Charles Turner (cricketer)
Encyclopedia
Charles Thomas Biass Turner (Bathurst
, 16 November 1862 – 1 January 1944 in Manly, New South Wales
, Australia) was a bowler who is regarded as one of the finest ever produced by Australia.
Many batsmen who played against him considered Turner without peer. He bowled right-hand medium pace with a relatively long and rhythmic run-up and a beautiful delivery that never aimed to exploit even his rather limited height of five feet nine inches (175 centimetres). He could vary his pace a great deal, and combined this with an accurate length and a sharply-turning off-break that made him very difficult on rain-affected wickets. This unplayability on treacherous pitches earned him the nickname "Terror" Turner.
Among the most noted feats Turner accomplished were:
Turner's early adventures in first-class cricket were unsuccessful, but in 1886/87, when he moved from Bathurst to Sydney
to become a banker, his skill developed to a remarkable degree with 70 first-class wickets at 7.68 runs each from just seven matches. In two games against Victoria he took eighteen wickets for 184 runs, but it was his excellence against Alfred Shaw's
touring side that brought Turner acclaim in the English cricket community. In the first Test, after England were put in on a very sticky pitch, Turnertook 6/15, and in the second his combined figures were nine for 93.
The following year, Turner, with the Australian pitches already notorious for being difficult after rain, he had a strong season in the wet weather of a La Niña
summer, his best performances outside the Test including:
In the English summer of 1888, along with John Ferris, Turner was prolific. However, he took ten for 53 in Australia's only win in the three-Test series at Lord's and took 9 for 15 versus An England Eleven at Stoke-on-Trent
. He showed ability as a batsman, scoring a maiden century at The Oval
in the first game of the tour.
After three extremely prolific seasons, Turner could not maintain his productivity. With El Niño holding sway, the wickets in Australia in 1888/89 were unresponsive and Turner took only 29 wickets in six games, and even fewer the following season. However, still regarded as the best bowler for English conditions, Turner did not disappoint the selectors in 1890, taking 179 first-class wickets (215 in all games) but being unable to break England's dominance of Test cricket at the time.
In the following few Australian seasons, Turner continued to do well even if too little cricket was played for him to equal his records of the late 1880s. In the relatively dry English summer of 1893, Turner still was Australia's leading bowler with 148 wickets at 13.63, but the absence of Ferris and business commitments were slowly taking their toll on him.
When England next toured in 1894/95, Turner equalled equalled Fred Spofforth
's record of 94 Test wickets in the Second Test at Melbourne
on the 31st December, 1894, two days after the England bowler Johnny Briggs
. The three men briefly held the record together, but Turner missed the Third Test at Adelaide
and Briggs overtook him. Briggs became the first man to claim 100 Test wickets in the Fourth Test at Sydney
on the 1st February, 1895, Turner being the second on the 4th February in his last Test match. Turner had the unique (in Test cricket) distinction of having Bobby Peel
stumped for a pair on a sticky wicket in Sydney. His record in this Test series was, actually, his best since 1888, but two years later his banking business required him to move to Queensland
, where he was not able then to continue playing cricket apart from one match for his benefit as late as the 1909/10 season - when he was 47 - that was not successful.
However, Turner continued to do service to the game in Australia as an administrator right through the early twentieth century. He commented, notably, on how greatly the game in Australia changed after the era in which he played due to a drier climate
and improved pitch preparation (and also covering of pitches in Shield matches from the 1930s), which made Australian pitches almost impossible for bowlers of his type and led to reliance on leg spin
.
On the 15th January, 2007, Turner was named in the NSW Cricket Team All Time Twelve, as part of the celebrations of 150 years of the NSW Cricket Team.
Charles Turner's ashes are now in the Council Chambers of Bathurst and a plaque at the Bathurst Oval recognises his services to both cricket and to Bathurst. His father Charles Turner and his father before him, Robert Turner arrived from England as a free settler from Leeds, England owned and ran several hotels in Bathurst including the Royal Hotel which still stands.
Bathurst, New South Wales
-CBD and suburbs:Bathurst's CBD is located on William, George, Howick, Russell, and Durham Streets. The CBD is approximately 25 hectares and surrounds two city blocks. Within this block layout is banking, government services, shopping centres, retail shops, a park* and monuments...
, 16 November 1862 – 1 January 1944 in Manly, New South Wales
Manly, New South Wales
Manly is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Manly is located 17 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of Manly Council, in the Northern Beaches region.-History:Manly was named...
, Australia) was a bowler who is regarded as one of the finest ever produced by Australia.
Many batsmen who played against him considered Turner without peer. He bowled right-hand medium pace with a relatively long and rhythmic run-up and a beautiful delivery that never aimed to exploit even his rather limited height of five feet nine inches (175 centimetres). He could vary his pace a great deal, and combined this with an accurate length and a sharply-turning off-break that made him very difficult on rain-affected wickets. This unplayability on treacherous pitches earned him the nickname "Terror" Turner.
Among the most noted feats Turner accomplished were:
- taking 283 wickets in the English season of 1888 for 11.27 runs each. This tally was 69 wickets ahead of Ted Peate'sTed PeateEdmund Peate was an English professional cricketer who played for Yorkshire and England.-Overview:...
1882 record, and has been bettered only by Tom RichardsonTom RichardsonTom Richardson was an English cricketer. A fast bowler, Richardson relied to a great extent on the break-back , a relatively long run-up and high arm which allowed him to gain sharp lift on fast pitches even from the full, straight length he always bowled...
in 1895 and Tich FreemanTich FreemanAlfred Percy "Tich" Freeman was an English cricketer. A leg spin bowler for Kent and England, he is the only man to take 300 wickets in an English season, and is the second most prolific wicket taker in first class cricket history.-Career:Freeman's common name comes from his extremely short...
in 1928 and 1933. - taking 314 wickets in all matches in 1888.
- taking 106 wickets in twelve matches in the Australian season of 1887/88 - a record for any bowler in Australia
- taking 17 wickets for 50 runs against An England Eleven at HastingsHastingsHastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
in 1888. Of these 17, 14 were bowled, two lbw and one stumped - not a single catch was needed!. - being the first Australian bowler to reach 100 wickets in Test matchesTest cricketTest 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...
. - his 12 for 87 against England in his record season of 1887/1888 is still the best bowling analysis for a Test at the SCGSydney Cricket GroundThe Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
.
Turner's early adventures in first-class cricket were unsuccessful, but in 1886/87, when he moved from Bathurst to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
to become a banker, his skill developed to a remarkable degree with 70 first-class wickets at 7.68 runs each from just seven matches. In two games against Victoria he took eighteen wickets for 184 runs, but it was his excellence against Alfred Shaw's
Alfred Shaw
Alfred Shaw was an eminent Victorian cricketer and rugby footballer, who bowled the first ball in Test cricket and was the first to take five wickets in a Test innings . He who organised the first British Isles rugby tour to Australasia in 1888...
touring side that brought Turner acclaim in the English cricket community. In the first Test, after England were put in on a very sticky pitch, Turnertook 6/15, and in the second his combined figures were nine for 93.
The following year, Turner, with the Australian pitches already notorious for being difficult after rain, he had a strong season in the wet weather of a La Niña
La Niña
La Niña is a coupled ocean-atmosphere phenomenon that is the counterpart of El Niño as part of the broader El Niño-Southern Oscillation climate pattern. During a period of La Niña, the sea surface temperature across the equatorial Eastern Central Pacific Ocean will be lower than normal by 3–5 °C...
summer, his best performances outside the Test including:
- 10 for 45 v Arthur Shrewsbury's XIArthur ShrewsburyArthur Shrewsbury was an English cricketer, and rugby football administrator, who organised the first British Isles rugby tour to Australasia in 1888, and who was widely rated as competing with W. G...
; - 16 for 79 in a second match v Arthur Shrewsbury's XI;
- 11 for 119 v G.F. Vernon's XI at the MCGMcGJoseph McGinty Nichol , better known as McG, is an American director and producer of film and television, as well as a former record producer....
; - 5 for 17 in first innings for New South Wales v Victoria at the MCG.
In the English summer of 1888, along with John Ferris, Turner was prolific. However, he took ten for 53 in Australia's only win in the three-Test series at Lord's and took 9 for 15 versus An England Eleven at Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
. He showed ability as a batsman, scoring a maiden century at The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
in the first game of the tour.
After three extremely prolific seasons, Turner could not maintain his productivity. With El Niño holding sway, the wickets in Australia in 1888/89 were unresponsive and Turner took only 29 wickets in six games, and even fewer the following season. However, still regarded as the best bowler for English conditions, Turner did not disappoint the selectors in 1890, taking 179 first-class wickets (215 in all games) but being unable to break England's dominance of Test cricket at the time.
In the following few Australian seasons, Turner continued to do well even if too little cricket was played for him to equal his records of the late 1880s. In the relatively dry English summer of 1893, Turner still was Australia's leading bowler with 148 wickets at 13.63, but the absence of Ferris and business commitments were slowly taking their toll on him.
When England next toured in 1894/95, Turner equalled equalled Fred Spofforth
Fred Spofforth
Frederick Robert "Fred" Spofforth , also known as "The Demon Bowler", was arguably the Australian cricket team's finest pace bowler of the nineteenth century and was the first bowler to take 50 Test wickets, and the first to take a test hat-trick in 1879...
's record of 94 Test wickets in the Second Test at Melbourne
McG
Joseph McGinty Nichol , better known as McG, is an American director and producer of film and television, as well as a former record producer....
on the 31st December, 1894, two days after the England bowler Johnny Briggs
Johnny Briggs (cricketer)
Johnny Briggs was a left arm spin bowler for Lancashire County Cricket Club between 1879 and 1900 who still stands as the second-highest wicket-taker in the county's history after Brian Statham...
. The three men briefly held the record together, but Turner missed the Third Test at Adelaide
Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
and Briggs overtook him. Briggs became the first man to claim 100 Test wickets in the Fourth Test at Sydney
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
on the 1st February, 1895, Turner being the second on the 4th February in his last Test match. Turner had the unique (in Test cricket) distinction of having Bobby Peel
Bobby Peel
Robert "Bobby" Peel was a Yorkshire and England cricketer: a left-arm spinner who ranks as one of the finest bowlers of the 1890s. He was also a capable batsman, who once hit 210 not out...
stumped for a pair on a sticky wicket in Sydney. His record in this Test series was, actually, his best since 1888, but two years later his banking business required him to move to Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, where he was not able then to continue playing cricket apart from one match for his benefit as late as the 1909/10 season - when he was 47 - that was not successful.
However, Turner continued to do service to the game in Australia as an administrator right through the early twentieth century. He commented, notably, on how greatly the game in Australia changed after the era in which he played due to a drier climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
and improved pitch preparation (and also covering of pitches in Shield matches from the 1930s), which made Australian pitches almost impossible for bowlers of his type and led to reliance on leg spin
Leg spin
Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in the sport of cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action, causing the ball to spin from right to left in the cricket pitch, at the point of delivery. When the ball bounces, the spin causes the ball to deviate sharply from right to left, that...
.
On the 15th January, 2007, Turner was named in the NSW Cricket Team All Time Twelve, as part of the celebrations of 150 years of the NSW Cricket Team.
Charles Turner's ashes are now in the Council Chambers of Bathurst and a plaque at the Bathurst Oval recognises his services to both cricket and to Bathurst. His father Charles Turner and his father before him, Robert Turner arrived from England as a free settler from Leeds, England owned and ran several hotels in Bathurst including the Royal Hotel which still stands.