George Francis (cricketer)
Encyclopedia
George Francis was a West Indian
cricketer
who played in West Indies' first Test in their inaugural Test tour of England
. He was a fast bowler with a renowned pace.
Francis was born in Trents, St. James, Barbados
. His Test career, like many of contemporaries, started quite late in his life; if the West Indies had started playing Test cricket earlier, there is no doubt his numbers would be more dominant.
Francis was part of the West Indies' non-Test tour in 1923
and caused a small sensation by his bowling in that tour. During the last match of the tour against HDG Leveson-Gower's XI, Francis took four fast wickets, eventually reducing their opponents to 19 for 6. It wasn't enough to retain the win, as Leveson-Gower soon met their target of 28, but it was a remarkable spell of bowling nonetheless.
At the age of 30, he took the fresh ball in the West Indies' inaugural Test, and eventually took 2 wickets in England's only innings. He would later take 4 wickets (Hobbs, Sutcliffe, Tate and Larwood) in the third Test at The Oval
, an impressive show for a bowler on a nascent West Indian side.
West Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
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"....
who played in West Indies' first Test in their inaugural Test tour of England
West Indian cricket team in England in 1928
The West Indian cricket team that toured England in the 1928 season was the first to play Test cricket. The team was not very successful, losing all three Tests by an innings and winning only five of the 30 first-class matches played....
. He was a fast bowler with a renowned pace.
Francis was born in Trents, St. James, Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
. His Test career, like many of contemporaries, started quite late in his life; if the West Indies had started playing Test cricket earlier, there is no doubt his numbers would be more dominant.
Francis was part of the West Indies' non-Test tour in 1923
West Indian cricket team in England in 1923
The West Indian cricket team toured England in the 1923 season. The team played 28 matches between 19 May and 5 September 1923 of which 20 were regarded as first-class. This was the 3rd West Indian tour following those of 1900 and 1906....
and caused a small sensation by his bowling in that tour. During the last match of the tour against HDG Leveson-Gower's XI, Francis took four fast wickets, eventually reducing their opponents to 19 for 6. It wasn't enough to retain the win, as Leveson-Gower soon met their target of 28, but it was a remarkable spell of bowling nonetheless.
At the age of 30, he took the fresh ball in the West Indies' inaugural Test, and eventually took 2 wickets in England's only innings. He would later take 4 wickets (Hobbs, Sutcliffe, Tate and Larwood) in the third Test at The Oval
Kensington Oval
The Kensington Oval is located to the west of the capital-city Bridgetown on the island of Barbados. "The Oval" is one of the major sporting facilities on the island and is primarily used for cricket...
, an impressive show for a bowler on a nascent West Indian side.