1. George Gibson Macaulay was a professional English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1920 and 1935.
62 Facts About George Macaulay
1. 2.
George Macaulay played in eight Test matches for England from 1923 to 1933, achieving the rare feat of taking a wicket with his first ball in Test cricket.
3.
George Macaulay left a job at a bank to become a professional cricketer, making his first-class debut aged 23 as a fast bowler.
4.
George Macaulay's form slumped following injuries in the late 1920s, but a recovery in the early 1930s led to a recall by England, although he broke down in his second match back.
5.
George Macaulay's father was a well-known local cricketer, as were his uncles.
6.
George Macaulay was educated at Barnard Castle; in later years, he took teams of famous cricketers to play annual matches against the school eleven.
7.
George Macaulay had been spotted playing club cricket by Sir Stanley Christopherson, a former Kent player.
8.
At the beginning of the 1920 season, George Macaulay played in two warm-up games for Yorkshire, taking six wickets for 52 runs in a one-day game and four for 24 and two for 19 in a two-day game.
9.
Bowling a mixture of medium pace and his new style of off spin, George Macaulay played 27 matches in 1921.
10.
Four more wickets in the second innings gave Yorkshire a big victory and George Macaulay had match figures of ten wickets for 65 runs, the first time he had taken ten wickets in a match.
11.
George Macaulay then came to wider public attention by taking six wickets for three runs to bowl out Derbyshire for 23 runs.
12.
George Macaulay later took ten wickets in the match against Surrey in a losing cause, and in total that season he took 101 first-class wickets at an average of 17.33, placing him third in the Yorkshire bowling averages.
13.
George Macaulay improved his bowling record in 1922, taking more wickets at a lower average, and scoring another century.
14.
George Macaulay took three for 97 out of a total of 430 in one of the most important matches of the season.
15.
George Macaulay took the wicket of George Hearne with his first ball.
16.
George Macaulay was the fourth player to take a wicket with his maiden delivery in Test cricket.
17.
George Macaulay hit the winning run, batting at number eleven, to seal a one-wicket win for England.
18.
George Macaulay played in the remaining three Tests, finishing with 16 wickets at an average of 20.37.
19.
George Macaulay's performances earned him selection as one of Wisden's Cricketers of the Year.
20.
George Macaulay achieved his highest season total of wickets to date, taking 166 at an average of 13.84, and came third in both the Yorkshire and national bowling averages.
21.
In 1924, George Macaulay further increased his total of wickets to 190 and lowered his bowling average to 13.23, placing him first in the national averages.
22.
George Macaulay's batting declined as he scored 395 runs at an average of 11.96.
23.
George Macaulay had been involved in controversy on the field in 1924.
24.
George Macaulay took 211 wickets at an average of 15.48, coming top of the Yorkshire averages.
25.
George Macaulay then delivered a spell of five wickets for eight runs in 33 balls to bowl out his opponents and finish with figures of seven for 67.
26.
George Macaulay was again selected for the Players against the Gentlemen at Lord's, and took five wickets in the match.
27.
George Macaulay bowled fewer overs and took fewer wickets at a higher bowling average; his 134 wickets, at an average of 17.78, placed him second in the Yorkshire averages.
28.
George Macaulay was not chosen for the Gentlemen v Players match, never representing the Players again.
29.
George Macaulay was selected for the third Test against Australia at Headingley, possibly because Arthur Carr, the England captain, expected the pitch to favour spinners.
30.
The Australians were concerned that George Macaulay represented a threat to their batting, but the match did not work out in George Macaulay's favour as a bowler; having been dropped at the start of play, Charlie Macartney played what Wisden called one of the best innings of his career and vigorously attacked the England bowling, achieving the rare feat of scoring a century before the lunch interval.
31.
George Macaulay eventually had Macartney caught after hitting a short ball in the air, but it was George Macaulay's only success in the innings.
32.
George Macaulay conceded 123 runs in 32 overs as Australia scored 494.
33.
When George Macaulay came into bat from number ten in the batting order, England were 182 for eight wickets and facing defeat.
34.
George Macaulay played an attacking innings of 76, hitting ten fours, in a partnership of 108 with George Geary.
35.
Nevertheless, George Macaulay did not play in the final two Tests of the series.
36.
Apart from his batting success in the Test match, George Macaulay scored another two fifties and in the match against Somerset achieved a century.
37.
The effectiveness of the main bowlers was reduced by age and injury; only George Macaulay remained at something approaching his bowling peak.
38.
In 1927, George Macaulay took 130 wickets at an average of 18.26.
39.
In 1927, George Macaulay scored his highest run aggregate and passed fifty six times while hitting 678 runs at an average of 25.11.
40.
George Macaulay improved his batting average in 1928, accumulating 517 runs at 25.85 with four more fifties.
41.
In 1931, George Macaulay slightly increased his haul of wickets from 91 to 97, and his average dropped from 25.12 to 15.75.
42.
George Macaulay achieved his best bowling figures in first-class cricket when he took eight for 21 against the Indian touring side.
43.
George Macaulay bowled more overs than anyone else in the team and passed 100 wickets for the first time since 1929, the tenth and final time he did so, taking 148 wickets at an average of 16.45.
44.
George Macaulay's form won a recall to the Test side after seven years.
45.
George Macaulay took one wicket in the first innings but had figures of four for 57 in the second innings to earn approval from Wisden.
46.
George Macaulay was picked for the second Test but bowled only 14 overs before injuring his foot when fielding; he was unable to take any further part in the game.
47.
George Macaulay did not play in the third Test but was selected in festival game at Scarborough for the team selected from the MCC party which toured Australia in the previous winter.
48.
George Macaulay played instead of an injured player, even though he did not take part in the tour.
49.
George Macaulay only played nine matches, taking 22 wickets at 20.09.
50.
George Macaulay ended his career with 1,837 first-class wickets at an average of 17.65.
51.
George Macaulay took 100 wickets in a season ten times, a record only surpassed by four others for Yorkshire, while only three other Yorkshire bowlers have taken 200 wickets in a season.
52.
George Macaulay then established an athletic outfitting shop in Leeds.
53.
George Macaulay believed that he was owed the balance, and continued his business under that assumption, but Yorkshire had invested the amount and he only received the interest.
54.
The matter arose in court, and when asked why he thought the money would be paid to him, George Macaulay answered: "Because I had earned it".
55.
George Macaulay suggested that he should arrange for the invested money to be paid to his creditors in his will.
56.
George Macaulay secured new employment, and a few days after the hearing it was announced that he would play professional cricket in Wales.
57.
George Macaulay played league cricket in Wales and Lancashire until the Second World War.
58.
George Macaulay generally batted low down in the order after the all-rounders in the team.
59.
George Macaulay was excellent at close range to the batsmen, particularly from his own bowling.
60.
George Macaulay could vary his pace from medium to fast depending on the needs of the match situation and the type of pitch.
61.
George Macaulay knew many tricks to dismiss or unsettle them, including the tactic of bowling the ball straight at their head without pitching, which was usually considered dangerous and unfair.
62.
The Yorkshire Post, after his death, observed: "George Macaulay will always be remembered for the fierceness of his enthusiasm when there was a fighting chance of victory".