Bert Vogler
Encyclopedia
Albert Edward Ernest Vogler (28 November 1876 – 9 August 1946) was a South Africa
n cricketer
.
Vogler was born in Swartwater, Queenstown, Eastern Cape
. He began his cricket career for Natal as an attacking lower order right-handed batsman and fast medium bowler before acquiring the googly
from Reggie Schwarz
on that player’s return from England after the 1904 tour. In the 1904/1905 season Vogler played for Transvaal
before in 1905 coming to England with the intention of qualifying for Middlesex
. Vogler did not fulfill this intention, however, despite bowling so well in 1906 for MCC
that in an exceptionally dry Home Counties summer he took 63 wickets for less than twenty runs apiece, including nine for 44 against the West Indian tourists.
In between these two seasons for MCC, Vogler had played in the 1905/1906 Test series against England and had been extremely difficult against a second-string English team for South Africa, though he had few opportunities because of the form of Schwarz, Jimmy Sinclair
and Tip Snooke
. His batting, however, showed such development that he scored 62 not out going in last. Only Asif Masood
since then has top scored in a Test innings batting at number eleven.
Returning again to South Africa to play for his third domestic team in Eastern Province
, Vogler reached a level that even his exceptional form in 1906 could scarcely have suggested. Not only did he score 505 runs at an average of 36 per innings, but he set a domestic season record with fifty-five wickets in nine games for the amazing average of 10.54. By this time, Vogler had improved upon the methods of Bosanquet
and Schwarz, being able not only to at a faster pace disguise which way he was turning the ball, but to flight it with amazing skill so that it would do things in the air that batsmen could not predict. Against Griqualand West
in the 1906–07 Currie Cup, Vogler put in an all-round performance. Eastern Province batted upon winning the toss, and Vogler second top-scored with 79 to help his team to 403 all out. He then took 6/12 from ten overs as Griqualand West collapsed to 51 all out, and were asked to follow on. In the second innings, Vogler took all ten wickets for 26 runs, and Griqualand West were dismissed for 51 once more. Eastern Province finished as victors by an innings and 301 runs.
Vogler's 10/26 remains (as of March 2009) the best first-class innings return ever achieved in South Africa,
while his match figures of 16/38 have never been beaten for Eastern Province.
In 1907, Vogler went to England with one of the best bowling sides to tour that country, and did exceptionally well in a summer of soft wickets which took all the spin he could get on the ball. Although he did not do as well as Schwarz or Gordon White
in average, Tip Foster
, the great Worcestershire batsman playing semi-regularly for the only time after 1901, thought that Vogler was the most difficult bowler in the world. Vogler was named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1908, and when these statistics were posthumously compiled became the earliest South African to be named a Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World
.
Although Vogler did not play any cricket after this until the 1908/1909 South African season, on the matting pitches the following season he reached his highest point against England with thirty-six wickets in the five Tests for 21.75 each, and fifty-eight for 19.12 in all matches against the tourists. Vogler also hit to that point the fastest fifty in the history of Test cricket, hitting George Thompson
for 22 in a single over.
However, the following season Vogler’s reputation collapsed in surprising fashion. Touring Australia for the first time as a requirement to all for the proposed Triangular Tournament on 1912, Vogler could not cope with the extremely hard Australian pitches which allowed him no bite with which to spin the ball, nor with the instructions of Australia’s captain Warwick Armstrong
to hit the googly bowlers off their length at any cost. So harmless was Vogler that he was left out of two of the Tests and took four wickets in the three he did play - and this in spite of the fact that two games were played on pitches affected by rain. He also failed as a batsman, averaging only nine an innings as against 21 in England in 1907 on much more difficult pitches.
Vogler never recovered from this setback, and indeed was not considered good enough to be selected for the Triangular Tournament tour of 1912. Moving to the British Isles on business, he did however play for a number of clubs in Scotland and Ireland until after World War I
, and played one final first class match for the Woodbrook Club against his old team-mates in 1912.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n cricketer
Cricketer
A cricketer is a person who plays the sport of cricket. Official and long-established cricket publications prefer the traditional word "cricketer" over the rarely used term "cricket player"....
.
Vogler was born in Swartwater, Queenstown, Eastern Cape
Queenstown, Eastern Cape
Queenstown, named after Queen Victoria, is a town in the middle of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, roughly half way in between the towns of Cathcart and Sterkstroom. It is currently the commercial, administrative, and educational centre of the prosperous surrounding farming district...
. He began his cricket career for Natal as an attacking lower order right-handed batsman and fast medium bowler before acquiring the googly
Googly
In cricket, a googly is a type of delivery bowled by a right-arm leg spin bowler. It is occasionally referred to as a Bosie , an eponym in honour of its inventor Bernard Bosanquet.- Explanation :...
from Reggie Schwarz
Reggie Schwarz
Major Reginald Oscar Schwarz MC, known as Reggie was a South African cricketer and international rugby union footballer.-Early life:...
on that player’s return from England after the 1904 tour. In the 1904/1905 season Vogler played for Transvaal
Transvaal cricket team
Gauteng cricket team is the first-class cricket team of the province of Gauteng in South Africa....
before in 1905 coming to England with the intention of qualifying for Middlesex
Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...
. Vogler did not fulfill this intention, however, despite bowling so well in 1906 for MCC
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...
that in an exceptionally dry Home Counties summer he took 63 wickets for less than twenty runs apiece, including nine for 44 against the West Indian tourists.
In between these two seasons for MCC, Vogler had played in the 1905/1906 Test series against England and had been extremely difficult against a second-string English team for South Africa, though he had few opportunities because of the form of Schwarz, Jimmy Sinclair
Jimmy Sinclair
James Hugh Sinclair was an South African cricketer who played in 25 Tests from 1896 to 1911....
and Tip Snooke
Tip Snooke
Sibley John "Tip" Snooke played Test cricket for South Africa as an all-rounder, captaining the side to victory 3-2 against England in a five-Test series in South Africa in 1909-10...
. His batting, however, showed such development that he scored 62 not out going in last. Only Asif Masood
Asif Masood
Syed Asif Masood Shah is a former Pakistani cricketer who played in 16 Tests and 7 ODIs from 1969 to 1977...
since then has top scored in a Test innings batting at number eleven.
Returning again to South Africa to play for his third domestic team in Eastern Province
Eastern Province cricket team
Eastern Province cricket team is the team representing the Eastern Province in domestic first-class cricket in South Africa.-Honours:* Currie Cup - 1988–89, 1991–92; shared - 1989–90* Standard Bank Cup - 1989–90, 1991–92...
, Vogler reached a level that even his exceptional form in 1906 could scarcely have suggested. Not only did he score 505 runs at an average of 36 per innings, but he set a domestic season record with fifty-five wickets in nine games for the amazing average of 10.54. By this time, Vogler had improved upon the methods of Bosanquet
Bernard Bosanquet (cricketer)
Bernard James Tindal Bosanquet was an English cricketer best known for inventing the googly, a delivery designed to deceive the batsman. When bowled, it appears to be a leg break, but after pitching the ball turns in the opposite direction to that which is expected, behaving as an off break instead...
and Schwarz, being able not only to at a faster pace disguise which way he was turning the ball, but to flight it with amazing skill so that it would do things in the air that batsmen could not predict. Against Griqualand West
Griqualand West cricket team
The Griqualand West cricket team is the first-class cricket team that represents the province of Griqualand West in South Africa. For the purposes of the SuperSport Series, Griqualand West has merged with Free State to form the Eagles from October 2004....
in the 1906–07 Currie Cup, Vogler put in an all-round performance. Eastern Province batted upon winning the toss, and Vogler second top-scored with 79 to help his team to 403 all out. He then took 6/12 from ten overs as Griqualand West collapsed to 51 all out, and were asked to follow on. In the second innings, Vogler took all ten wickets for 26 runs, and Griqualand West were dismissed for 51 once more. Eastern Province finished as victors by an innings and 301 runs.
Vogler's 10/26 remains (as of March 2009) the best first-class innings return ever achieved in South Africa,
while his match figures of 16/38 have never been beaten for Eastern Province.
In 1907, Vogler went to England with one of the best bowling sides to tour that country, and did exceptionally well in a summer of soft wickets which took all the spin he could get on the ball. Although he did not do as well as Schwarz or Gordon White
Gordon White
Gordon Charles White was a South African cricketer who played in 17 Tests from 1906 to 1912.White was born in Port St Johns, Cape Province. He died in 1918 in Gaza, Palestine.-References:*...
in average, Tip Foster
Tip Foster
Reginald Erskine Foster, nicknamed Tip Foster, commonly designated R. E. Foster in sporting literature was an English cricketer and football player...
, the great Worcestershire batsman playing semi-regularly for the only time after 1901, thought that Vogler was the most difficult bowler in the world. Vogler was named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1908, and when these statistics were posthumously compiled became the earliest South African to be named a Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World
Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World
The Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World award was introduced in 2004 to complement the long-standing Wisden Cricketer of the Year awards, which are still given to five players each year....
.
Although Vogler did not play any cricket after this until the 1908/1909 South African season, on the matting pitches the following season he reached his highest point against England with thirty-six wickets in the five Tests for 21.75 each, and fifty-eight for 19.12 in all matches against the tourists. Vogler also hit to that point the fastest fifty in the history of Test cricket, hitting George Thompson
George Thompson (cricketer)
George Joseph Thompson was the mainstay of the Northamptonshire county cricket eleven for a long period encompassing both its days as a minor county and its earliest years in the County Championship....
for 22 in a single over.
However, the following season Vogler’s reputation collapsed in surprising fashion. Touring Australia for the first time as a requirement to all for the proposed Triangular Tournament on 1912, Vogler could not cope with the extremely hard Australian pitches which allowed him no bite with which to spin the ball, nor with the instructions of Australia’s captain Warwick Armstrong
Warwick Armstrong
Warwick Windridge Armstrong was an Australian cricketer who played 50 Test matches between 1902 and 1921. An all-rounder, he captained Australia in ten Test matches between 1920 and 1921 and was undefeated, winning eight Tests and drawing two...
to hit the googly bowlers off their length at any cost. So harmless was Vogler that he was left out of two of the Tests and took four wickets in the three he did play - and this in spite of the fact that two games were played on pitches affected by rain. He also failed as a batsman, averaging only nine an innings as against 21 in England in 1907 on much more difficult pitches.
Vogler never recovered from this setback, and indeed was not considered good enough to be selected for the Triangular Tournament tour of 1912. Moving to the British Isles on business, he did however play for a number of clubs in Scotland and Ireland until after 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...
, and played one final first class match for the Woodbrook Club against his old team-mates in 1912.