 wickets at 15.18 and scored 141 runs at 28.20.

Charlie Macartney then scored five and was wicketless as Australia levelled the series with a nine-wicket win in the Second Test.

Charlie Macartney then scored 124, his only century of the tour, in a non-first-class match against Western Union.

Australia had struggled to post 188 in their first innings on a pitch conducive to spin bowling, with Charlie Macartney scoring only four.

Australia responded with a dual spin attack, with Noble bowling off spin in tandem with Charlie Macartney's left arm orthodox.

Charlie Macartney bowled with a high trajectory, tempting the batsmen to attack him and then varied his bowling speed to surprise them.

Charlie Macartney had Jack Sharp stumped after luring him from the crease and bowled Jack Hobbs with a faster ball.

Australia went on to win by 126 runs after Charlie Macartney took four more wickets in the second innings, removing MacLaren, Tyldesley, Rhodes and Barnes to help dismiss the hosts for 87.

Charlie Macartney made two fifties, but otherwise failed to pass 20 and ended with 153 runs at 19.13.

At this stage of his career, Charlie Macartney was regarded as a bowling all-rounder.

Charlie Macartney was only eighth on the batting averages for the tour, with 503 first-class runs at 16.77, but took 71 wickets at an average of 17.46 in eight matches.

Charlie Macartney ended with 17 wickets at 17.53 and scored 132 runs at 22.00.

However, the season went downhill from there; Charlie Macartney failed to pass 30 in the next ten innings and took only three wickets in the next six matches.

Charlie Macartney's omission was part of the most infamous disputes in Australian cricket history and led to a fracas.

Charlie Macartney scored 300 runs at 27.27 and took nine wickets at 32.78 in eight first-class matches for the season.

Charlie Macartney wrote later that "persistent ill-feeling seriously affected the morale of the side".

Charlie Macartney then toured England for the 1912 Triangular Test Tournament, which included South Africa.

Charlie Macartney was not in the original touring party, but six senior players including Hill and vice-captain Warwick Armstrong and leading batsman Victor Trumper withdrew from the tour due to a dispute with the board.

Charlie Macartney scored 84 but the tourists started on a bad note, losing to Nottinghamshire.

Charlie Macartney then scored 127 against Northamptonshire, 208 against Essex, 123 and 25 not out against Surrey and 74 against the Marylebone Cricket Club in four consecutive matches.

Up to this point, Charlie Macartney had only claimed a solitary wicket.

Charlie Macartney made 21 in an innings victory and did not bowl.

Charlie Macartney's batting waned in the next seven tour matches, passing 50 only three times in ten innings.

Charlie Macartney then scored 99 in a drawn Test against England at Lord's that did not reach the second innings.

Charlie Macartney added half-centuries in consecutive county matches and after three further matches without passing 21, the Tests resumed.

The next Test against England was then washed out in the first innings; Charlie Macartney neither batted nor bowled.

Charlie Macartney scored 2,207 runs during the tour at an average of 45.04.

Charlie Macartney made six centuries, including two in one match against Sussex.

Apart from his 99 at Lord's, Charlie Macartney did not pass 34 in the other Tests and ended with 197 runs at 32.83.

Charlie Macartney did not bowl heavily during the series, taking six wickets at 23.66.

Charlie Macartney was one of only four players to accept the guaranteed tour fee of 400 pounds; the others signed up to a percentage share of the profits and the commercial failure of the tour left them with less than half of the flat fee.

Charlie Macartney made the most centuries and the highest individual score of 186 against a combined Canada and United States team.

Charlie Macartney played in only five first-class matches and scored two centuries in these fixtures.

Charlie Macartney had another prolific season with the bat; in six matches he scored 892 runs at 111.50 in nine innings.

Charlie Macartney scored 201 in an innings victory over Victoria, four other centuries including a 195, and two fifties.

Charlie Macartney's bowling became more sporadic, taking just 11 more wickets, averaging 32.

Charlie Macartney then scored 96 and 30 for an Australian XI against the tourists in a dress rehearsal for the Tests.

Australia's new post-war skipper Warwick Armstrong felt that Charlie Macartney would be more effective at number three, and in the second innings, he made a free-flowing 69 in a 111-run second-wicket stand with Herbie Collins as Australia went on to inflict a 377-run defeat.

Charlie Macartney returned for the Fifth and final Test, where he recorded his highest Test innings of 170 on his home ground, the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Charlie Macartney has amassed 821 runs at 68.42 for the season.

Charlie Macartney scored 87 against Surrey, 51 against Combined Services and 77 against Oxford University in the next seven matches leading up to the start of the Tests, with a total of 539 runs at 53.90 under his belt.

Charlie Macartney made 20 in the first innings and was unbeaten on 22, playing as an opener, as Australia completed a ten-wicket win in the First Test.

Charlie Macartney scored 149, in an Australian innings noted for elegant strokeplay and big hitting, after managing only 31 and eight in the eight-wicket win in the Second Test, hit three consecutive centuries.

Charlie Macartney took only 135 minutes and hit 31 fours as Australia added more than 300 in just over two hours of batting.

Charlie Macartney had an inauspicious start to the day, coming to the crease after the dismissal of Warren Bardsley with only one run scored.

Charlie Macartney attacked immediately and was dropped in the slips when on nine runs.

The missed chance further emboldened Charlie Macartney, who had a philosophy that being dropped was a signal that it was his day to shine.

Charlie Macartney proceeded to exhibit his full repertoire of strokes.

Charlie Macartney kept his promise, adding his next 100 runs in only 48 minutes to reach 300 in 198 minutes.

Charlie Macartney had a quiet time over the next month, passing fifty only once in the next eight innings in seven matches.

Charlie Macartney ended his wicket-taking drought, claiming six in three matches after almost two months without success.

Charlie Macartney returned to form with 72 against Warwickshire and 155 in the next match against Kent.

Charlie Macartney did not take a wicket in the Tests.

Charlie Macartney then scored 121 against Gloucestershire in an innings victory immediately after the Tests, but did not pass 45 in the remaining four matches of the tour.

Charlie Macartney topped the batting aggregates and averages with 2,317 runs at 59.41 in the first-class matches.

Charlie Macartney took only eight wickets at 32.63 for the entire tour.

Wisden stated that Charlie Macartney was "by many degrees the most brilliant and individual Australian batsman of the present day".

Charlie Macartney warmed up with 135 in a victory over Natal.

The cricket writer Jack Pollard described Charlie Macartney's hitting as "powerful, almost arrogant".

Charlie Macartney then scored 59 and 116 in an aggressive display in the First Test in Durban, which was drawn, with the hosts hanging on with only three wickets in hand.

Charlie Macartney bowled three of his victims and removed Billy Zulch twice.

Charlie Macartney finished the Test series with seven wickets at 14.86.

Charlie Macartney totalled 492 runs at 70.28 and 14 wickets at 17.14 for the tour, against topping the batting averages.

Charlie Macartney totalled 350 runs at 29.16 and 12 wickets at 12.16 in eight matches for the season.

Charlie Macartney scored 174 runs at 21.75 and took seven wickets at 21.14 in four matches before his state embarked on a tour of New Zealand.

Charlie Macartney struck form immediately, scoring 80 and 120 in the opening match against Wellington.

Charlie Macartney followed this with 100,120 against Otago and 221 in the next match against Canterbury, all in consecutive innings.

Charlie Macartney made only two and seven in the remaining first-class matches, and ended with 13 wickets at 20.92.

Charlie Macartney played in only two first-class matches in the early stages of the season, scoring 11 runs at 3.66 and taking five wickets at 23.40.

Charlie Macartney then scored 84 and 28 to help the Rest of Australia defeat the national team by 156 runs.

Charlie Macartney then scored two centuries as New South Wales won all four of their Sheffield Shield matches, three by an innings.

Up to this point, Charlie Macartney had scored 582 runs at 72.75 and taken 20 wickets at 20.30.

Charlie Macartney's wickets included batsmen Bill Woodfull, Bill Ponsford, Jack Ryder and all rounder Hunter Hendry, who played alongside him in the 1926 Tests.

Unlike the previous tour in 1921, Charlie Macartney was prominent with the ball.

Charlie Macartney's victims included English Test batsmen Jack Hobbs and Percy Fender.

In nine matches before the First Test, Charlie Macartney scored 379 runs at 42.11 and took 30 wickets at 13.20.

Charlie Macartney then scored 133 not out in the second innings, to help to stave off defeat.

Charlie Macartney teased the fielders with deliberate deflections through the slips; his late cuts were described by Raymond Robertson-Glasgow as being "so late they are almost posthumous".

Charlie Macartney's attack helped his partner Bill Woodfull to settle in the difficult conditions.

Charlie Macartney saved his severest hitting for George Macaulay, a medium pace swing bowler and off spinner whom he regarded as England's most potent bowler.

Charlie Macartney had asked for and received permission from captain Herbie Collins to target Macaulay's bowling.

Charlie Macartney's confidence was such that he charged down the pitch to meet the medium pace bowlers, a dangerous tactic on a surface with erratic bounce.

Charlie Macartney reached 40 in as many minutes as Australia's total reached 50.

Australia reached 100 in only 79 minutes with Charlie Macartney contributing 83 of those runs.

Charlie Macartney reached his century in 103 minutes with the tourists on 131.

Charlie Macartney's innings allowed Australia to accumulate a healthy first innings total of 494.

Charlie Macartney then made 106 in a non-first-class match against the West of Scotland, before hitting 109 in the Fourth Test at Old Trafford in a rain-affected draw; the match failed to reach the second innings.

Charlie Macartney's form tailed off thereafter; in the following six weeks, he made only one score beyond 40 in 11 innings and took only three wickets in nine matches.

Charlie Macartney topped the batting averages with 473 runs at 94.60 and took four wickets at 53.75.

Charlie Macartney returned to form in the final first-class fixture of the season with an unbeaten 100 against and England XI.

Charlie Macartney had taken part in twelve Test century partnerships, the highest being 235 with Woodfull in the Leeds Test.

Charlie Macartney scored 126 and Bradman 98 in a match viewed as a generational transition in Australian batting.

Charlie Macartney scored 114 in his opening first-class match of the season, and took wickets in each of his four matches.

Charlie Macartney totalled 243 runs at 40.50 and took 11 wickets at 17.82.

Charlie Macartney married Anna Bruce, a schoolteacher, at Chatswood Presbyterian Church in December 1921.

Charlie Macartney wrote for several Sydney newspapers, and between 1936 and 1942 regularly produced pieces for the Sydney Morning Herald.

Charlie Macartney died of coronary occlusion while at work in Little Bay, New South Wales, aged 72.

In February 2007, Charlie Macartney was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame along with Richie Benaud, making them the 26th and 27th inductees.