George Ulyett
Encyclopedia
George Ulyett was an English
all-round
cricketer
, noted particularly for his very-aggressive batsmanship. A well-liked man (who, in later years, kept a pub in his native Sheffield
), Ulyett was popularly known as "Happy Jack", once musing memorably that Yorkshire
played him only for his good behaviour and his whistling. A fine all round sportsman, Ulyett played football in the 1882-83 and 1883-84 seasons as goalkeeper for Sheffield Wednesday
.
, Sheffield
, Ulyett joined the local Pitsmoor club at the age of sixteen and, from 1871 to 1873, played as a professional in Bradford
. In 1873, he made his Yorkshire
debut, at Bramall Lane
against Sussex
, and remained a valued member of the team for the next twenty years, passing 1,000 runs in ten seasons and fifty wickets in three. In his best batting year of 1883 Ulyett achieved the remarkable feat of scoring 1,562 runs - eleven runs from being the leading run scorer - without a single century. Not until Charles Harris
in 1935 did any batsman score more runs without a century, and only David Green in 1965 - a somewhat similar style of hard hitting opener - has since come remotely so close to being the leading run scorer of a season without scoring a century. He took his career-best figures of seven for thirty against Surrey
in 1878 and, in 1887, made his highest score, 199 not out against Derbyshire
.
Ulyett was a member James Lillywhite Junior's tour of Australia in 1876/77. After the visitors' early defeat at the hands of a XV of New South Wales, the local press pronounced them "by a long way the weakest side that have ever played in the colonies, notwithstanding the presence of Shaw, who is termed the premier bowler of England. If Ulyett, Emmett, and Hill are specimens of the best fast bowling in England, all we can say is, either they have not shown their proper form, or British bowling has sadly deteriorated." Not long after, however in an eleven-a-side first-class match against New South Wales, Ulyett scored an excellent 94 to guide Lillywhite's team to victory.
Ulyett also played in the first-ever Test match
, staged at the MCG
, during that tour. His first real action in Test cricket came when he held onto a catch off the bowling of James Southerton to dismiss Billy Midwinter for five. With the bat, however, Ulyett failed in the first innings, lasting just a quarter of an hour before Nat Thomson had him trapped in front; in the second innings, however, with England in dire straits, he fought hard with John Selby for about 45 minutes—but then the rampant Tom Kendall got one through his defences and effectively brought an end to England's resistance, the match being lost by 45 runs. In bowling, Ulyett took three for 39 in the second innings, his first wicket being that of Charles Bannerman
, who famously managed an incredible 165 out of Australia's first innings total of 245 (or 67.3 per cent of it, still a Test-Match record). This amazing effort finally came to an end when the toiling Ulyett let loose a sharp, rising bouncer that found its way through Bannerman's primitive gloving and struck him a blow on the index finger, splitting it open rather badly. A short delay revealed the fact that Bannerman could no longer grip his bat properly and that, therefore, he would have to retire. The Australian opener walked off, wincing from the pain in his bloodied right hand. George Ulyett, although never regarded as a truly-quick bowler, could nevertheless do real damage on occasion. Bannerman was unable to field, and, in the second innings, when Ulyett dismissed him again (this time in orthodox fashion—bowled), he faced just nine deliveries.
In the second game, also at Melbourne, Ulyett showed his worth as a batsman, making 52 and 63 to secure an England
win by four wickets
. Thereafter, he was a regular pick for the England Test side, with his batting and bowling backed up by some fine displays of fielding.
Ulyett played 25 Tests in total—it was by far the longest career of any England cricketer to play in that inaugural Test—and several times changed the course of a match. At Lord's in 1884, in the second innings, he returned an analysis
of 39.1-23-36-7 (four-ball overs) to reduce the Australians
from 60/1 to 145 all out and force a remarkable innings victory.
Included in that haul was one of the most famous caughts-and-bowled ever taken. Ulyett sent down a straight half-volley to Bonnor, who drove at it with all his considerable might and got it right out of the middle of the bat. The ball flew back towards the bowler with a resounding crack. It seemed to Ulyett barely to have left his hand—yet already it was flying back to him at what seemed like the speed of light. He had no time to judge it but held out the right hand instinctively, and the leather stuck, right in the middle of his palm. With the sound of Bonnor’s stroke still echoing about the ground, many eyes in the gallery were looking for the area near the boundary where they thought that the ball would land. The eyes of George Giffen, the non-striker, were among the wanderers, and he was certain that everyone else must be looking for it, too: indeed, a segment of the crowd, in panic, had even opened up a space in the ring in anticipation of the ball’s descent. Giffen reckoned it to have been a very mighty drive indeed—but he could not see where it had gone. When, finally, his and other eyes were diverted back towards the pitch, they noticed Ulyett celebrating and Bonnor was departing. It soon dawned on them that Ulyett had taken the catch. Although Ulyett felt no pain in the centre of his hand, there was definitely a fair amount of it on the outside. Bonnor looked at him disgustedly, thinking it almost immoral to have done such a thing, and he walked off gloomily. The England players gathered around Ulyett in wonderment. They seemed to the Wisden correspondent to be curious as to what kind of man this was—although they were also keen to congratulate him on his evasion of impending danger. The looks on the faces of Allan Steel and Alfred Lyttelton would stay with Wisdens man for a long time. WG Grace and Lord Harris both told Ulyett that he was foolish to have attempted to take the catch: had it hit his wrist or arm instead, that bone would surely have snapped. Giffen believed that this was one of the finest catches that he had ever seen, and, although on the team which it had adversely affected, he definitely appreciated it.
Earlier, in 1881/82, Ulyett had made his only Test century, hitting 149 at Melbourne in a drawn match.
The end of Ulyett's international career came in somewhat controversial fashion. At Lord's in 1890 he had made 74 out of 173 to shore up England's first innings after they had slumped to 20/4, putting on 72 with Maurice Read
. However, he did not appear at The Oval
three weeks later because the authorities at Yorkshire refused to release him from county duty, requiring him instead to play against Middlesex
at Bradford. (He made 11 and did not bowl a ball.)
He played on for Yorkshire for a few more years, but bowled increasingly little and did not take a wicket after 1891. The last of his 18 hundreds came against Middlesex in 1892, and he bade a quiet farewell from the first-class game in scoring just nine at Bramall Lane in August 1893.
contracted while attending a Yorkshire match at Sheffield. His popularity was shown by the turnout of 4,000 for his funeral.
"Of large build, ruddy countenance and of cheery disposition, Ulyett was a typical Yorkshireman" He was clean hitter of a cricket ball and a fast bowler with "a high action". Lyttleton also says he was not a particularly skilful bowler: "He pounded away straight and hard but I never thought that he used his head much".
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...
all-round
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...
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"....
, noted particularly for his very-aggressive batsmanship. A well-liked man (who, in later years, kept a pub in his native Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
), Ulyett was popularly known as "Happy Jack", once musing memorably that Yorkshire
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
played him only for his good behaviour and his whistling. A fine all round sportsman, Ulyett played football in the 1882-83 and 1883-84 seasons as goalkeeper for Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
.
Cricket career
Born in PitsmoorPitsmoor
Pitsmoor is a former village, now a suburb of Sheffield. The name derives from Or-pits as, anciently, the main local industry was the mining of ore.-History:...
, Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, Ulyett joined the local Pitsmoor club at the age of sixteen and, from 1871 to 1873, played as a professional in Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
. In 1873, he made his Yorkshire
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
debut, at Bramall Lane
Bramall Lane
-Cricket at the Lane:Bramall Lane opened as a cricket ground in 1855, having been leased by Michael Ellison from the Duke of Norfolk at an annual rent of £70. The site was then away from the town's industrial area, and relatively free from smoke. It was built to host the matches of local cricket...
against Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
, and remained a valued member of the team for the next twenty years, passing 1,000 runs in ten seasons and fifty wickets in three. In his best batting year of 1883 Ulyett achieved the remarkable feat of scoring 1,562 runs - eleven runs from being the leading run scorer - without a single century. Not until Charles Harris
Charles Harris (cricketer)
Charles Bowmar Harris was an English cricketer who played for Nottinghamshire, chiefly as an opening batsman, in which role he was one of the mainstays of the county side in the 1930s and 1940s, when it declined as the bowling became very weak with the retirement of Larwood and the decline of Voce...
in 1935 did any batsman score more runs without a century, and only David Green in 1965 - a somewhat similar style of hard hitting opener - has since come remotely so close to being the leading run scorer of a season without scoring a century. He took his career-best figures of seven for thirty against Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
in 1878 and, in 1887, made his highest score, 199 not out against 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...
.
Ulyett was a member James Lillywhite Junior's tour of Australia in 1876/77. After the visitors' early defeat at the hands of a XV of New South Wales, the local press pronounced them "by a long way the weakest side that have ever played in the colonies, notwithstanding the presence of Shaw, who is termed the premier bowler of England. If Ulyett, Emmett, and Hill are specimens of the best fast bowling in England, all we can say is, either they have not shown their proper form, or British bowling has sadly deteriorated." Not long after, however in an eleven-a-side first-class match against New South Wales, Ulyett scored an excellent 94 to guide Lillywhite's team to victory.
Ulyett also played in the first-ever Test match
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...
, staged at the MCG
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
, during that tour. His first real action in Test cricket came when he held onto a catch off the bowling of James Southerton to dismiss Billy Midwinter for five. With the bat, however, Ulyett failed in the first innings, lasting just a quarter of an hour before Nat Thomson had him trapped in front; in the second innings, however, with England in dire straits, he fought hard with John Selby for about 45 minutes—but then the rampant Tom Kendall got one through his defences and effectively brought an end to England's resistance, the match being lost by 45 runs. In bowling, Ulyett took three for 39 in the second innings, his first wicket being that of Charles Bannerman
Charles Bannerman
Charles Bannerman was an Australian Test cricketer, a right-hand batsman, who played domestic cricket for New South Wales....
, who famously managed an incredible 165 out of Australia's first innings total of 245 (or 67.3 per cent of it, still a Test-Match record). This amazing effort finally came to an end when the toiling Ulyett let loose a sharp, rising bouncer that found its way through Bannerman's primitive gloving and struck him a blow on the index finger, splitting it open rather badly. A short delay revealed the fact that Bannerman could no longer grip his bat properly and that, therefore, he would have to retire. The Australian opener walked off, wincing from the pain in his bloodied right hand. George Ulyett, although never regarded as a truly-quick bowler, could nevertheless do real damage on occasion. Bannerman was unable to field, and, in the second innings, when Ulyett dismissed him again (this time in orthodox fashion—bowled), he faced just nine deliveries.
In the second game, also at Melbourne, Ulyett showed his worth as a batsman, making 52 and 63 to secure an 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...
win by four wickets
The result in cricket
The result in a game of cricket may be a win for one of the two teams playing, a draw or a tie. In the case of a limited overs game, the game can also end with no result...
. Thereafter, he was a regular pick for the England Test side, with his batting and bowling backed up by some fine displays of fielding.
Ulyett played 25 Tests in total—it was by far the longest career of any England cricketer to play in that inaugural Test—and several times changed the course of a match. At Lord's in 1884, in the second innings, he returned an analysis
Bowling analysis
In the sport of cricket, a bowling analysis usually refers to a notation summarising a bowler's performance in terms of overs bowled, how many of those overs are maidens , total runs conceded and number of wickets taken...
of 39.1-23-36-7 (four-ball overs) to reduce the Australians
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...
from 60/1 to 145 all out and force a remarkable innings victory.
Included in that haul was one of the most famous caughts-and-bowled ever taken. Ulyett sent down a straight half-volley to Bonnor, who drove at it with all his considerable might and got it right out of the middle of the bat. The ball flew back towards the bowler with a resounding crack. It seemed to Ulyett barely to have left his hand—yet already it was flying back to him at what seemed like the speed of light. He had no time to judge it but held out the right hand instinctively, and the leather stuck, right in the middle of his palm. With the sound of Bonnor’s stroke still echoing about the ground, many eyes in the gallery were looking for the area near the boundary where they thought that the ball would land. The eyes of George Giffen, the non-striker, were among the wanderers, and he was certain that everyone else must be looking for it, too: indeed, a segment of the crowd, in panic, had even opened up a space in the ring in anticipation of the ball’s descent. Giffen reckoned it to have been a very mighty drive indeed—but he could not see where it had gone. When, finally, his and other eyes were diverted back towards the pitch, they noticed Ulyett celebrating and Bonnor was departing. It soon dawned on them that Ulyett had taken the catch. Although Ulyett felt no pain in the centre of his hand, there was definitely a fair amount of it on the outside. Bonnor looked at him disgustedly, thinking it almost immoral to have done such a thing, and he walked off gloomily. The England players gathered around Ulyett in wonderment. They seemed to the Wisden correspondent to be curious as to what kind of man this was—although they were also keen to congratulate him on his evasion of impending danger. The looks on the faces of Allan Steel and Alfred Lyttelton would stay with Wisdens man for a long time. WG Grace and Lord Harris both told Ulyett that he was foolish to have attempted to take the catch: had it hit his wrist or arm instead, that bone would surely have snapped. Giffen believed that this was one of the finest catches that he had ever seen, and, although on the team which it had adversely affected, he definitely appreciated it.
Earlier, in 1881/82, Ulyett had made his only Test century, hitting 149 at Melbourne in a drawn match.
The end of Ulyett's international career came in somewhat controversial fashion. At Lord's in 1890 he had made 74 out of 173 to shore up England's first innings after they had slumped to 20/4, putting on 72 with Maurice Read
Maurice Read
John Maurice Read was an English professional cricketer. Wrote Harry Altham of him in that truly magisterial work, A History of Cricket, "Maurice Read had been recognised as a dashing player up to Test Match form, to say nothing of being a wonderful fielder in the country." A hard-hitting and,...
. However, he did not appear 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...
three weeks later because the authorities at Yorkshire refused to release him from county duty, requiring him instead to play against 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...
at Bradford. (He made 11 and did not bowl a ball.)
Death
After retirement, his health began to fail and five years later he died in Pitsmoor, aged just 46, of pneumoniaPneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
contracted while attending a Yorkshire match at Sheffield. His popularity was shown by the turnout of 4,000 for his funeral.
"Of large build, ruddy countenance and of cheery disposition, Ulyett was a typical Yorkshireman" He was clean hitter of a cricket ball and a fast bowler with "a high action". Lyttleton also says he was not a particularly skilful bowler: "He pounded away straight and hard but I never thought that he used his head much".