Arthur Gilligan
Encyclopedia
Arthur Edward Robert Gilligan (23 December 1894 in London
– 5 September 1976 in Pulborough
, Sussex
) was an English
cricket
er who played for Cambridge University
, Sussex
, Surrey
and England.
He captained England on nine occasions, winning four, losing four and drawing once. His brother Harold Gilligan
captained England in four later Test match
es, making them the only brothers to have captained England.
In 1924, he and his county colleague Maurice Tate
had great success as England's opening attack against South Africa. Gilligan took 6/7 and Tate 4/12 on his Test debut, as the visitors were dismissed for 30 in just 12.3 overs in the first innings of the First Test, played at Edgbaston. Gilligan could take much credit for Tate's success as well as his own, as in 1922 he had spotted the then off-spinning all-rounder's potential as a fast-medium bowler.
As well as being a useful lower-middle order batsman, good enough to make 12 first-class centuries, at this stage of his career Gilligan was bowling genuinely fast. But in a match during that 1924 season he was hit over the heart when batting. He was badly hurt but carried on playing, and in the second innings made 112 in 90 minutes. Afterwards he was never able to bowl truly fast again, and was reduced to being a change bowler.
Gilligan was Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1924, having completed the double
the previous season. He took 100 wickets in a season three times and reached 1,000 runs in a season twice.
During World War I
he served as a captain with the 11th Battalion of the Lancashire Fusiliers
. During World War II
he was a physical trainer with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
. In the 1930s he was a member of Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists
.
After he retired from playing, Gilligan became a popular radio commentator, forging a partnership with renowned Australia
n commentator Vic Richardson
. In 1967 he was President of the Marylebone Cricket Club
.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
– 5 September 1976 in Pulborough
Pulborough
Pulborough is a large village and civil parish in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England, with some 5,000 inhabitants. It is located almost centrally within West Sussex and is south west of London. It is at the junction of the north-south A29 and the east-west roads.The village is near the...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who played for Cambridge University
Cambridge University Cricket Club
Cambridge University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team. It now plays all but one of its first-class cricket matches as part of the Cambridge University Centre of Cricketing Excellence , which includes Anglia Ruskin University...
, Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
, Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
and England.
He captained England on nine occasions, winning four, losing four and drawing once. His brother Harold Gilligan
Harold Gilligan
Alfred Herbert Harold Gilligan was a cricketer who played for Sussex and England. Gilligan captained England on their four-Test tour of New Zealand in 1929-30, which England won 1-0...
captained England in four later Test match
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
es, making them the only brothers to have captained England.
Maurice Tate
Maurice William Tate was a Sussex and England cricketer of the 1920s and 1930s and the leader of England's Test bowling attack for a long time during this period...
had great success as England's opening attack against South Africa. Gilligan took 6/7 and Tate 4/12 on his Test debut, as the visitors were dismissed for 30 in just 12.3 overs in the first innings of the First Test, played at Edgbaston. Gilligan could take much credit for Tate's success as well as his own, as in 1922 he had spotted the then off-spinning all-rounder's potential as a fast-medium bowler.
As well as being a useful lower-middle order batsman, good enough to make 12 first-class centuries, at this stage of his career Gilligan was bowling genuinely fast. But in a match during that 1924 season he was hit over the heart when batting. He was badly hurt but carried on playing, and in the second innings made 112 in 90 minutes. Afterwards he was never able to bowl truly fast again, and was reduced to being a change bowler.
Gilligan was Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1924, having completed the double
Double (cricket)
A cricketer is said to achieve the double if he scores a thousand or more runs and also takes a hundred or more wickets in first-class matches during the course of a single season. The feat is extremely rare outside England because of the smaller number of first-class matches played in most other...
the previous season. He took 100 wickets in a season three times and reached 1,000 runs in a season twice.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he served as a captain with the 11th Battalion of the Lancashire Fusiliers
Lancashire Fusiliers
The Lancashire Fusiliers was a British infantry regiment that was amalgamated with other Fusilier regiments in 1968 to form the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.- Formation and early history:...
. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he was a physical trainer with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve consists of a number of groupings of individual military reservists for the management and operation of the Royal Air Force's Air Training Corps and CCF Air Cadet formations, Volunteer Gliding Squadrons , Air Experience Flights, and also to form the...
. In the 1930s he was a member of Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists
British Union of Fascists
The British Union was a political party in the United Kingdom formed in 1932 by Sir Oswald Mosley as the British Union of Fascists, in 1936 it changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists and then in 1937 to simply the British Union...
.
After he retired from playing, Gilligan became a popular radio commentator, forging a partnership with renowned Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n commentator Vic Richardson
Vic Richardson
Victor York Richardson OBE was a leading Australian sportsman of the 1920s and 1930s, captaining the Australian cricket team and the South Australian Australian rules football team, representing Australia in baseball and South Australia in golf, winning the South Australian state tennis title and...
. In 1967 he was President of the Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
.