Warren Bardsley
Encyclopedia
Warren "Curly" Bardsley (6 December 1882, Nevertire, New South Wales
, Australia
– 20 January 1954, Collaroy Plateau
, Sydney
, New South Wales
, Australia) was an Australian Test cricketer. An opening batsman, Bardsley played 41 Tests between 1909 and 1926 and over 200 first-class games for New South Wales
. He was Wisden
's Cricketer of the Year in 1910.
A strong domestic season in 1908-09 – 748 runs from 9 innings at an average of 83.11 – led to Bardsley's inclusion in the 1909 Australian squad to tour England
for the Ashes
. After making his debut at Edgbaston
, in the city of Birmingham
, Bardsley struggled for runs in the Test arena, returning scores of 2, 6, 46, 0, 30, 2, 9 and 35 in his first eight innings. In the Fifth Test, at The Oval
, London
, however, Bardsley became the first Test cricketer to score a century - 100 runs or more - in both innings of a single Test match.
The 1910-11 series against South Africa
in Australia was Bardsley's strongest Test series - 573 runs at 63.67 in nine innings. The following year, against England
, he struggled somewhat and was replaced by the ageing Syd Gregory
for the Fifth Test. Bardsley returned to Test form in the inaugural Triangular Test
series (featuring England, Australia and South Africa in England) ending the series as the leading run-scorer (392 runs at 65.33 from 6 innings).
The First World War
robbed Bardsley of five years of his playing career. By the time Test cricket resumed in 1920, Bardsley was aged in his mid-thirties. His form was not the same; in the 21 Tests Bardsley played from 1920 to 1926, he managed only one century. Maintaining his position in the Australian Test squad proved to be difficult, especially considering the fine form of younger opening batsmen Bill Ponsford
, Bill Woodfull
and Herbie Collins
. Despite his Test woes, domestically Bardsley continued to average in the high-30s - low-40s for New South Wales throughout much of the early-1920s.
Warren Bardsley was 43 years old when he made his last Test tour of England, in 1926. After captain Herbie Collins was felled by illness after the Second Test, the captaincy duties fell on Bardsley, despite his inexperience in that field. Both matches under Bardsley's tenure ended in a draw. Bardsley played all five Tests in the 1926 series; his undefeated innings of 193 at Lord's in the Second Test would be his highest Test score, and made him the oldest player to score a Test century for Australia.
After his retirement from Test and first-class cricket, Bardsley would briefly serve as a national selector. He continued to play club cricket for Glebe into his fifties. This longevity was attributed to rigorous exercise, and abstaining from alcohol and tobacco.
In 1945, aged 62, Bardsley married 45-year-old Gertrude Cope, his wife until his death in 1954. The last time they met, leaving the funeral of Dr Rowley Pope, Jack Fingleton
asked Bardsley his thoughts. "I was just thinking," said the old cricketer, "what a great bloke old Doc was. I was thinking of him, and then I just happened to see So-And-So across there, and I thought, Poor old So-And-So. By cripes, he's looking old. And then I thought, Well, I suppose some of them are looking at me and saying, 'Poor old Bards. By cripes, he's looking old! That's just the trouble. We are all just poor old So-And-So's."
Nevertire, New South Wales
Nevertire is a rural village in New South Wales, Australia. It is located at the junction of the Mitchell Highway and the Oxley Highway, in Warren Shire. Nevertire is about 525 kilometres northwest of Sydney, 68 km north-west of Narromine and about 90 km from Dubbo. It is about...
, Australia
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...
– 20 January 1954, Collaroy Plateau
Collaroy Plateau, New South Wales
Collaroy Plateau is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Collaroy Plateau is located 22 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Warringah Council and is part of the Northern Beaches region.Collaroy Plateau...
, 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...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia) was an Australian Test cricketer. An opening batsman, Bardsley played 41 Tests between 1909 and 1926 and over 200 first-class games for New South Wales
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
. He was Wisden
Wisden
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...
's Cricketer of the Year in 1910.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
for the Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
. After making his debut at Edgbaston
Edgbaston Cricket Ground
Edgbaston Cricket Ground, also known as the County Ground or Edgbaston Stadium, is a cricket ground in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, England...
, in the city of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Bardsley struggled for runs in the Test arena, returning scores of 2, 6, 46, 0, 30, 2, 9 and 35 in his first eight innings. In the Fifth Test, 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...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, however, Bardsley became the first Test cricketer to score a century - 100 runs or more - in both innings of a single Test match.
The 1910-11 series 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...
in Australia was Bardsley's strongest Test series - 573 runs at 63.67 in nine innings. The following year, against 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...
, he struggled somewhat and was replaced by the ageing Syd Gregory
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...
for the Fifth Test. Bardsley returned to Test form in the inaugural Triangular Test
1912 Triangular Tournament
The 1912 Triangular Tournament was a Test cricket competition played between Australia, England and South Africa, the only Test-playing nations at the time....
series (featuring England, Australia and South Africa in England) ending the series as the leading run-scorer (392 runs at 65.33 from 6 innings).
The First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
robbed Bardsley of five years of his playing career. By the time Test cricket resumed in 1920, Bardsley was aged in his mid-thirties. His form was not the same; in the 21 Tests Bardsley played from 1920 to 1926, he managed only one century. Maintaining his position in the Australian Test squad proved to be difficult, especially considering the fine form of younger opening batsmen Bill Ponsford
Bill Ponsford
William Harold "Bill" Ponsford MBE was an Australian cricketer. Usually playing as an opening batsman, he formed a successful and long-lived partnership opening the batting for Victoria and Australia with Bill Woodfull, his friend and state and national captain...
, Bill Woodfull
Bill Woodfull
William Maldon "Bill" Woodfull OBE was an Australian cricketer of the 1920s and 1930s. He captained both Victoria and Australia, and was best known for his dignified and moral conduct during the tumultuous bodyline series in 1932–33 that almost saw the end of Anglo-Australian cricketing ties...
and Herbie Collins
Herbie Collins
Herbert Leslie Collins was an Australian cricketer who played 19 Tests between 1921 and 1926. An all-rounder, he captained the Australian team in eleven Tests, winning five, losing two with another four finishing in draws...
. Despite his Test woes, domestically Bardsley continued to average in the high-30s - low-40s for New South Wales throughout much of the early-1920s.
Warren Bardsley was 43 years old when he made his last Test tour of England, in 1926. After captain Herbie Collins was felled by illness after the Second Test, the captaincy duties fell on Bardsley, despite his inexperience in that field. Both matches under Bardsley's tenure ended in a draw. Bardsley played all five Tests in the 1926 series; his undefeated innings of 193 at Lord's in the Second Test would be his highest Test score, and made him the oldest player to score a Test century for Australia.
After his retirement from Test and first-class cricket, Bardsley would briefly serve as a national selector. He continued to play club cricket for Glebe into his fifties. This longevity was attributed to rigorous exercise, and abstaining from alcohol and tobacco.
In 1945, aged 62, Bardsley married 45-year-old Gertrude Cope, his wife until his death in 1954. The last time they met, leaving the funeral of Dr Rowley Pope, Jack Fingleton
Jack Fingleton
John "Jack" Henry Webb Fingleton OBE was an Australian cricketer who was trained as a journalist and became a political and cricket commentator after the end of his playing career...
asked Bardsley his thoughts. "I was just thinking," said the old cricketer, "what a great bloke old Doc was. I was thinking of him, and then I just happened to see So-And-So across there, and I thought, Poor old So-And-So. By cripes, he's looking old. And then I thought, Well, I suppose some of them are looking at me and saying, 'Poor old Bards. By cripes, he's looking old! That's just the trouble. We are all just poor old So-And-So's."