Cricketer Of The Week <=> 1st Jan to 7 Jan 2012

[Papa_Smurf]

Huh, can't believe I never thought to consider where the Wisden Almarck came from. Great to read - cheers

 

[Ahmad94]

Wow. I never though he founded the Wisden Cricketer Almanack. Di not know about this all-rounder. Great read man. Reps for u

 

[Fenil]

I've added new facts, images and even statistics for article on John Wisden. I hope you guys like it.

 

[RPHKR]

Just looked his stats and other images, nice work on them

 

[Fenil]

Wow. I never though he founded the Wisden Cricketer Almanack. Di not know about this all-rounder. Great read man. Reps for u

You have been a regular reader of the thread. Thanks for your interest buddy.

Reps for u

Really? I can't see any. Joking, right?

 

[Gaurav_7]

Fenil, the recent update is fantastic. Thanks for all the information. Never knew most of those things. And, that bowling average is just amazing!

 

[Shaharyar]

First of all on your presentation & great to know about such legends.Thanks for this Fenil buddy.Thank you so much.

 

[Fenil]

Announcement​

This is to notify all the followers of the thread that I won't be able to update the thread this month as I've exams starting on boxing day. The thread will resume once again in the new year.

 

[sifter132]

Good luck in your exams buddy

 

[VC the slogger]

Wish you best of luck for your exams Fenil.Hope you come up with much better posts after your exams

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Cricketweb has a splendid thread with details on Sydney Barnes not found elsewhere if anyone cares:

SF Barnes - Cricket Web

 

[El Loco]

Wisden was a great cricketer+role model. No wonder the award and the magazine are named after him.

 

[Fenil]

Sid Barnes​

Full name: Sidney George Barnes
Nickname: Bagga, Suicide Sid
Born: June 5, 1916, Annandale, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died: December 16, 1973, Collaroy, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Batting: Right-hand batsman
Bowling: Leg Break
Major Teams: Australia (Test: 1938-1948); New South Wales (1936/37-1952/53)


Sidney George Barnes regarded as one of Australia's finest batsmen in the period immediately following the Second World War was an Australian cricketer and cricket writer, who played 13 Test matches between 1938 and 1948.

Sid Barnes poses for the camera
​

Sidney was born on 5 June 1916 at Annandale, Sydney, third and posthumous son of Alfred Percival Barnes, grazier, by his wife Hilda May, ne Jeffrey, both native-born. Having attended Stanmore Public School, Sid undertook advanced training as a mechanical fitter. He played first-grade cricket for Petersham from 1934 and competed against such established Test players as W. J. (Bill) O'Reilly, showing scant respect for their achievements and brash confidence in his own ability.

He made his first-class debut at the end of the 193637 season when selected for New South Wales and later after one full season for New South Wales, in 1938 Barnes was the youngest player chosen to tour England in the Australian team led by Sir Donald Bradman making his Test dbut in the final international of the series. [/COLOR]

1938 Australian Team, official team photograph, with title '1938 Australian Cricket Team in Great Britain' and players names printed on mount, signed to mount by the entire team, 18 signatures - Don Bradman (Captain), Stan McCabe, Ben Barnett, Arthur Chipperfield, Merv Waite, Sidney Barnes (scarce), Charlie Badcock, 'Chuck' Fleetwood-Smith (faded), Bill Jeanes (manager), Bill O'Reilly, Frank Ward, Jack Fingleton, Ern McCormack, Bill brown, Lindsay Hassett, Charlie Walker, Ted white & Bill Ferguson (scorer)​

Despite missing half the matches because of injury, Barnes managed to score 720 runs (average 42.35) and to play in the fifth Test. In 1940-41 he scored six successive centuries. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 13 May 1942; after dislocating his shoulder, he was discharged on 1 September for service in a reserved occupation. On 11 June that year he had married a schoolteacher Alison Margaret Edward at St Augustine's Anglican Church, Stanmore. Except for coaching tours in the country with Jack Chegwyn, he played little cricket for three years, but scored centuries in five successive matches for New South Wales in 1945-46.

In December 1946 Barnes and Bradman set an Australian Test record of 405 for the fifth wicket in the Sydney Test against W. R. Hammond's touring English team: each of them scored 234, which was to remain Barnes's highest Test score.

Barnes walks after losing his wicket on 234 runs.
​

"It wouldn't be right for someone to make more runs than Sir Donald Bradman" Sid Barnes said after losing his wicket on 234 runs, the same total Bradman made at the SCG Test against England in 1946.

On the resumption of Test cricket after the war, he was picked as the opening partner to Arthur Morris. Sid Barnes was a key member of Donald Bradman's famous Australian cricket team, which toured England in 1948. The team went undefeated in their 34 matches; this unprecedented feat by a Test side touring England earned them the sobriquet The Invincibles. A right-handed opening batsman, Barnes was part of Bradman's first-choice team and played in four of the five Testshe missed one match due to injurypartnering the left-handed Arthur Morris.

On his second tour of England in 1948, Barnes was outstanding: he amassed 1354 runs, averaged 56.41 in all matches and 82.25 in Tests, and scored 141 at Lord's. Competitive and audacious, 'Suicide Sid' was much criticized for fielding at point or short leg, just five yards (4.6 m) from the batsman: at Old Trafford, Manchester, he received a full-blooded stroke in the ribs that sent him to hospital for ten days.

Barnes with a miniature bat​

Barnes had become known as a stormy petrel with a penchant for antagonizing administrators and for humorous displays of disaffection. When an Australian appeal was turned down during the 1948 tour, Barnes gathered up a stray dog and presented it to the umpire with the comment: "Now all you want is a white stick". Moreover, he had been the only player to take his wife to Britain and had returned with a home movie of the tour and shown it around Australia for charity.

Irked by this sort of behavior, the authorities reacted savagely: in 1951-52 the selectors chose Barnes for the third Test against the West Indies, but were overruled by the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket on grounds other than his ability. The matter became a cause clbre after Barnes sued the writer of a letter to the editor of the Daily Mirror (24 April 1952) for damages. At the court hearing, the board's secretary was obliged to produce the minutes of all relevant meetings. The case was settled and in the public eye the board was seen to have acted on such trivial incidents as when Barnes jumped a turnstile at the Melbourne Cricket Ground against an attendant's wishes.


During the 1952-53 season he was passed over for Test selection against the touring South Africans. Named twelfth man for New South Wales in a match against South Australia, Barnes appeared at the drinks interval dressed in a grey suit, complete with red carnation, and carrying a tray with scented spray, a portable radio and cigars. He caused further controversy by criticizing the behaviour of A. L. Hassett's Australian team in England in his book, Eyes on the Ashes (London, 1953), and by his autobiography "It Isn't Cricket"(Sydney, 1953). His cricket career was over: he had scored 8333 first-class runs at an average of 54.11 that included 26 centuries and 37 fifties, while in 13 Tests he amassed 1072 runs at 63.06 hitting 3 hundreds 5 half centuries.

Sid Barnes' Autobiography
​

He published The Ashes Ablaze (London, 1955) and turned to full-time writing, especially for the Daily Telegraph: his attitude and style were critical of players and officials whenever possible. Barnes rarely forgave a slight or forgot a good turn. Stocky, with blue eyes and powerful wrists, he had a passion for physical fitness, and was an enthusiastic big-game fisherman and golfer.

He died on 16 December 1973 at his Collaroy home from barbiturate and bromide poisoning, self-administered; the coroner was unable to determine intent. Survived by his wife, daughter and two sons, Barnes was cremated.

Sid Barnes' Career Statistics

Batting

Bowling

​

 

[Aswin8]

really a legend
love to read it....best of luck for future collections

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also liked the Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji details very much

 

[RPHKR]

Whoa! Great stats!