George Nichols (cricketer)
Encyclopedia
George Benjamin Nichols (born 14 June 1862, Fishponds, Bristol
, died 19 February 1911, Dublin, Ireland
) was a professional
first-class cricket
er who played 134 matches for Somerset
, after starting his career with five first-class appearances for Gloucestershire
. He was a key part of the Somerset team that won the 'Second-class County Championship' in 1890 by winning twelve of their thirteen matches, tying the other with Middlesex
. A right-handed batsman
and right-arm fast-medium
bowler, he was known for being able to bowl long, accurate spells.
. His five first-class matches for the county came over three seasons and in 1886 he moved to bordering Somerset. Somerset had just lost their first-class status, having failed to arrange a sufficient number of matches against other first-class counties in 1885. Having customarily batted as part of the tail
for Gloucestershire, Nichols opened the batting alongside fellow professional Albert Clapp
on his first recorded appearance for Somerset in July 1886. A highlight for Nichols during these early years at Somerset was his 6/30 during the 1887 match against Hampshire
. Typifying his bowling, he bowled 32.2 overs, of which 24 were maidens
.
, against a Middlesex
team that was part of the inaugural official County Championship
. The Middlesex side, which contained four players with Test
caps
, dismissed Somerset for 133 in their first-innings, Nichols one of James Phillips
' seven victims. Nichols' three wickets helped to limit the Londoners to 132, giving Somerset a first-innings lead, albeit by a single run. After a second-innings in which Somerset scored 208, they had to take all ten Middlesex wickets for less than 209 to secure the win. Opening pair A E Stoddart
and A J Webbe both failed to make double-figures, bowled by Nichols and Ted Tyler
respectively. Nichols went on to take 5/55, and Middlesex were bowled out for 131, giving Somerset a 78 run victory.
In the next match, against Hampshire, Nichols went one step further. After taking eight wickets in the first-innings, he already had one wicket to his name in the second-innings when C R Young was caught by Cres Robinson off his bowling, handing Nichols a ten-wicket haul in the match, and more importantly, granting Somerset the win by just two runs. Against Leicestershire
, Nichols scored 95 batting at number three as the West Country team amassed a first-innings total of 415. Nichols and Tyler combined to take all ten Leicestershire wickets in their first-innings, Nichols claiming six, restricting them to 61. Enforcing the follow-on
, Somerset took eighty-three overs to bowl Leicestershire out for a second time, Nichols claiming a solitary wicket. Staffordshire
were the next to fall victim, losing by an innings and 149 runs as Nichols claimed another ten-wicket haul. In the next match, against Warwickshire
, Nichols took three wickets in each innings, Tyler taking all the rest. Nichols top-scored for Somerset in both innings; claiming two half-centuries, and narrowly missed out on a third consecutive fifty when he was bowled
on 49 against Glamorgan
a few days later. His good form with the bat continued as he hit 110 against Leicestershire at Grace Road
in early August. In the return fixture against Staffordshire the visitors were two batsmen short which, in addition to a pair of run outs, left only fourteen wickets on offer. Nichols claimed five of them, leaving the slow bowler Tyler to collect the other nine.
Although quiet with the bat against Hampshire, Nichols took eight wickets in the match, seven of them coming in the second-innings as Somerset won by 168 runs. In the next two matches, he scored only ten runs in his three batting innings, and took one wicket in each of his four with the ball in hand. The final match of the season brought him seven further wickets, and secured Somerset an unbeaten season. Nichols finished the season second amongst Somerset wicket-takers, his 79 wickets trailing only the 126 taken by Tyler. In the 556.1 overs that he bowled in the season, he delivered only two no ball
s. From the matches with available scorecards,CricketArchive records a match played against Devon, but the scorecard is unavailable. Nichols took five-wicket hauls on six occasions in 1890 and claimed ten-wickets in a match twice. Unfortunately for Somerset, he was unable to replicate this form in the following first-class seasons, finishing his career with seven first-class five-wicket hauls, and no ten-wicket matches.
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, died 19 February 1911, Dublin, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
) was a professional
History of English amateur cricket
The history of English amateur cricket describes the concept and importance of amateur players in English cricket.-Co-development of amateur and professional cricket to 1800:...
first-class cricket
First-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...
er who played 134 matches for Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset 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 Somerset...
, after starting his career with five first-class appearances for Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Gloucestershire. Its limited overs team is called the Gloucestershire Gladiators....
. He was a key part of the Somerset team that won the 'Second-class County Championship' in 1890 by winning twelve of their thirteen matches, tying the other with 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...
. A right-handed batsman
Batting (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball with a cricket bat to score runs or prevent the loss of one's wicket. A player who is currently batting is denoted as a batsman, while the act of hitting the ball is called a shot or stroke...
and right-arm fast-medium
Fast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
bowler, he was known for being able to bowl long, accurate spells.
Early career
Nichols began his career at Gloucestershire, taking just three wickets as part of a bowling attack dominated by W. G. GraceW. G. Grace
William Gilbert Grace, MRCS, LRCP was an English amateur cricketer who is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest players of all time, having a special significance in terms of his importance to the development of the sport...
. His five first-class matches for the county came over three seasons and in 1886 he moved to bordering Somerset. Somerset had just lost their first-class status, having failed to arrange a sufficient number of matches against other first-class counties in 1885. Having customarily batted as part of the tail
Batting order (cricket)
In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batsmen play through their team's innings, there always being two batsmen taking part at any one time...
for Gloucestershire, Nichols opened the batting alongside fellow professional Albert Clapp
Albert Clapp
Albert Edward Clapp was an English cricketer who made ten first-class appearances for Somerset between 1885 and 1895. He also played 32 matches for the club which were considered 'second-class' matches, when Somerset had their first-class status removed from 1886–1890...
on his first recorded appearance for Somerset in July 1886. A highlight for Nichols during these early years at Somerset was his 6/30 during the 1887 match against Hampshire
Hampshire County Cricket Club
Hampshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Hampshire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1863 as a successor to the Hampshire county cricket teams and has played at the Antelope Ground from then until 1885, before moving to the County Ground where it...
. Typifying his bowling, he bowled 32.2 overs, of which 24 were maidens
Over (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, an over is a set of six consecutive balls bowled in succession. An over is normally bowled by a single bowler. However, in the event of injury preventing a bowler from completing an over, it is completed by a teammate....
.
1890 season
The demotion from first-class cricket in 1886 had stung the pride of Somerset, and they were determined to regain first-class status. Plans were immediately put into action to turn things around, with a nineteen year lease taken on their ground, and a declaration from club-secretary Henry Murray-Anderdon: "There's only one way we'll do it, we must demonstrate that we are good enough." Thirteen fixtures were arranged against a variety of first-class and other second-class counties. Their first match of the season was at Lord's Cricket GroundLord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
, against a 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...
team that was part of the inaugural official County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
. The Middlesex side, which contained four players with Test
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...
caps
Cricket cap
A cricket cap is a type of soft cap, often made from felt that is a traditional form of headwear for players of the game of cricket, regardless of age or gender. It is usually a tight-fitting skullcap, usually made of six or eight sections, with a small crescent shaped brim that points downwards...
, dismissed Somerset for 133 in their first-innings, Nichols one of James Phillips
Jim Phillips
James Phillips was a Victorian First-class cricketer and Test match umpire....
' seven victims. Nichols' three wickets helped to limit the Londoners to 132, giving Somerset a first-innings lead, albeit by a single run. After a second-innings in which Somerset scored 208, they had to take all ten Middlesex wickets for less than 209 to secure the win. Opening pair A E Stoddart
Andrew Stoddart
Andrew Ernest Stoddart was an English cricketer and rugby union player. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1893.-Cricket career:...
and A J Webbe both failed to make double-figures, bowled by Nichols and Ted Tyler
Ted Tyler
Edwin James Tyler was a cricketer who played first-class cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club between 1891 and 1907...
respectively. Nichols went on to take 5/55, and Middlesex were bowled out for 131, giving Somerset a 78 run victory.
In the next match, against Hampshire, Nichols went one step further. After taking eight wickets in the first-innings, he already had one wicket to his name in the second-innings when C R Young was caught by Cres Robinson off his bowling, handing Nichols a ten-wicket haul in the match, and more importantly, granting Somerset the win by just two runs. Against Leicestershire
Leicestershire County Cricket Club
Leicestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Leicestershire. It has also been representative of the county of Rutland....
, Nichols scored 95 batting at number three as the West Country team amassed a first-innings total of 415. Nichols and Tyler combined to take all ten Leicestershire wickets in their first-innings, Nichols claiming six, restricting them to 61. Enforcing the follow-on
Follow-on
Follow-on is a term used in the sport of cricket to describe a situation where the team that bats second is forced to take its second batting innings immediately after its first, because the team was not able to get close enough to the score achieved by the first team batting in the first innings...
, Somerset took eighty-three overs to bowl Leicestershire out for a second time, Nichols claiming a solitary wicket. Staffordshire
Staffordshire County Cricket Club
Staffordshire County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Staffordshire and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy...
were the next to fall victim, losing by an innings and 149 runs as Nichols claimed another ten-wicket haul. In the next match, against Warwickshire
Warwickshire County Cricket Club
Warwickshire 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 Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor...
, Nichols took three wickets in each innings, Tyler taking all the rest. Nichols top-scored for Somerset in both innings; claiming two half-centuries, and narrowly missed out on a third consecutive fifty when he was bowled
Bowled
Bowled is a method of dismissing a batsman in the sport of cricket. This method of dismissal is covered by Law 30 of the Laws of cricket.A batsman is out bowled if his wicket is put down by a ball delivered by the bowler...
on 49 against Glamorgan
Glamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County...
a few days later. His good form with the bat continued as he hit 110 against Leicestershire at Grace Road
Grace Road
Grace Road is a cricket ground, in Leicester, England, home to Leicestershire County Cricket Club.-History:The land which Grace Road is built on was bought by Leicestershire County Cricket Club in 1877 from the then Duke of Rutland and spent the massive sum of £40,000 on developing a cricket club,...
in early August. In the return fixture against Staffordshire the visitors were two batsmen short which, in addition to a pair of run outs, left only fourteen wickets on offer. Nichols claimed five of them, leaving the slow bowler Tyler to collect the other nine.
Although quiet with the bat against Hampshire, Nichols took eight wickets in the match, seven of them coming in the second-innings as Somerset won by 168 runs. In the next two matches, he scored only ten runs in his three batting innings, and took one wicket in each of his four with the ball in hand. The final match of the season brought him seven further wickets, and secured Somerset an unbeaten season. Nichols finished the season second amongst Somerset wicket-takers, his 79 wickets trailing only the 126 taken by Tyler. In the 556.1 overs that he bowled in the season, he delivered only two no ball
No ball
In the sport of cricket a no ball is a penalty against the fielding team, usually as a result of an illegal delivery by the bowler. The delivery of a no ball results in one run to be added to the batting team's score, and an additional ball must be bowled...
s. From the matches with available scorecards,CricketArchive records a match played against Devon, but the scorecard is unavailable. Nichols took five-wicket hauls on six occasions in 1890 and claimed ten-wickets in a match twice. Unfortunately for Somerset, he was unable to replicate this form in the following first-class seasons, finishing his career with seven first-class five-wicket hauls, and no ten-wicket matches.