25 Facts About George Lohmann

George Alfred Lohmann was an English cricketer, regarded as one of the greatest bowlers of all time.

George Lohmann holds the record for the lowest strike rate in all Test history.

George Lohmann bowled at around medium pace and on English pitches of his time could gain spin, so that when rain affected the pitch he was unplayable.

George Lohmann was the finest slip fielder of his time and in county cricket a hard-hitting batsman who scored two centuries for Surrey and averaged 25 in 1887.

In 2016, George Lohmann was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

George Lohmann played in a few colts matches at the beginning of 1884, and impressed sufficiently to play ten first-class cricket for Surrey that season.

George Lohmann did little bowling but nonetheless established himself as a regular member of the side for his promising batting.

George Lohmann showed his promise as a batsman was no fluke, for he scored 571 runs.

In 1886, George Lohmann did equally well and played his first Test matches for England against Australia.

George Lohmann took only one wicket at Old Trafford, and none at Lord's, but his continued superb form in other first-class matches saw him retained for the last match at The Oval.

Again being the leading first-class wicket-taker, George Lohmann was chosen to tour Australia with Alfred Shaw's team.

On his first tour, George Lohmann moved even further ahead of the pack as a bowler.

George Lohmann made his highest score as a batsman, scoring 115 against Sussex at Hove, whilst his aggregate of runs for the season totalled 843.

In 1888, a summer as wet as 1887 had been dry, George Lohmann took full advantage of the dreadful pitches on which most matches were played, taking 209 wickets for only 10.90 each, including 142 in 14 county matches.

In 1889, George Lohmann again took over 200 wickets and took nine wickets in an innings for the first time against Sussex.

George Lohmann continued to carry all before him in 1890, taking a career-best 220 wickets and being the leading wicket-taker outside of touring teams for the sixth successive season.

In 1891, George Lohmann was the leading English wicket-taker for the seventh successive year with 177 wickets as Surrey carried all before them in a wet summer, and on the following winter's Australian tour, he again bowled wonderfully well, taking eight for 58 on a dry wicket in Sydney.

In 1892, with Surrey still crushing all opposition in the County Championship race, George Lohmann "suffered only by comparison with previous years".

George Lohmann surprisingly ceded the position of Surrey's chief bowler to the emergent William Lockwood who took full advantage of Oval pitches being extremely fiery and untrue due to reconditioning of the square, but it still seemed as though Lohmann had many years of county and Test cricket ahead of him.

In 1896, George Lohmann began to play for Surrey at the end of May, and, though he took 93 wickets and helped Richardson to put Australia out for 53 on a good wicket at Lord's, it was thought he had not come up to expectations.

George Lohmann continued to play for Surrey that August, but at the end of the season his health again degenerated and had to return to South Africa, and a continuation of the 1896 pay dispute caused Lohmann to retire from his English career for good.

George Lohmann is the fastest Test bowler to reach 100 wickets, taking just 16 matches.

George Lohmann holds the record for the most Test matches in a complete career where a player bowled in both innings.

George Lohmann emigrated to the British Cape Colony permanently in 1897 and played a full season of first-class cricket for Western Province.

George Lohmann did come back to England in 1901 to manage the second South African touring team.