George Pope
Encyclopedia
George Henry Pope was an English
cricket
er, who played for Derbyshire
from 1933 to 1948, and in one Test
for England in 1947.
, Derbyshire
, and followed his older brother Alf Pope
into the Derbyshire
side in 1933. He made his debut in an innings victory against Worcestershire
and played one more first class match that season. He became a regular player in 1934 and 1935. In 1936 a cartilage injury early in the season caused him to miss all but a handful of matches in the county's County Championship
-winning side. He returned in 1937 and scored more than 1,000 runs with 92 wickets, and toured India with Lord Tennyson's XI in 1937-38.
Pope was Derbyshire's leading all-rounder
in both 1938 and 1939, achieving the all-rounder's double
of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in 1938. He played League cricket in 1946, the first season after World War II
, but returned to Derbyshire for 1947, when he took 114 wickets. He was back again in 1948, when he completed the second double of his career and made his highest score, an unbeaten 207 against Hampshire
at Portsmouth
, sharing an unbroken seventh wicket stand of 241 with Albert Rhodes
that remained the county's record until 2000.
Pope's Test career had one false start. In 1938, he was picked in the party for the Trent Bridge
match against Australia
and then discarded from the final eleven. Finally, he played in the Lord's
Test of 1947 against South Africa
, but took only one tail-end wicket and was dropped.
At the end of the 1948 season, Pope announced his immediate retirement to move to the Channel Islands
to look after his wife, who was ill. He returned to first-class cricket
on the Commonwealth XI tour of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in 1949-50, but at the end of that he retired for good.
Pope was a right hand batsman and played 312 innings in 205 first class matches, with an average of 28.05. He made eight centuries, with a top score of 207 not out. He was a right-arm fast-medium bowler, and took 677 first class wickets at average of 19.92, and a best performance of 8 for 38, amongst his forty five wicket hauls.
From 1966 to 1974, Pope stood as a first-class umpire
in English county matches, returning for one last match as umpire in 1976.
He died in Chesterfield
, Derbyshire
, at the age of 82. As well as his elder brother Alf, his younger brother, Harold Pope
, also played for Derbyshire.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
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, who played for Derbyshire
Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Derbyshire...
from 1933 to 1948, and in one 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...
for England in 1947.
Life and career
Pope was born at TibshelfTibshelf
Tibshelf is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England. It is in the Bolsover district of the county. Its population at the 2001 UK census was 3,548....
, Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
, and followed his older brother Alf Pope
Alf Pope
Alfred Vardy Pope was an English cricketer who played first class cricket for Derbyshire between 1930 and 1939. He was in the club's championship winning team of 1936 and took 555 wickets overall....
into the Derbyshire
Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Derbyshire...
side in 1933. He made his debut in an innings victory against Worcestershire
Worcestershire County Cricket Club
Worcestershire 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 Worcestershire...
and played one more first class match that season. He became a regular player in 1934 and 1935. In 1936 a cartilage injury early in the season caused him to miss all but a handful of matches in the county's County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
-winning side. He returned in 1937 and scored more than 1,000 runs with 92 wickets, and toured India with Lord Tennyson's XI in 1937-38.
Pope was Derbyshire's leading all-rounder
All-rounder
An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a few batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are considered specialists...
in both 1938 and 1939, achieving the all-rounder's double
Double (cricket)
A cricketer is said to achieve the double if he scores a thousand or more runs and also takes a hundred or more wickets in first-class matches during the course of a single season. The feat is extremely rare outside England because of the smaller number of first-class matches played in most other...
of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in 1938. He played League cricket in 1946, the first season after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, but returned to Derbyshire for 1947, when he took 114 wickets. He was back again in 1948, when he completed the second double of his career and made his highest score, an unbeaten 207 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...
at Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, sharing an unbroken seventh wicket stand of 241 with Albert Rhodes
Albert Rhodes
Albert Ennion Groucott "Dusty" Rhodes was an English cricketer who played first class cricket for Derbyshire and MCC between 1937 and 1954 and was also a Test match umpire.Rhodes was born at Tintwistle, Cheshire...
that remained the county's record until 2000.
Pope's Test career had one false start. In 1938, he was picked in the party for the Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge is a Test, One-day international and County cricket ground located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England and is also the headquarters of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. As well as International cricket and Nottinghamshire's home games, the ground has hosted the Finals Day of...
match against 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...
and then discarded from the final eleven. Finally, he played in the Lord's
Lord'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...
Test of 1947 against South Africa
South African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
, but took only one tail-end wicket and was dropped.
At the end of the 1948 season, Pope announced his immediate retirement to move to the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
to look after his wife, who was ill. He returned to 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...
on the Commonwealth XI tour of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in 1949-50, but at the end of that he retired for good.
Pope was a right hand batsman and played 312 innings in 205 first class matches, with an average of 28.05. He made eight centuries, with a top score of 207 not out. He was a right-arm fast-medium bowler, and took 677 first class wickets at average of 19.92, and a best performance of 8 for 38, amongst his forty five wicket hauls.
From 1966 to 1974, Pope stood as a first-class umpire
Umpire (cricket)
In cricket, an umpire is a person who has the authority to make judgements on the cricket field, according to the Laws of Cricket...
in English county matches, returning for one last match as umpire in 1976.
He died in Chesterfield
Chesterfield
Chesterfield is a market town and a borough of Derbyshire, England. It lies north of Derby, on a confluence of the rivers Rother and Hipper. Its population is 70,260 , making it Derbyshire's largest town...
, Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
, at the age of 82. As well as his elder brother Alf, his younger brother, Harold Pope
Harold Pope
Harold Pope was an English cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and a leg-break bowler who played for Derbyshire in 1939 and 1946....
, also played for Derbyshire.