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Dave Gregory (cricketer)
Encyclopedia
David William Gregory was an Australia
n cricket
er of the 19th century. A right-handed batsman, Gregory was the first Australian national cricket captain
, leading the side for the first three recognised Test matches
between England
and Australia
in March and April 1877 and January 1879. Gregory was also the captain of the New South Wales team, notably during the Sydney Riot of 1879
when he rebelled against an unpopular decision by Victoria
n umpire George Coulthard
during a game against the touring English team.
Gregory was part of a large cricketing family: his father, Edward William Gregory, was a "capable cricketer" with eight sons, five of whom played for New South Wales in international or intercolonial matches between 1861 and 84; in all, twenty of Edward William Gregory's descendants represented New South Wales in cricket and other sports.
David William Gregory was a man of striking appearance, he "looked like an Old Testament
prophet
not long out of training college."
In 1861, he joined the New South Wales public service, assigned to the Auditor-General's Department. In 1883 he became inspector of public accounts and later paymaster of the Treasury for nine years until he retired.
ers: his brothers Ned
, Charles and Arthur, and his nephews Syd
, Charles William
and Jack who lived nearby during his early life. (Ned would additionally become a curator of the Sydney Cricket Ground
.) He first appeared for New South Wales in 1866, for whom he would play 38 matches until his retirement in early 1883. Averaging a low 14.57 with the bat, including a debut first-ball duck
, he managed five half centuries including strong knocks of 85 and 74 at Melbourne
and Sydney
. Of the former, it was noted that he was a "marvel of patience at first, and then followed a grand display of good, punishing power, combined with a splendid defence". His score was a record at the time for New South Wales, and the match also saw the debut of his brother, Arthur. Despite his low average, however, it is illustrative of the conditions of the pitches on which he played that he would reach double figures on several occasions when other members of his team failed. He would find success with the ball also, in his first match, he took 3/36 off 24.1 overs. and he would go on to take 29 wickets at 19.24, including a five-wicket-haul of 5/55.
Gregory had a less than successful international career, even by contemporary standards. He enjoyed more success on his home grounds, scoring a career best 43 in the second Test against England in March 1877, having made only one and three in the first Test and one earlier in the second.
While touring England as captain in 1878 during Australia's first tour of England, however, he suffered on the host nations' wet cricket pitches, averaging only 11 with the bat in several matches often against teams of 18 or 22. At Lords he made one of only two substantial scores of the tour, 42 in each innings against Middlesex. The other, 57, came against the Players at the end of the tour. He did, however, captain his team during their victory over the MCC
, a match which, over in less than a day, "meant that never again would an Australian team be taken lightly in England." Off the field, he was also involved, along with several other Australian players and a number of English team members, in an affair involving Billy Midwinter
, an Australian all-rounder, attempted to play for both Australia and his domestic team, Gloucestershire, on the same day.
Gregory led Australia at Melbourne against England in January 1879, scoring 12 in his only innings. His Test career statistics remained below par, with an average of 20.00 across his three Test career, passing into double figures only twice, and with no wickets under his belt from five overs of his bowling. He was succeeded in the captaincy by Billy Murdoch
, having been the captain for all three of his Test appearances, with two victories and one defeat. He is the only Australian player to have made every international appearance as captain.
Following what would be his last Test, Gregory captained New South Wales against the touring England team at the SCG in February. On the second day, 10,000 spectators witnessed England collapse. When the New South Wales team batted and Billy Murdoch
was adjudged run out
, no new batsman emerged. England players were sent to the pavilion
, at which point it became clear that Gregory was insisting the match be halted while a new umpire was found. The ensuing disturbance became known as the Sydney Riot of 1879
. While allegations of collusion with match fixers began, a number of spectators began to cross the pitch and had to be fended off by players armed with cricket stumps for over thirty minutes. The England team and Gregory's Australian side reached an impasse until Edmund Barton
, then the other umpire, was able to calm Gregory down. While play was poised to resume, a further pitch invasion prevented this.
described in his obituary Gregory's playing style thus: "Like many Australia batsmen in those early days, he had no grace of style to recommend him, but his defence was stubborn and he lacked nether pluck nor patience" and attributes his lack of successful scores to the pitches rather than his talent.
, and also stood as an umpire for a first-class match on 27 January 1892. He died in Turramurra, Sydney
in 1919.
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 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 of the 19th century. A right-handed batsman, Gregory was the first Australian national cricket captain
Australian national cricket captains
Australia played in the first-ever Test match in cricket in 1877, the first-ever One Day International in 1971 and the first-ever Twenty20 international in 2005...
, leading the side for the first three recognised Test matches
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...
between England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
and Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
in March and April 1877 and January 1879. Gregory was also the captain of the New South Wales team, notably during the Sydney Riot of 1879
Sydney Riot of 1879
The Sydney Riot of 1879 was a civil disorder that occurred at an early international cricket match. It took place in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, at the Association Ground, Moore Park, now known as the Sydney Cricket Ground, during a match between a touring English team captained by Lord...
when he rebelled against an unpopular decision by Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
n umpire George Coulthard
George Coulthard
George Coulthard was a star Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton. He was also a notable cricketer who played for the Melbourne Cricket Club and briefly for Australia. As a cricketer he played only six first-class matches, five for Victoria and a Test match for Australia...
during a game against the touring English team.
Gregory was part of a large cricketing family: his father, Edward William Gregory, was a "capable cricketer" with eight sons, five of whom played for New South Wales in international or intercolonial matches between 1861 and 84; in all, twenty of Edward William Gregory's descendants represented New South Wales in cricket and other sports.
David William Gregory was a man of striking appearance, he "looked like an Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
not long out of training college."
Early life, education and career
David William Gregory was born on 15 April 1845 at Fairymeadow, near Wollongong, the son of Edward William Gregory, a bootmaker, and his wife Mary Anne née Smith, who were married on 25 May 1835 at Sydney. His was educated at the St James Model School, Sydney.In 1861, he joined the New South Wales public service, assigned to the Auditor-General's Department. In 1883 he became inspector of public accounts and later paymaster of the Treasury for nine years until he retired.
Cricket career
His family came to include six other first-class cricketFirst-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
ers: his brothers Ned
Ned Gregory
Edward James Gregory was an Australian cricketer who played in the first recognised Test in 1877 between Australia and England in Melbourne....
, Charles and Arthur, and his nephews Syd
Syd Gregory
Sydney Edward Gregory , sometimes known as Edward Sydney Gregory, was a cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. At the time of his retirement, he had played a world-record 58 Test matches during a career spanning 1890 to 1912...
, Charles William
Charles Gregory
Charles William Gregory was an Australian cricketer who played for New South Wales.In November 1906, Gregory scored 383 for New South Wales against Queensland, at the time an Australian record....
and Jack who lived nearby during his early life. (Ned would additionally become a curator of the Sydney Cricket Ground
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...
.) He first appeared for New South Wales in 1866, for whom he would play 38 matches until his retirement in early 1883. Averaging a low 14.57 with the bat, including a debut first-ball duck
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
, he managed five half centuries including strong knocks of 85 and 74 at Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and 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...
. Of the former, it was noted that he was a "marvel of patience at first, and then followed a grand display of good, punishing power, combined with a splendid defence". His score was a record at the time for New South Wales, and the match also saw the debut of his brother, Arthur. Despite his low average, however, it is illustrative of the conditions of the pitches on which he played that he would reach double figures on several occasions when other members of his team failed. He would find success with the ball also, in his first match, he took 3/36 off 24.1 overs. and he would go on to take 29 wickets at 19.24, including a five-wicket-haul of 5/55.
Gregory had a less than successful international career, even by contemporary standards. He enjoyed more success on his home grounds, scoring a career best 43 in the second Test against England in March 1877, having made only one and three in the first Test and one earlier in the second.
While touring England as captain in 1878 during Australia's first tour of England, however, he suffered on the host nations' wet cricket pitches, averaging only 11 with the bat in several matches often against teams of 18 or 22. At Lords he made one of only two substantial scores of the tour, 42 in each innings against Middlesex. The other, 57, came against the Players at the end of the tour. He did, however, captain his team during their victory over the 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...
, a match which, over in less than a day, "meant that never again would an Australian team be taken lightly in England." Off the field, he was also involved, along with several other Australian players and a number of English team members, in an affair involving Billy Midwinter
Billy Midwinter
William Evans Midwinter was a cricketer who played four Test matches for England, sandwiched in between eight Tests that he played for Australia...
, an Australian all-rounder, attempted to play for both Australia and his domestic team, Gloucestershire, on the same day.
Gregory led Australia at Melbourne against England in January 1879, scoring 12 in his only innings. His Test career statistics remained below par, with an average of 20.00 across his three Test career, passing into double figures only twice, and with no wickets under his belt from five overs of his bowling. He was succeeded in the captaincy by Billy Murdoch
Billy Murdoch
William Lloyd Murdoch was an Australian cricketer, who captained the Australian team on tours to England in 1880, 1882 , 1884 and 1890...
, having been the captain for all three of his Test appearances, with two victories and one defeat. He is the only Australian player to have made every international appearance as captain.
Following what would be his last Test, Gregory captained New South Wales against the touring England team at the SCG in February. On the second day, 10,000 spectators witnessed England collapse. When the New South Wales team batted and Billy Murdoch
Billy Murdoch
William Lloyd Murdoch was an Australian cricketer, who captained the Australian team on tours to England in 1880, 1882 , 1884 and 1890...
was adjudged run out
Run out
Run out is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. It is governed by Law 38 of the Laws of cricket.-The rules:A batsman is out Run out if at any time while the ball is in play no part of his bat or person is grounded behind the popping crease and his wicket is fairly put down by the opposing...
, no new batsman emerged. England players were sent to the pavilion
Cricket pavilion
A cricket pavilion is a pavilion at a cricket ground. It is the main building within which the players usually change in dressing rooms and which is the main location for watching the cricket match for members and others...
, at which point it became clear that Gregory was insisting the match be halted while a new umpire was found. The ensuing disturbance became known as the Sydney Riot of 1879
Sydney Riot of 1879
The Sydney Riot of 1879 was a civil disorder that occurred at an early international cricket match. It took place in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, at the Association Ground, Moore Park, now known as the Sydney Cricket Ground, during a match between a touring English team captained by Lord...
. While allegations of collusion with match fixers began, a number of spectators began to cross the pitch and had to be fended off by players armed with cricket stumps for over thirty minutes. The England team and Gregory's Australian side reached an impasse until Edmund Barton
Edmund Barton
Sir Edmund Barton, GCMG, KC , Australian politician and judge, was the first Prime Minister of Australia and a founding justice of the High Court of Australia....
, then the other umpire, was able to calm Gregory down. While play was poised to resume, a further pitch invasion prevented this.
Playing style
Gregory had a stubborn, "indignant", gritty batting approach. WisdenWisden
The Wisden Group was a group of companies formed by John Wisden & Co Ltd, publishers of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. As well as John Wisden & Co, the group included the The Wisden Cricketer magazine, Cricinfo – the world's highest traffic cricket website – and the Hawk-Eye computerised...
described in his obituary Gregory's playing style thus: "Like many Australia batsmen in those early days, he had no grace of style to recommend him, but his defence was stubborn and he lacked nether pluck nor patience" and attributes his lack of successful scores to the pitches rather than his talent.
Later cricket career
After retirement, Gregory was made honorary secretary of the New South Wales Cricket AssociationNew South Wales Cricket Association
The New South Wales Cricket Association is a sporting club who administer cricket in New South Wales, based at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Their trading name is Cricket NSW....
, and also stood as an umpire for a first-class match on 27 January 1892. He died in Turramurra, 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...
in 1919.
External links
- Player Profile: Dave Gregory from Cricket Archive