51 Facts About Warwick Armstrong

Warwick Windridge Armstrong was an Australian cricketer who played 50 Test matches between 1902 and 1921.

Warwick Armstrong was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2000.

Warwick Armstrong was a large man and was known as the "Big Ship".

Warwick Armstrong was not a stylish batsman but his strokeplay was effective, with a sound defence and temperament.

Warwick Armstrong bowled leg spin with a gentle action and while not a big turner of the ball, he relied on accuracy to dismiss opponents.

Warwick Armstrong made his Test debut in 1902 against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and was selected to tour England later that year where he was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year.

Warwick Armstrong was involved in several altercations with cricket administrators and was one of the "Big Six" who boycotted the 1912 Triangular Tournament in England after a dispute with the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket.

Warwick Armstrong was born in the rural Victorian town of Kyneton in 1879, the eldest son of John and his wife Amelia.

The Warwick Armstrong family moved to Melbourne in 1880, settling in the inner suburb of Emerald Hill, Victoria.

Warwick Armstrong attended Cumloden School, a respected sporting member of the Schools Association, a group of smaller private schools in Melbourne.

Warwick Armstrong joined the nearby Caulfield Cricket Club and played in a senior premiership with the club at the age of 15.

Warwick Armstrong was selected to represent Victoria against Tasmania in Hobart in January 1899, as one of seven in the squad making their first-class cricket debuts.

Warwick Armstrong played in the remaining Tests in the series, narrowly heading the averages with 159 runs at an average of 53, and Australia went on to win comfortably by four matches to one.

Warwick Armstrong was selected as part of the Australian cricket team to tour England in 1902.

Warwick Armstrong started the tour well, taking eight for 47 in the second innings against Nottinghamshire, his best bowling figures to that date.

Warwick Armstrong was tormented by Rhodes, who dismissed him eight times in ten meetings for Victoria and Australia that summer.

Warwick Armstrong, finding himself promoted to number five in the batting order, started the tour well with 112 against Nottinghamshire and 248 against Gentlemen of England at Lord's.

Bumbling and taciturn, Warwick Armstrong maintained an accurate line and length, and put a strangle on both England's run-scoring and the crowd's entertainment.

Warwick Armstrong's tactics were ultimately futile, a Stanley Jackson-inspired England winning the series by two Tests to none.

Warwick Armstrong was elected captain of Victoria by his teammates for the match against New South Wales, commencing on New Year's Eve, responding with six for 68 with the ball and then scoring 168 in the second innings as part of a sturdy rearguard effort.

Warwick Armstrong found employment with the Department of Home Affairs and, as a result, declared himself unavailable for the next match against South Australia.

Warwick Armstrong was mortified when he found that he had been included in the team and that the Victorian Cricket Association had approached his employer to ask for leave on his behalf, despite his having explicitly instructed the VCA secretary otherwise.

Warwick Armstrong refused to play and was called to face a disciplinary hearing at the Young and Jackson Hotel.

Warwick Armstrong would suffer relapses throughout the rest of his life.

Warwick Armstrong was appointed captain of an Australian side that toured New Zealand from February to April 1910, partly as recognition of his accomplishments and partly due to the unavailability of other candidates, such as Trumper.

Warwick Armstrong's duties were broadly defined in order to allow him to meet his representative cricket obligations.

Warwick Armstrong nearly missed the second Test in Melbourne with a case of mumps.

Warwick Armstrong chose not to enlist in the military during the war and kept his own counsel on the subject.

Warwick Armstrong continued to work and play cricket for Melbourne Cricket Club, participating in the occasional fund-raising fixture.

Warwick Armstrong was much older than many of his teammates and was the subject of some awe; Gregory describing him as "my ideal cricketer".

Warwick Armstrong marshalled his troops well, utilising Gregory and Ted McDonald to devastating effect.

Smith, looking to cut overheads, had suggested boarding with wealthy cricket devotees; Warwick Armstrong dismissed the idea.

Warwick Armstrong protested to the umpires and England were forced to continue batting.

Warwick Armstrong told his three main bowlers, "I won't ask you not to get a man out, but as long as Mead remains at the wicket we can't be beaten".

On return to Australia, Warwick Armstrong was greeted by large enthusiastic crowds and acclaimed at many public receptions.

Warwick Armstrong resigned from his job with Melbourne Cricket Club and drawing on contacts he had made while on tour took a role as an agent for Dawson's Scotch Whisky.

Warwick Armstrong remained in the liquor trade until his retirement in 1946.

Warwick Armstrong applied his cricket background acting as a cricket journalist for the Sydney Evening News.

Warwick Armstrong's copy was promoted as "frank and fearless" and was generally contemptuous of much of the cricket and cricketers he saw, especially of what he saw as dull cricket.

The couple met while Warwick Armstrong was representing the Melbourne Cricket Club in a match against a Wagga Wagga XV.

Warwick Armstrong's funeral was held at St Joseph's Catholic Church in Edgecliff and proceeded to the South Head Cemetery.

Warwick Armstrong was an all-round sportsman, playing Australian rules football in the winter for South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League, the premier competition in the state, from 1898 to 1900.

Warwick Armstrong played in South Melbourne's losing 1899 VFL Grand Final team defeated by Fitzroy by one point.

Warwick Armstrong, thinking it a manifestation of hero worship, offered to sign the boy's autograph book.

Warwick Armstrong's methods are remarkably effective; they show a most admirable blend of aggression and caution, backed by the right temperament.

Warwick Armstrong's defence is very sound, watchful and painstaking, his strokeplay is limited in its variety, but very sound in its execution.

Warwick Armstrong was tireless as a leg break bowler and was known for his ability to land the ball on any point of the pitch he liked.

Warwick Armstrong's action imparted as much topspin as leg spin, making it difficult for batsman to detect his "straight-breaks".

Warwick Armstrong was renowned for his gamesmanship and was willing to push the boundaries of what was considered acceptable behaviour in order to obtain an advantage for his team.

Warwick Armstrong was not a "walker"; he believed in waiting for the umpire to make a decision, once telling the English cricketer Arthur Gilligan, "The more you play this game, the more you will find out that you will be given out many times when you are not out and vice versa".

The chief offender was Warwick Armstrong, who got very nasty and unsportsmanlike, refusing to accept the umpire's decision.