Warwick Armstrong
Encyclopedia
Warwick Windridge Armstrong (22 May 1879 – 13 July 1947) was an Australia
n cricket
er who played 50 Test matches
between 1902 and 1921. An all-rounder
, he captain
ed Australia in ten Test matches between 1920 and 1921 and was undefeated, winning eight Tests and drawing two. Armstrong was captain of the 1920–21 Australian team
that defeated the touring English 5–0; one of only two teams to win an Ashes
series in a whitewash
. In a Test career interrupted by the First World War
he scored 2,863 runs
at an average of 38.68, including six centuries
and took 87 wickets. He was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame
in 2000.
Armstrong was a large man; (6 foot 3 inches – 1.9 m tall and 21 stones – 133 kg
or 294 lb
) and was known as the "Big Ship". He was not a stylish batsman but his strokeplay was effective, with a sound defence and temperament. He bowled leg spin
with a gentle action and while not a big turner of the ball, he relied on his accuracy to dismiss his opponents. He made his Test debut in 1902 against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
(MCG) and was selected to tour England later that year
where he was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year
. That was the first of four tours of England. He was involved in several altercations with cricket administrators and was one of the "Big Six
" who boycotted the 1912 Triangular Tournament
in England after a dispute with the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket
.
A talented Australian rules football
er, Armstrong briefly represented South Melbourne
in the Victorian Football League
before playing Test cricket. He was employed as a pavilion clerk by the Melbourne Cricket Club
for much of his cricket career, who allowed him time to play cricket. Following his retirement from Test and first-class cricket
after the successful 1921 tour of England, Armstrong took a position as an agent for a scotch whisky
distributor and wrote on cricket for the Sydney Evening News.
n town of Kyneton
in 1879, the eldest son of John and his wife Amelia (née Flynn). The marriage was across the sectarian divide, then strong in Australia: John was an Anglican
; Amelia was a Catholic. The Armstrong family moved to Melbourne
in 1880, settling in the inner suburb of Emerald Hill. An inheritance enabled the family to move to a larger house, "Arra Glen" in North Caulfield, Victoria in 1888.
Armstrong attended Cumloden School, a respected sporting member of the Schools Association, a group of smaller private schools in Melbourne. By 1893, he had found himself a spot in the school XI and came to the attention of the press, catching the eye of journalists Reginald Wilmot and Tom Horan
. Armstrong joined the nearby Caulfield Cricket Club and played in a senior premiership with the club at the age of 15.
The next year the St Kilda Cricket Club
, one of the leading clubs in Melbourne's pennant competition
, gave the youthful Armstrong a trial. In the 1896–97 season, Armstrong fell out with St Kilda and returned to Caulfield. His last years of school were at University College.
Leaving school at 19, Armstrong joined his father's former club, South Melbourne
, captained by Australian Test captain Harry Trott
. Armstrong was an immediate success, scoring 101 run
s against University and 173 against his former club, St Kilda. He was selected to represent Victoria
against Tasmania
in Hobart
in January 1899, as one of seven in the squad making their first-class cricket
débuts. Armstrong's performance was promising, scoring six and 33 and taking four for 78 in 27 overs
.
Armstrong began regular Sheffield Shield cricket in the 1899–1900 season. In his first match against New South Wales
in January 1900, he dismissed Syd Gregory
with his second delivery and scored 45 runs in the second innings
. In the Pennant
season for South Melbourne, Armstrong scored 665 runs at an average of 95; this included 145 and six for nineteen against the Melbourne Cricket Club
, the largest club in Melbourne whose team included many Test and first-class cricketers.
(MCC). For the next twenty years, on and off the pitch, Armstrong's fortunes were tied to the club, a leading cricketing light in Australia and a bastion of the city's rich and powerful. He scored his maiden first-class century, 118, against South Australia, facing the very fast and physically dangerous bowling of Ernie Jones
, and by the end of the 1900–01 season he was a permanent member of the Victorian team.
The England cricket team, organised and captained by Archie MacLaren, toured Australia to compete for The Ashes
in the summer of 1901–02. The English were considered a poor and undermanned team, but it surprised all by winning the first Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground
by an innings and 124 runs. Before the second Test, Armstrong had an excellent all-round performance against New South Wales, dismissing Test players Victor Trumper
and Syd Gregory
, and then scoring 137 in reply. When the team for the Melbourne Test was announced, Armstrong was selected, making his début with Reggie Duff
from New South Wales.
Armstrong made a steady start to Test cricket. Batting at No. 9
on a sticky wicket
, he made four not out in the first innings, in an Australian total of 116. In reply, England could only score 61. With the wicket still treacherous, Australia rearranged their batting order to save the better batsmen until conditions improved. The two debutants, Duff and Armstrong, were positioned at 10 and 11, and shared a 120-run partnership for the last wicket, Duff scoring 104 and Armstrong 45 not out. Australia won the Test by 229 runs. Armstrong played in the remaining Tests in the series, narrowly heading the averages with 159 runs at an average of 53, and Australia went on to win comfortably by four matches to one.
Armstrong was selected as part of the Australian cricket team
to tour England in 1902. He started the tour well, taking eight for 47 in the second innings against Nottinghamshire
, his best bowling figures to that date. The first Test, at Edgbaston
was rain-affected and the Australians were lucky to come away with a draw, being dismissed for 36 in their first innings. The rest of the close-fought series was followed with interest by the English public. The Second Test at Lord's
was rained off, and Australia won the third at Bramall Lane
by 143 runs. The final two Tests were nail-biters — Australia winning the fourth at Old Trafford
by only three runs and England earning a consolation victory in the Fifth Test at the Oval
by one wicket, when last-wicket pair George Hirst
and Wilfred Rhodes
eked out the final runs. Armstrong had a good tour, making 1,075 runs at 27.56 and taking 72 wickets at an average of 17.90, but the star for the Australians was Victor Trumper
, who made 2,570 runs at an average of 48.49 including eleven centuries.
On the return trip to Australia, the touring team stopped in South Africa
to play three Tests, the first between the two nations. In the Second Test at Johannesburg
, Armstrong scored 159, just over half the Australian score of 309 and carried his bat
through the innings as Australia won the Test by 159 runs. Australia won the Test series two–nil. On return to Australia for the 1902–03 season, he made 580 runs at an average of 58 and 23 wickets at an average of just over 19. The highlights of his season included 145 against Queensland
and a hat-trick against New South Wales.
Plum Warner
's English team toured Australia in 1903–04, the first to do so under the auspices of the Marylebone Cricket Club
. The strong English team defeated Australia three–two, retrieving the Ashes. Armstrong did not have a good series. He was tormented by Rhodes, who dismissed him eight times in ten meetings for Victoria and Australia that summer. As a result, he was dropped from the Australian XI after the Third Test.
Returning to club cricket, Armstrong found form, scoring 438 in only 455 minutes for Melbourne against University, from a total score of 699 for eight. In the 1904–05 season, Armstrong scored 460 runs at 57.5 for Victoria to secure selection for the 1905 tour of England.
was asserting its right to control Australian cricket.
Armstrong, finding himself promoted to number five in the batting order, started the tour well with 112 against Nottinghamshire
and 248 against Gentlemen of England
at Lord's. In the First Test at Trent Bridge, Australia's lack of effective bowling options had Armstrong forced to bowl wide outside the leg stump
in an early form of leg-theory
bowling to prevent the England batsmen from scoring quickly. Bumbling and taciturn, Armstrong maintained an accurate line and length, and put a strangle on both England's run-scoring and the crowd's entertainment. It was a recurrent pattern for the rest of the series, and lead to what was seen by spectators and the press as dull cricket. Batsmen like the imperial Archie MacLaren would kick the ball away contemptuously, but lissome JT Tyldesley proved that runs could still made if a batsman employed more enterprise. Hopping away to leg to make room for himself, Tyldesley cut and drove the leg-spinner to great effect in a strategy later used by Don Bradman against the bodyline
menace.
Armstrong's tactics were ultimately futile, a Stanley Jackson
-inspired England winning the series by two Tests to none. For the season, he scored 1,902 runs at an average of fifty. Regarding his batting, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
said, "The great batsman of the eleven was Armstrong. In form nearly all through the tour, he struck the happy medium, being brilliant without recklessness." The highlight of his tour was a triple century (303 not out, to be exact) at the Recreation Ground
at Bath against Somerset
.
When the team returned to Australia, the rift between the players and the Board of Control widened. The dispute saw the English postpone their tour, scheduled for 1906–07. In the midst of all this turmoil, Armstrong continued to impress: on tour with Melbourne Cricket Club in New Zealand, he was described by that country's Herald newspaper as a "team almost in himself". He made 868 runs at an average of 124 to complement his 83 wickets at under ten. He was elected captain
of Victoria by his team-mates for the match against New South Wales, commencing on New Year's Eve, responding with six for 68 with the ball and then scoring 168 in the second innings as part of a sturdy rearguard effort.
Armstrong found employment with the Department of Home Affairs and, as a result, declared himself unavailable for the next match against South Australia. He was mortified when he found that he had been included in the team and that the Victorian Cricket Association
(VCA) had approached his employer to ask for leave on his behalf, despite his having explicitly instructed the VCA secretary otherwise. Armstrong refused to play and was called to face a disciplinary hearing at Young & Jackson's
Hotel. Rightly indignant, he was left unpunished.
The scheduled tour postponed from the previous season kicked off with the arrival of an English team weakened by the withdrawals of a number of leading players. The First Test saw an Australian victory, Armstrong bowling 53 over
s and taking four for 92. More squabbling, this time over expenses, followed between Armstrong and the VCA, and the former withdrew from the Boxing Day
match against New South Wales. Armstrong sought a ₤1
per diem
, but the VCA held fast at ten shilling
s. It then mounted a campaign in the Melbourne press, attempting to portray Armstrong as avaricious and once again called him to front a disciplinary commission. Following threats of suspension, Armstrong was forced to apologise to the VCA. The fracas did not affect his form, however: the Second Test, starting on New Years Day, saw Armstrong score 31 and 77 and take five wickets for 89. Despite his efforts, England won a hard-fought Test by one wicket.
Australia took the Third Test in Adelaide, and a patient 133 in 289 minutes from Armstrong in the Fourth saw Australia clinch the series and win back the Ashes. The margin was four-one, but both teams were criticised by reporters for slow scoring and negative cricket.
Once again, the selection and management of the Australian team to tour England in 1909 caused friction between leading players and the Board of Control. Clem Hill
, unwilling to tour on the terms offered by the Board, withdrew his name from consideration. Regardless, the tour was a success, both for the Australians, who won the series two-one, and for Armstrong, who made 1,451 runs at an average of just under 44 and took 133 wickets at an average of 16.40 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
described his role in the tour as "to keep the side together by means of his impregnable defence, and he did exactly what was required, only on rare occasions giving free play to his hitting power. When he likes to let himself loose there is no harder driver in the world".
Armstrong, along with Monty Noble
, Tibby Cotter
and Bert Hopkins returned home via Sri Lanka
(then Ceylon), Penang
and Singapore
, where they were lavishly entertained and comfortably billeted by the elite of the Colony. Their hosts took the cricketers on a trip to the British protectorate
of Perak
for a shooting expedition where Armstrong contracted malaria
. He would suffer relapses throughout the rest of his life.
. Armstrong, more diplomatic as captain than some commenters had been expecting, turned down a lucrative offer to coach the Auckland
team.
The Melbourne Cricket Club found Armstrong a job as "pavilion clerk". His duties were broadly defined in order to allow him to meet his representative cricket obligations. These included matches against the touring South Africans, scheduled to play five Tests in 1910–11. The First Test saw Australia win by an innings and 114 runs thanks mainly to an innings on 191 from Hill and eight wickets to Bill Whitty
. Armstrong nearly missed the Second Test in Melbourne with a case of mumps
. He recovered, and although still unwell managed to score 75 and take 4–134 from 48 overs. In the Fourth Test, Armstrong compiled another century, 132 including a partnership of 154 with Hill. Australia won the series comfortably, winning four of the five Test matches with their only loss at Adelaide
by 38 runs. Returning to cricket after his self imposed exile Victor Trumper was the leading player for the Australians during the series scoring 661 runs at an average of 94.
The English team returned to Australia the following season to compete for the Ashes with Pelham Warner once again captain of a very strong English team
that included the bowlers Sydney Barnes
and Frank Foster. Warner suffered from an illness early in the tour and handed the captaincy to Johnny Douglas
. After losing the First Test, England won the remaining four Tests comfortably. In the Second Test at Melbourne, Armstrong played one of his best Test innings. Facing exceptional bowling from Foster and Barnes, he made a nerveless 90, including 14 boundaries, before being dismissed by Foster.
While this series took place, the Board of Control made plans to usurp the commonly accepted rights of the players to appoint a Manager when touring England. The hostility between the players and the board saw a fist fight break out between Clem Hill
and Peter McAlister
at a selection meeting. When the Board announced that George Crouch would be manager of the Australian team for the 1912 Triangular Tournament
in England, rather than the player's choice, Frank Laver
, outright rebellion ensued. Armstrong, Hill and Trumper, along with Hanson Carter
, Tibby Cotter
and Vernon Ransford
(known as the "Big Six") announced that they would be unavailable to join the touring party. The team, under the captaincy of Syd Gregory
, left without these players. The tour was not a success on any front: the Australians winning only eight games and losing nine in a wet season and Crouch on return to Australia reported to the Board that "some of the players had conducted themselves so badly in England as to lead to the team being socially ostracised."
International cricket was placed on hold as a result of the outbreak of the Great War
. Armstrong had been named captain of the Australian team to tour South Africa in 1914–15, however the tour was unable to take place. Armstrong chose not to enlist in the military during the war and kept his own counsel on the subject. He continued to work and play cricket for Melbourne Cricket Club, participating in the occasional fund-raising fixture.
When international cricket resumed after the Great War, Armstrong, now over forty years of age, was appointed captain
of a strong Australian team boosted by the inclusion of players such as Jack Gregory and Herbie Collins
who had starred in the Australian Imperial Forces cricket team
. Armstrong was much older than many of his team-mates and was the subject of some awe; Gregory describing him as "my ideal cricketer". The English team, captained once again by Johnny Douglas was no match for the Australians, who won all five Tests in the 1920–21 series, completing the first and only Ashes whitewash for 86 years on 1 March. Armstrong was masterful throughout the Test series. He scored 474 runs at an average of over 77 including three centuries; 158 in Sydney, 121 in Adelaide and 123 not out in Melbourne. Before going out to bat in the second innings at Sydney, he was seen, "padded up, [drinking] whisky with his mates at the members' bar".
Armstrong remained unpopular with the Board of Control. Despite Armstrong's triumphs, it was reported that he was only appointed captain of the 1921 Australian team to tour England
by "the narrowest possible margin". On the voyage to England, Armstrong attempted to lose some weight by spending some time each day in the stokehold of the ship. On arrival, however, he weighed in 4 pounds (2 kg) heavier. Against English teams badly affected by the Great War, the Australians dominated the series. Armstrong marshalled his troops well, utilising Gregory and Ted McDonald
to devastating effect. Australia won the First Test in two days, the Second Test by lunch on the third day and the Third Test and the Ashes by 5.00pm on the third day. Throughout the tour, Armstrong fought a series of running battles against the Board appointed manager, Syd Smith, on behalf of his men. Smith, looking to cut overheads, had suggested boarding with wealthy cricket devotees; Armstrong dismissed the idea.
The Fourth Test at Old Trafford was famous for two events, both involving Armstrong. The first day's play was washed out and England commenced their innings the following day, the match now a two day affair. Lionel Tennyson, the English captain, declared his innings closed
with twenty minutes of play left in the day. The Australian wicket-keeper, Sammy Carter pointed out to Armstrong that a declaration at that time in a two day match was against the Laws of cricket
as they stood at that time. Armstrong protested to the umpires and England were forced to continue batting. In the commotion, Armstrong managed to bowl two overs in succession, an action also against the Laws of cricket.
By the Fifth Test, the Australian team was in sight of being the first Australian team to remain unbeaten throughout a tour of England. Once again, much of the first day was lost to rain. Determined not to lose, Armstrong attempted to delay commencement after the rain and was heckled by English supporters. He told his three main bowlers, "I won't ask you not to get a man out, but as long as Mead
(a notoriously slow scoring batsman) remains at the wicket we can't be beaten". In the last three hours of the Test, Armstrong decided to rest his key bowlers and allowed his part time bowlers to rotate as they pleased and fielders to configure themselves. During this time, Armstrong picked up a newspaper that had been blown across the field and began to read. When asked about this later, Armstrong was said to have replied, "I wanted to see who we were playing" although this is claimed to be apocryphal. The Australians drew the Test and won the series three–nil, however they could not maintain their unbeaten record, losing by 28 runs to an English XI at Eastbourne
and again to C. I. Thornton's XI at Scarborough.
Despite the two losses, the tour was a triumph for Armstrong. Personally, he achieved the 1,000 runs and 100 wickets milestone for the third time in an English summer. About his captaincy, former rival Frank Foster said, "I honestly think that Australia have got to thank one man, one man only for their success. That man is Warwick Armstrong, probably one of the best captains ever sent to England from Australia". On return to Australia, Armstrong was greeted by large enthusiastic crowds and acclaimed at many public receptions. At one reception, he was presented with a ₤
2,500 cheque by the Prime Minister of Australia
Billy Hughes
.
. He would remain in the liquor trade until his retirement in 1946. Armstrong also applied his cricket background acting as a cricket journalist
for the Sydney Evening News. His copy was promoted as "frank and fearless" and was in general contemptuous of much of the cricket and cricketers he saw, especially of what he saw as dull cricket.
In 1922 he wrote a primer on cricket titled The Art of Cricket published by Methuen & Co, London.
In July 1913 he married Aileen O'Donnell, the daughter of a wealthy Irish Australian
pastoralist with large land holdings in the Riverina
region of New South Wales
. The couple met while Armstrong was representing the Melbourne Cricket Club in a match against a Wagga Wagga
XV. Armstrong and his new wife settled in Melbourne, moving to the Sydney
suburb of Edgecliff
for business reasons in 1935. Aileen died of a thrombosis in 1940. Armstrong, following illness that saw him lose much of the weight that he was known for, died on 13 July 1947, leaving an estate to the value of ₤90,000. He was survived by his son, Warwick George.
Armstrong was an all-round sportsman, playing Australian rules football
in the winter for South Melbourne
in the Victorian Football League
, the premier competition in the state from 1898 to 1900. A slim utility, he played 16 games for the club, scoring 18 goals. He played in South Melbourne's losing 1899 VFL Grand Final
team defeated by Fitzroy
by one point.
Although slim as a young man, Armstrong grew into a big man, weighing 133 kilograms (293 lb) and being 190 centimetres (6 foot 3 inches) tall. As a result he acquired the nickname
"The Big Ship". His oversize shirt, measuring 26 centimetres (10 in) by 85 centimetres (33 in) and his shoes, 32 centimetres (13 in) long by 18 centimetres (7 in) wide are on display at the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame
. A story told of Armstrong had a young boy following him around at a tour match in Southampton
. Armstrong, thinking it a manifestation of hero worship, offered to sign the boy's autograph book. The boy turned to Armstrong and said, "Please, sir, you are the only bit of decent shade in the place.".
As a batsman, Armstrong was not a stylist. The Times
in describing Armstrong's batting after he scored his maiden century against Sussex
in 1902 said, "Mr. Armstrong's methods were not attractive".
Armstrong was tireless as a leg break
bowler and was known for his ability to land the ball on any point of the pitch
he liked. His action imparted as much topspin
as leg spin, making it difficult for batsman to detect his "straight-breaks" Early in his career, he bowled negative leg theory
but later used his accuracy to great effect, bowling an over or two of leg breaks and then the straight one in the hope of bowling the batsman or receiving a leg before wicket
dismissal. His action consisted of an easy amble and a gentle arc and was described in the Sporting Life
as "...rather like a fat uncle, not altogether unlike a fat aunt." It was effective, however, with the Daily Telegraph stating after the First Test in 1921, "...there is not a single batsman in England who faces with any appearance of confidence his innocuous slows."
Armstrong was renowned for his gamesmanship
and was willing to push the boundaries of what was considered acceptable behaviour in order to obtain an advantage for his team. In 1909, the English all-rounder Frank Woolley
was making his Test début against the Australians at the Oval
. Taking advantage of a rule that allowed bowlers to bowl trial balls or "looseners" , Armstrong kept Woolley waiting nervously for more than fifteen minutes while he bowled trial balls alongside the pitch. In a club game against St Kilda, Armstrong claimed a catch in the slips
, only to have the umpire refuse the dismissal. It was the last ball of the over and as the field changed, Armstrong brusquely inquired why this was so. Informed that the ball had struck the batsman's pads, Armstrong then appealed for a leg before wicket
dismissal, which the umpire then upheld.
Armstrong was not a "walker"; he believed in waiting for the umpire
to make a decision, once telling the English cricketer Arthur Gilligan
, "The more you play this game, the more you will find out that will be given out many times when you are not out and vice versa". English professional cricketers
took a dim view of Armstrong's approach to the game. Jack Hobbs
, describing one instance said,
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...
n 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 50 Test matches
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...
between 1902 and 1921. An 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...
, he captain
Captain (cricket)
The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player...
ed Australia in ten Test matches between 1920 and 1921 and was undefeated, winning eight Tests and drawing two. Armstrong was captain of the 1920–21 Australian team
English cricket team in Australia in 1920-21
An England team toured Australia between November 1920 and March 1921. The tour was organised by the Marylebone Cricket Club and matches outside the Tests were played under the MCC name...
that defeated the touring English 5–0; one of only two teams to win an 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...
series in a whitewash
Whitewash (sport)
A whitewash is an informal term in sport describing a game or series in which the losing person or team fails to score.A whitewash may be in a single game where the loser fails to score any points or goals, or in a series where the loser fails to win a game...
. In a Test career interrupted by 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...
he scored 2,863 runs
Run (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a run is the basic unit of scoring. Runs are scored by a batsman, and the aggregate of the scores of a team's batsmen constitutes the team's score. A batsman scoring 50 or 100 runs , or any higher multiple of 50 runs, is considered a particular achievement...
at an average of 38.68, including six centuries
Century (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a batsman reaches his century when he scores 100 or more runs in a single innings. The term is also included in "century partnership" which occurs when two batsmen add 100 runs to the team total when they are batting together. A century is regarded as a landmark score for...
and took 87 wickets. He was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame
Australian Cricket Hall of Fame
The Australian Cricket Hall of Fame is a part of the Australian Gallery of Sport and Olympic Museum in the National Sports Museum at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. This Hall of Fame commemorates the greatest Australian cricketers of all time....
in 2000.
Armstrong was a large man; (6 foot 3 inches – 1.9 m tall and 21 stones – 133 kg
Kilogram
The kilogram or kilogramme , also known as the kilo, is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units and is defined as being equal to the mass of the International Prototype Kilogram , which is almost exactly equal to the mass of one liter of water...
or 294 lb
Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
) and was known as the "Big Ship". He was not a stylish batsman but his strokeplay was effective, with a sound defence and temperament. He bowled leg spin
Leg spin
Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in the sport of cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action, causing the ball to spin from right to left in the cricket pitch, at the point of delivery. When the ball bounces, the spin causes the ball to deviate sharply from right to left, that...
with a gentle action and while not a big turner of the ball, he relied on his accuracy to dismiss his opponents. He made his Test debut in 1902 against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
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...
(MCG) and was selected to tour England later that year
Australian cricket team in England in 1902
The Australian cricket team toured England during the 1902 English cricket season. The five-Test series between the two countries has been fondly remembered; in 1967 the cricket writer A.A. Thomson described the series as "a rubber more exciting than any in history except the Australia v West...
where he was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
The Wisden Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season"...
. That was the first of four tours of England. He was involved in several altercations with cricket administrators and was one of the "Big Six
Big Six cricket dispute of 1912
The Big Six cricket dispute that occurred in 1912 was a confrontation between the administrators and players of the sport of cricket in Australia. Six of Australia's leading cricketers refused an invitation to tour England for the 1912 Triangular Tournament. The six players were Warwick Armstrong,...
" who boycotted the 1912 Triangular Tournament
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....
in England after a dispute with the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket
Cricket Australia
Cricket Australia, formerly known as the Australian Cricket Board, is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in Australia. It was originally formed in 1905 as the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket...
.
A talented Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
er, Armstrong briefly represented South Melbourne
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
in the Victorian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
before playing Test cricket. He was employed as a pavilion clerk by the Melbourne Cricket Club
Melbourne Cricket Club
The Melbourne Cricket Club is a sporting club based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1838 and is regarded as the oldest sporting club in Australia....
for much of his cricket career, who allowed him time to play cricket. Following his retirement from Test and 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...
after the successful 1921 tour of England, Armstrong took a position as an agent for a scotch whisky
Scotch whisky
Scotch whisky is whisky made in Scotland.Scotch whisky is divided into five distinct categories: Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Single Grain Scotch Whisky, Blended Malt Scotch Whisky , Blended Grain Scotch Whisky, and Blended Scotch Whisky.All Scotch whisky must be aged in oak barrels for at least three...
distributor and wrote on cricket for the Sydney Evening News.
Early life
Armstrong was born in the rural VictoriaVictoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
n town of Kyneton
Kyneton, Victoria
Kyneton is a town on the Calder Highway in the Macedon Ranges of Victoria, Australia. The Calder Freeway bypasses Kyneton to the north and east. The town was named after the English village of Kineton, Warwickshire. The town has three main streets: Mollison Street, Piper Street and High Street...
in 1879, the eldest son of John and his wife Amelia (née Flynn). The marriage was across the sectarian divide, then strong in Australia: John was an Anglican
Anglican Church of Australia
The Anglican Church of Australia is a member church of the Anglican Communion. It was previously officially known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania...
; Amelia was a Catholic. The Armstrong family moved to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
in 1880, settling in the inner suburb of Emerald Hill. An inheritance enabled the family to move to a larger house, "Arra Glen" in North Caulfield, Victoria in 1888.
Armstrong attended Cumloden School, a respected sporting member of the Schools Association, a group of smaller private schools in Melbourne. By 1893, he had found himself a spot in the school XI and came to the attention of the press, catching the eye of journalists Reginald Wilmot and Tom Horan
Tom Horan
Thomas Patrick Horan was an Australian cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia, and later became an esteemed cricket journalist under the pen name "Felix". The first of only two Irish-born players to play Test cricket for Australia, Horan was the leading batsman in the colony of Victoria...
. Armstrong joined the nearby Caulfield Cricket Club and played in a senior premiership with the club at the age of 15.
The next year the St Kilda Cricket Club
St Kilda Cricket Club
St Kilda Cricket Club is a cricket club in the elite club competition of Melbourne, Australia, known as Victorian Premier Cricket.Its home ground is the St Kilda Cricket Ground, often called the Junction Oval.-History:...
, one of the leading clubs in Melbourne's pennant competition
Victorian Premier Cricket
Victorian Premier Cricket is the elite club cricket competition in the state of Victoria, administered by Cricket Victoria. Each club fields four teams of adult players and usually play on weekends and public holidays. Matches are played on turf wickets under limited-time rules, with most results...
, gave the youthful Armstrong a trial. In the 1896–97 season, Armstrong fell out with St Kilda and returned to Caulfield. His last years of school were at University College.
Leaving school at 19, Armstrong joined his father's former club, South Melbourne
Casey-South Melbourne Cricket Club
The Casey-South Melbourne Cricket Club is a cricket club located in the outer south-eastern Melbourne suburb of Cranbourne East, which plays in the Victorian Premier Cricket competition. Founded in 1862 as South Melbourne, it has produced nine Australian Test captains, more than any other cricket...
, captained by Australian Test captain Harry Trott
Harry Trott
George Henry Stevens "Harry" Trott was an Australian Test cricketer who played 24 Test matches as an all-rounder between 1888 and 1898. Although Trott was a versatile batsman, spin bowler and outstanding fielder, "... it is as a captain that he is best remembered, an understanding judge of...
. Armstrong was an immediate success, scoring 101 run
Run (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a run is the basic unit of scoring. Runs are scored by a batsman, and the aggregate of the scores of a team's batsmen constitutes the team's score. A batsman scoring 50 or 100 runs , or any higher multiple of 50 runs, is considered a particular achievement...
s against University and 173 against his former club, St Kilda. He was selected to represent Victoria
Victorian Bushrangers
The Victorian cricket team, nicknamed the Bushrangers, is an Australian cricket team based in Melbourne, that represents the state of Victoria. It is administered by Cricket Victoria and draws its players from Melbourne's Premier Cricket competition...
against Tasmania
Tasmanian Tigers
The Tasmanian cricket team, nicknamed the Tigers, represents the Australian state of Tasmania in cricket tournaments. They compete annually in the Australian domestic senior men's cricket season, which currently consists of the first-class Sheffield Shield, the limited overs Ford Ranger Cup, and...
in Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
in January 1899, as one of seven in the squad making their 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...
débuts. Armstrong's performance was promising, scoring six and 33 and taking four for 78 in 27 overs
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....
.
Armstrong began regular Sheffield Shield cricket in the 1899–1900 season. In his first match against 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...
in January 1900, he dismissed 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...
with his second delivery and scored 45 runs in the second innings
Innings
An inning, or innings, is a fixed-length segment of a game in any of a variety of sports – most notably cricket and baseball during which one team attempts to score while the other team attempts to prevent the first from scoring. In cricket, the term innings is both singular and plural and is...
. In the Pennant
Pennant (sports)
A pennant is a commemorative flag typically used to show support for a particular athletic team. Pennants have been historically used in all types of athletic levels: high school, collegiate, professional etc. Traditionally, pennants were made of felt and fashioned in the official colors of a...
season for South Melbourne, Armstrong scored 665 runs at an average of 95; this included 145 and six for nineteen against the Melbourne Cricket Club
Melbourne Cricket Club
The Melbourne Cricket Club is a sporting club based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1838 and is regarded as the oldest sporting club in Australia....
, the largest club in Melbourne whose team included many Test and first-class cricketers.
Early career
Following his feats against it in 1899–1900, Armstrong was recruited for the next season by the Melbourne Cricket ClubMelbourne Cricket Club
The Melbourne Cricket Club is a sporting club based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1838 and is regarded as the oldest sporting club in Australia....
(MCC). For the next twenty years, on and off the pitch, Armstrong's fortunes were tied to the club, a leading cricketing light in Australia and a bastion of the city's rich and powerful. He scored his maiden first-class century, 118, against South Australia, facing the very fast and physically dangerous bowling of Ernie Jones
Ernie Jones
Ernest Jones was an Australian sportsman, playing Test cricket and Australian rules football....
, and by the end of the 1900–01 season he was a permanent member of the Victorian team.
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...
in the summer of 1901–02. The English were considered a poor and undermanned team, but it surprised all by winning the first Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
by an innings and 124 runs. Before the second Test, Armstrong had an excellent all-round performance against New South Wales, dismissing Test players Victor Trumper
Victor Trumper
Victor Thomas Trumper was an Australian cricketer known as the most stylish and versatile batsman of the Golden Age of cricket, capable of playing match-winning innings on wet wickets his contemporaries found unplayable. Archie MacLaren said of him, "Compared to Victor I was a cab-horse to a Derby...
and 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...
, and then scoring 137 in reply. When the team for the Melbourne Test was announced, Armstrong was selected, making his début with Reggie Duff
Reggie Duff
Reginald Alexander Duff was an Australian cricketer who played in 22 Tests between 1902 and 1905....
from New South Wales.
Armstrong made a steady start to Test cricket. Batting at No. 9
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...
on a sticky wicket
Sticky wicket
Sticky wicket is a metaphor used to describe a difficult circumstance; it originates from difficult circumstances in the sport of cricket.-Origins:...
, he made four not out in the first innings, in an Australian total of 116. In reply, England could only score 61. With the wicket still treacherous, Australia rearranged their batting order to save the better batsmen until conditions improved. The two debutants, Duff and Armstrong, were positioned at 10 and 11, and shared a 120-run partnership for the last wicket, Duff scoring 104 and Armstrong 45 not out. Australia won the Test by 229 runs. Armstrong played in the remaining Tests in the series, narrowly heading the averages with 159 runs at an average of 53, and Australia went on to win comfortably by four matches to one.
Armstrong was selected as part of the Australian cricket team
Australian cricket team in England in 1902
The Australian cricket team toured England during the 1902 English cricket season. The five-Test series between the two countries has been fondly remembered; in 1967 the cricket writer A.A. Thomson described the series as "a rubber more exciting than any in history except the Australia v West...
to tour England in 1902. He started the tour well, taking eight for 47 in the second innings against Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire 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 Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
, his best bowling figures to that date. The first Test, 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...
was rain-affected and the Australians were lucky to come away with a draw, being dismissed for 36 in their first innings. The rest of the close-fought series was followed with interest by the English public. The Second Test at 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...
was rained off, and Australia won the third 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...
by 143 runs. The final two Tests were nail-biters — Australia winning the fourth at Old Trafford
Old Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
by only three runs and England earning a consolation victory 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...
by one wicket, when last-wicket pair George Hirst
George Herbert Hirst
George Herbert Hirst was a professional English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1891 and 1921, with a further appearance in 1929. He played in 24 Test matches for England between 1897 and 1909, touring Australia twice...
and Wilfred Rhodes
Wilfred Rhodes
Wilfred Rhodes was an English professional cricketer who played 58 Test matches for England between 1899 and 1930. In Tests, Rhodes took 127 wickets in and scored 2,325 runs, becoming the first Englishman to complete the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in Test matches...
eked out the final runs. Armstrong had a good tour, making 1,075 runs at 27.56 and taking 72 wickets at an average of 17.90, but the star for the Australians was Victor Trumper
Victor Trumper
Victor Thomas Trumper was an Australian cricketer known as the most stylish and versatile batsman of the Golden Age of cricket, capable of playing match-winning innings on wet wickets his contemporaries found unplayable. Archie MacLaren said of him, "Compared to Victor I was a cab-horse to a Derby...
, who made 2,570 runs at an average of 48.49 including eleven centuries.
On the return trip to Australia, the touring team stopped in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
to play three Tests, the first between the two nations. In the Second Test at Johannesburg
Old Wanderers
Old Wanderers was a cricket ground in Johannesburg, South Africa. The ground hosted 22 Test matches from 1895 to 1939, before being rebuilt as Johannesburg's Park Station in 1946...
, Armstrong scored 159, just over half the Australian score of 309 and carried his bat
Carry the bat
In cricket, the term carry the bat refers to an opening batsman who is not dismissed when the team innings is closed...
through the innings as Australia won the Test by 159 runs. Australia won the Test series two–nil. On return to Australia for the 1902–03 season, he made 580 runs at an average of 58 and 23 wickets at an average of just over 19. The highlights of his season included 145 against Queensland
Queensland Bulls
The Queensland cricket team, nicknamed the Bulls, are the Brisbane-based Queensland representative cricket team in Australia's domestic cricket tournaments:*Sheffield Shield, 4-day matches with first-class status, since the 1926/27 season...
and a hat-trick against New South Wales.
Plum Warner
Plum Warner
Sir Pelham Francis Warner MBE , affectionately and better known as Plum Warner, or even "the Grand Old Man" of English cricket was a Test cricketer....
's English team toured Australia in 1903–04, the first to do so under the auspices of the Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
. The strong English team defeated Australia three–two, retrieving the Ashes. Armstrong did not have a good series. He was tormented by Rhodes, who dismissed him eight times in ten meetings for Victoria and Australia that summer. As a result, he was dropped from the Australian XI after the Third Test.
Returning to club cricket, Armstrong found form, scoring 438 in only 455 minutes for Melbourne against University, from a total score of 699 for eight. In the 1904–05 season, Armstrong scored 460 runs at 57.5 for Victoria to secure selection for the 1905 tour of England.
Consolidation and conflict
The 1905 Australians left for England, leaving behind the beginnings of a conflict between players and administrators over control of cricket that would poison the sport in Australia for the next ten years. While previous tours of England had been underwritten by the Melbourne Cricket Club and organised by the players, the new Australian Board of ControlCricket Australia
Cricket Australia, formerly known as the Australian Cricket Board, is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in Australia. It was originally formed in 1905 as the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket...
was asserting its right to control Australian cricket.
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire 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 Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
and 248 against Gentlemen of England
Gentlemen v Players
The Gentlemen v Players game was a first-class cricket match that was generally played on an annual basis between one team consisting of amateurs and one of professionals . The first two games took place in 1806 but the fixture was not revived until 1819. It was more or less annual thereafter...
at Lord's. In the First Test at Trent Bridge, Australia's lack of effective bowling options had Armstrong forced to bowl wide outside the leg stump
Stump (cricket)
Stump is a term used in the sport of cricket where it has three different meanings:# part of the wicket# a manner of dismissing a batsman# the end of the day's play .-Part of the wicket:...
in an early form of leg-theory
Leg theory
Leg theory is a bowling tactic in the sport of cricket. The term leg theory is somewhat archaic and seldom used any more, but the basic tactic still plays a part in modern cricket....
bowling to prevent the England batsmen from scoring quickly. Bumbling and taciturn, Armstrong maintained an accurate line and length, and put a strangle on both England's run-scoring and the crowd's entertainment. It was a recurrent pattern for the rest of the series, and lead to what was seen by spectators and the press as dull cricket. Batsmen like the imperial Archie MacLaren would kick the ball away contemptuously, but lissome JT Tyldesley proved that runs could still made if a batsman employed more enterprise. Hopping away to leg to make room for himself, Tyldesley cut and drove the leg-spinner to great effect in a strategy later used by Don Bradman against the bodyline
Bodyline
Bodyline, also known as fast leg theory bowling, was a cricketing tactic devised by the English cricket team for their 1932–33 Ashes tour of Australia, specifically to combat the extraordinary batting skill of Australia's Don Bradman...
menace.
Armstrong's tactics were ultimately futile, a Stanley Jackson
Stanley Jackson
Sir Francis Stanley Jackson, GCSI, GCIE, PC, KStJ , known as the Honourable Stanley Jackson during his playing career, was an English cricketer, soldier and Conservative Party politician.-Early life:...
-inspired England winning the series by two Tests to none. For the season, he scored 1,902 runs at an average of fifty. Regarding his batting, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
said, "The great batsman of the eleven was Armstrong. In form nearly all through the tour, he struck the happy medium, being brilliant without recklessness." The highlight of his tour was a triple century (303 not out, to be exact) at the Recreation Ground
Recreation Ground (Bath)
The Recreation Ground is a large open space in the centre of Bath, England, next to the River Avon, used for recreational purposes by Bath residents and the public generally....
at Bath against 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...
.
When the team returned to Australia, the rift between the players and the Board of Control widened. The dispute saw the English postpone their tour, scheduled for 1906–07. In the midst of all this turmoil, Armstrong continued to impress: on tour with Melbourne Cricket Club in New Zealand, he was described by that country's Herald newspaper as a "team almost in himself". He made 868 runs at an average of 124 to complement his 83 wickets at under ten. He was elected captain
Captain (cricket)
The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player...
of Victoria by his team-mates for the match against New South Wales, commencing on New Year's Eve, responding with six for 68 with the ball and then scoring 168 in the second innings as part of a sturdy rearguard effort.
Armstrong found employment with the Department of Home Affairs and, as a result, declared himself unavailable for the next match against South Australia. He was mortified when he found that he had been included in the team and that the Victorian Cricket Association
Cricket Victoria
Cricket Victoria is the governing body for the sport of cricket in Victoria. It was formed on 29 September 1875 as the Victorian Cricket Association...
(VCA) had approached his employer to ask for leave on his behalf, despite his having explicitly instructed the VCA secretary otherwise. Armstrong refused to play and was called to face a disciplinary hearing at Young & Jackson's
Young & Jackson, Melbourne
Young and Jackson is a pub in Melbourne, Australia, at the corner of Flinders Street and Swanston Street. It is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.- History :...
Hotel. Rightly indignant, he was left unpunished.
The scheduled tour postponed from the previous season kicked off with the arrival of an English team weakened by the withdrawals of a number of leading players. The First Test saw an Australian victory, Armstrong bowling 53 over
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....
s and taking four for 92. More squabbling, this time over expenses, followed between Armstrong and the VCA, and the former withdrew from the Boxing Day
Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...
match against New South Wales. Armstrong sought a ₤1
Australian pound
The pound was the currency of Australia from 1910 until 13 February 1966, when it was replaced by the Australian dollar. It was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence.- Earlier Australian currencies :...
per diem
Per diem
Per diem refers to a specific amount of money that an organization allows an individual to spend per day, to cover living and traveling expenses in connection with work...
, but the VCA held fast at ten shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
s. It then mounted a campaign in the Melbourne press, attempting to portray Armstrong as avaricious and once again called him to front a disciplinary commission. Following threats of suspension, Armstrong was forced to apologise to the VCA. The fracas did not affect his form, however: the Second Test, starting on New Years Day, saw Armstrong score 31 and 77 and take five wickets for 89. Despite his efforts, England won a hard-fought Test by one wicket.
Australia took the Third Test in Adelaide, and a patient 133 in 289 minutes from Armstrong in the Fourth saw Australia clinch the series and win back the Ashes. The margin was four-one, but both teams were criticised by reporters for slow scoring and negative cricket.
Clem Hill
Clement "Clem" Hill was an Australian cricketer who played 49 Test matches as a specialist batsman between 1896 and 1912. He captained the Australian team in ten Tests, winning five and losing five...
, unwilling to tour on the terms offered by the Board, withdrew his name from consideration. Regardless, the tour was a success, both for the Australians, who won the series two-one, and for Armstrong, who made 1,451 runs at an average of just under 44 and took 133 wickets at an average of 16.40 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
described his role in the tour as "to keep the side together by means of his impregnable defence, and he did exactly what was required, only on rare occasions giving free play to his hitting power. When he likes to let himself loose there is no harder driver in the world".
Armstrong, along with Monty Noble
Monty Noble
Montague Alfred Noble was an Australian cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. A right-hand batsman, right-handed bowler who could deliver both medium pace and off-break bowling, capable fieldsman and tactically sound captain, Noble is considered as one of the great Australian...
, Tibby Cotter
Tibby Cotter
Albert "Tibby" Cotter was an Australian cricketer who played in 21 Tests between 1904 and 1912....
and Bert Hopkins returned home via Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
(then Ceylon), Penang
Penang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, where they were lavishly entertained and comfortably billeted by the elite of the Colony. Their hosts took the cricketers on a trip to the British protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
of Perak
Perak
Perak , one of the 13 states of Malaysia, is the second largest state in the Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Yala Province of Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor the Strait of Malacca to the south and west.Perak means silver in Malay...
for a shooting expedition where Armstrong contracted malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
. He would suffer relapses throughout the rest of his life.
Rebellion
Armstrong was appointed captain of an Australian team touring New Zealand in 1909–10, partly as recognition of his accomplishments and partly due to the unavailability of other candidates, such as Trumper. Suspicions still ran high between the Board and the players and Trumper, tiring of what he perceived as persecution, retired from first-class cricket. The tour did not include any Test matches, although a match was played against a representative New Zealand team. Australia won every game, save a draw against CanterburyCanterbury Wizards
The Canterbury Wizards are a New Zealand first class cricket team based in Canterbury, New Zealand. It is one of six teams that make up New Zealand Cricket and has been the most successful domestic team in New Zealand history...
. Armstrong, more diplomatic as captain than some commenters had been expecting, turned down a lucrative offer to coach the Auckland
Auckland Aces
The Auckland domestic cricket team represent the Auckland region and are one of six New Zealand domestic first class cricket teams. Governed by the Auckland Cricket Association they are the most successful side having won 26 Plunket Shield titles, eight Domestic One Day Championships and the HRV...
team.
The Melbourne Cricket Club found Armstrong a job as "pavilion clerk". His duties were broadly defined in order to allow him to meet his representative cricket obligations. These included matches against the touring South Africans, scheduled to play five Tests in 1910–11. The First Test saw Australia win by an innings and 114 runs thanks mainly to an innings on 191 from Hill and eight wickets to Bill Whitty
Bill Whitty
William James "Bill" Whitty was an Australian Test cricketer who played 14 Tests from 1909 to 1912.-Early career:...
. Armstrong nearly missed the Second Test in Melbourne with a case of mumps
Mumps
Mumps is a viral disease of the human species, caused by the mumps virus. Before the development of vaccination and the introduction of a vaccine, it was a common childhood disease worldwide...
. He recovered, and although still unwell managed to score 75 and take 4–134 from 48 overs. In the Fourth Test, Armstrong compiled another century, 132 including a partnership of 154 with Hill. Australia won the series comfortably, winning four of the five Test matches with their only loss at Adelaide
Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
by 38 runs. Returning to cricket after his self imposed exile Victor Trumper was the leading player for the Australians during the series scoring 661 runs at an average of 94.
English cricket team in Australia in 1911-12
The English cricket team in Australia in 1911–12 was led by Plum Warner, but Johnny Douglas took over the captaincy for all five Test matches when Warner fell ill early in the tour. Despite losing the first Test at Sydney, a side which included Jack Hobbs, Frank Woolley, Sydney Barnes and Wilfred...
that included the bowlers Sydney Barnes
Sydney Barnes
Sydney Francis Barnes was an English professional cricketer who is generally regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the sport's history...
and Frank Foster. Warner suffered from an illness early in the tour and handed the captaincy to Johnny Douglas
Johnny Douglas
John "Johnny" William Henry Tyler Douglas was a cricketer who was captain of the England team and an Olympic boxer.-Early life:...
. After losing the First Test, England won the remaining four Tests comfortably. In the Second Test at Melbourne, Armstrong played one of his best Test innings. Facing exceptional bowling from Foster and Barnes, he made a nerveless 90, including 14 boundaries, before being dismissed by Foster.
While this series took place, the Board of Control made plans to usurp the commonly accepted rights of the players to appoint a Manager when touring England. The hostility between the players and the board saw a fist fight break out between Clem Hill
Clem Hill
Clement "Clem" Hill was an Australian cricketer who played 49 Test matches as a specialist batsman between 1896 and 1912. He captained the Australian team in ten Tests, winning five and losing five...
and Peter McAlister
Peter McAlister
Peter Alexander McAlister was an Australian cricketer who played in 8 Tests from 1904 to 1909....
at a selection meeting. When the Board announced that George Crouch would be manager of the Australian team for the 1912 Triangular Tournament
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....
in England, rather than the player's choice, Frank Laver
Frank Laver
Frank Jonas Laver Frank Jonas Laver Frank Jonas Laver (7 December 1869, Castlemaine, Victoria 24 September 1919, East Melbourne, Victoria was an Australian cricketer who played in 15 Tests from 1899 to 1909....
, outright rebellion ensued. Armstrong, Hill and Trumper, along with Hanson Carter
Sammy Carter
Hanson Carter was a cricketer who played for Australia and New South Wales.-Career:...
, Tibby Cotter
Tibby Cotter
Albert "Tibby" Cotter was an Australian cricketer who played in 21 Tests between 1904 and 1912....
and Vernon Ransford
Vernon Ransford
Vernon Seymour Ransford was an Australian cricketer who played in 20 Tests between 1907 and 1912. His best series was the 1909 tour of England when he topped the Australian batting averages, helped by a career best score of 143 not out. The following year he was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year...
(known as the "Big Six") announced that they would be unavailable to join the touring party. The team, under the captaincy of 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...
, left without these players. The tour was not a success on any front: the Australians winning only eight games and losing nine in a wet season and Crouch on return to Australia reported to the Board that "some of the players had conducted themselves so badly in England as to lead to the team being socially ostracised."
International cricket was placed on hold as a result of the outbreak of the Great 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...
. Armstrong had been named captain of the Australian team to tour South Africa in 1914–15, however the tour was unable to take place. Armstrong chose not to enlist in the military during the war and kept his own counsel on the subject. He continued to work and play cricket for Melbourne Cricket Club, participating in the occasional fund-raising fixture.
Captain
Australian national cricket captains
Australia played in the first-ever Test match in cricket in 1877, the first-ever One Day International in 1971 and the first-ever Twenty20 international in 2005...
of a strong Australian team boosted by the inclusion of players such as Jack Gregory 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...
who had starred in the Australian Imperial Forces cricket team
Australian Imperial Forces cricket team
The Australian Imperial Forces cricket team toured England between May and September 1919, playing 28 first-class matches after the First World War. Its overall record was 12 wins, 4 losses and 12 draws...
. Armstrong was much older than many of his team-mates and was the subject of some awe; Gregory describing him as "my ideal cricketer". The English team, captained once again by Johnny Douglas was no match for the Australians, who won all five Tests in the 1920–21 series, completing the first and only Ashes whitewash for 86 years on 1 March. Armstrong was masterful throughout the Test series. He scored 474 runs at an average of over 77 including three centuries; 158 in Sydney, 121 in Adelaide and 123 not out in Melbourne. Before going out to bat in the second innings at Sydney, he was seen, "padded up, [drinking] whisky with his mates at the members' bar".
Armstrong remained unpopular with the Board of Control. Despite Armstrong's triumphs, it was reported that he was only appointed captain of the 1921 Australian team to tour England
Australian cricket team in England in 1921
Australia won the 1921 Ashes series held in England. They won the first three matches against England, which meant that they had won eight in succession, an unequalled sequence in Ashes Tests, following the 5-0 drubbing they had administered to England in the 1920-21 season in Australia...
by "the narrowest possible margin". On the voyage to England, Armstrong attempted to lose some weight by spending some time each day in the stokehold of the ship. On arrival, however, he weighed in 4 pounds (2 kg) heavier. Against English teams badly affected by the Great War, the Australians dominated the series. Armstrong marshalled his troops well, utilising Gregory and Ted McDonald
Ted McDonald
Edgar Arthur "Ted" McDonald was a cricketer who played for Tasmania, Victoria, Lancashire and Australia, as well as being an Australian rules footballer who played with Launceston Football Club, Essendon Football Club, and Fitzroy Football Club.A very fast bowler with the...
to devastating effect. Australia won the First Test in two days, the Second Test by lunch on the third day and the Third Test and the Ashes by 5.00pm on the third day. Throughout the tour, Armstrong fought a series of running battles against the Board appointed manager, Syd Smith, on behalf of his men. Smith, looking to cut overheads, had suggested boarding with wealthy cricket devotees; Armstrong dismissed the idea.
The Fourth Test at Old Trafford was famous for two events, both involving Armstrong. The first day's play was washed out and England commenced their innings the following day, the match now a two day affair. Lionel Tennyson, the English captain, declared his innings closed
Declaration and forfeiture
In the sport of cricket a declaration occurs when a captain declares his team's innings closed and a forfeiture is when a captain chooses to forfeit an innings. Declaration and forfeiture are covered in Law 14 of the Laws of cricket...
with twenty minutes of play left in the day. The Australian wicket-keeper, Sammy Carter pointed out to Armstrong that a declaration at that time in a two day match was against the Laws of cricket
Laws of cricket
The laws of cricket are a set of rules established by the Marylebone Cricket Club which describe the laws of cricket worldwide, to ensure uniformity and fairness. There are currently 42 laws, which outline all aspects of how the game is played from how a team wins a game, how a batsman is...
as they stood at that time. Armstrong protested to the umpires and England were forced to continue batting. In the commotion, Armstrong managed to bowl two overs in succession, an action also against the Laws of cricket.
By the Fifth Test, the Australian team was in sight of being the first Australian team to remain unbeaten throughout a tour of England. Once again, much of the first day was lost to rain. Determined not to lose, Armstrong attempted to delay commencement after the rain and was heckled by English supporters. He told his three main bowlers, "I won't ask you not to get a man out, but as long as Mead
Phil Mead
Charles Phillip Mead was a left-handed batsman for Hampshire and England between 1905 and 1936. He was born at 10 Ashton Buildings , second eldest of seven children...
(a notoriously slow scoring batsman) remains at the wicket we can't be beaten". In the last three hours of the Test, Armstrong decided to rest his key bowlers and allowed his part time bowlers to rotate as they pleased and fielders to configure themselves. During this time, Armstrong picked up a newspaper that had been blown across the field and began to read. When asked about this later, Armstrong was said to have replied, "I wanted to see who we were playing" although this is claimed to be apocryphal. The Australians drew the Test and won the series three–nil, however they could not maintain their unbeaten record, losing by 28 runs to an English XI at Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
and again to C. I. Thornton's XI at Scarborough.
Despite the two losses, the tour was a triumph for Armstrong. Personally, he achieved the 1,000 runs and 100 wickets milestone for the third time in an English summer. About his captaincy, former rival Frank Foster said, "I honestly think that Australia have got to thank one man, one man only for their success. That man is Warwick Armstrong, probably one of the best captains ever sent to England from Australia". On return to Australia, Armstrong was greeted by large enthusiastic crowds and acclaimed at many public receptions. At one reception, he was presented with a ₤
Australian pound
The pound was the currency of Australia from 1910 until 13 February 1966, when it was replaced by the Australian dollar. It was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence.- Earlier Australian currencies :...
2,500 cheque by the Prime Minister of Australia
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Billy Hughes
Billy Hughes
William Morris "Billy" Hughes, CH, KC, MHR , Australian politician, was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923....
.
Outside cricket
The 1921 tour was Armstrong's swan-song in first-class cricket. On the journey back to Australia, he suffered a relapse of the malaria that had plagued him since his earlier visit to Malaya. This kept him from taking part in any of the matches in South Africa, allowing Herbie Collins to captain Australia for the first time. Armstrong resigned from his job with Melbourne Cricket Club and drawing on contacts he had made while on tour took a role as an agent for Dawson's Scotch WhiskyScotch whisky
Scotch whisky is whisky made in Scotland.Scotch whisky is divided into five distinct categories: Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Single Grain Scotch Whisky, Blended Malt Scotch Whisky , Blended Grain Scotch Whisky, and Blended Scotch Whisky.All Scotch whisky must be aged in oak barrels for at least three...
. He would remain in the liquor trade until his retirement in 1946. Armstrong also applied his cricket background acting as a cricket journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
for the Sydney Evening News. His copy was promoted as "frank and fearless" and was in general contemptuous of much of the cricket and cricketers he saw, especially of what he saw as dull cricket.
In 1922 he wrote a primer on cricket titled The Art of Cricket published by Methuen & Co, London.
In July 1913 he married Aileen O'Donnell, the daughter of a wealthy Irish Australian
Irish Australian
Irish Australians have played a long and enduring part in Australia's history. Many came to Australia in the eighteenth century as settlers or as convicts, and contributed to Australia's development in many different areas....
pastoralist with large land holdings in the Riverina
Riverina
The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales , Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation. This combination has allowed the Riverina to develop...
region of 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...
. The couple met while Armstrong was representing the Melbourne Cricket Club in a match against a Wagga Wagga
Wagga Wagga, New South Wales
Wagga Wagga is a city in New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, and with an urban population of 46,735 people, Wagga Wagga is the state's largest inland city, as well as an important agricultural, military, and transport hub of Australia...
XV. Armstrong and his new wife settled in Melbourne, moving to the 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...
suburb of Edgecliff
Edgecliff, New South Wales
Edgecliff is a small suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Edgecliff is located 4 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Woollahra. The postcode is 2027.Edgecliff is surrounded by...
for business reasons in 1935. Aileen died of a thrombosis in 1940. Armstrong, following illness that saw him lose much of the weight that he was known for, died on 13 July 1947, leaving an estate to the value of ₤90,000. He was survived by his son, Warwick George.
Armstrong was an all-round sportsman, playing Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
in the winter for South Melbourne
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
in the Victorian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
, the premier competition in the state from 1898 to 1900. A slim utility, he played 16 games for the club, scoring 18 goals. He played in South Melbourne's losing 1899 VFL Grand Final
1899 VFL Grand Final
The 1899 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Fitzroy Football Club and South Melbourne Football Club, held at the St Kilda Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 16 September 1899. It was the 2nd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to...
team defeated by Fitzroy
Fitzroy Football Club
The Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...
by one point.
Style and personality
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
"The Big Ship". His oversize shirt, measuring 26 centimetres (10 in) by 85 centimetres (33 in) and his shoes, 32 centimetres (13 in) long by 18 centimetres (7 in) wide are on display at the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame
Australian Cricket Hall of Fame
The Australian Cricket Hall of Fame is a part of the Australian Gallery of Sport and Olympic Museum in the National Sports Museum at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. This Hall of Fame commemorates the greatest Australian cricketers of all time....
. A story told of Armstrong had a young boy following him around at a tour match in Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
. Armstrong, thinking it a manifestation of hero worship, offered to sign the boy's autograph book. The boy turned to Armstrong and said, "Please, sir, you are the only bit of decent shade in the place.".
As a batsman, Armstrong was not a stylist. The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
in describing Armstrong's batting after he scored his maiden century 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...
in 1902 said, "Mr. Armstrong's methods were not attractive".
Leg break
A leg break is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. A delivery of a right-handed leg spin bowler. Leg breaks are also colloquially known as leggies or wrist spinners, as the wrist is the body part which is primarily used to impart spin on the ball, as opposed to the fingers in the case of...
bowler and was known for his ability to land the ball on any point of the pitch
Cricket pitch
In the game of cricket, the cricket pitch consists of the central strip of the cricket field between the wickets - 1 chain or 22 yards long and 10 feet wide. The surface is very flat and normally covered with extremely short grass though this grass is soon removed by wear at the ends of the...
he liked. His action imparted as much topspin
Topspin
In ball sports, topspin is a property of a ball that rotates as if rolling in the same direction as it is moving. Topspin on a shot imparts a downward force that causes the ball to drop, due to its interaction with the air . It can be generated by hitting the ball with an up-and-forward swing, with...
as leg spin, making it difficult for batsman to detect his "straight-breaks" Early in his career, he bowled negative leg theory
Leg theory
Leg theory is a bowling tactic in the sport of cricket. The term leg theory is somewhat archaic and seldom used any more, but the basic tactic still plays a part in modern cricket....
but later used his accuracy to great effect, bowling an over or two of leg breaks and then the straight one in the hope of bowling the batsman or receiving a leg before wicket
Leg before wicket
In the sport of cricket, leg before wicket is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed. An umpire will rule a batsman out LBW under a series of circumstances which primarily include the ball striking the batsman's body when it would otherwise have continued on to hit the batsman's...
dismissal. His action consisted of an easy amble and a gentle arc and was described in the Sporting Life
Sporting Life (newspaper)
The Sporting Life was a British newspaper published between 1859 and 1998 that was best known for its coverage of horse racing. Latterly it has continued as a multi-sports website....
as "...rather like a fat uncle, not altogether unlike a fat aunt." It was effective, however, with the Daily Telegraph stating after the First Test in 1921, "...there is not a single batsman in England who faces with any appearance of confidence his innocuous slows."
Armstrong was renowned for his gamesmanship
Gamesmanship
Gamesmanship is the use of dubious methods to win a game. It has been described as "Pushing the rules to the limit without getting caught, using whatever dubious methods possible to achieve the desired end"...
and was willing to push the boundaries of what was considered acceptable behaviour in order to obtain an advantage for his team. In 1909, the English all-rounder Frank Woolley
Frank Woolley
Frank Edward Woolley was an English cricketer, one of the finest all-rounders the game has seen. In a career lasting more than thirty years, he scored more first-class runs than anyone but Sir Jack Hobbs, and took over 2,000 wickets at an average of under 20...
was making his Test début against the Australians 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...
. Taking advantage of a rule that allowed bowlers to bowl trial balls or "looseners" , Armstrong kept Woolley waiting nervously for more than fifteen minutes while he bowled trial balls alongside the pitch. In a club game against St Kilda, Armstrong claimed a catch in the slips
Slip (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a slip fielder is placed behind the batsman on the off side of the field. They are placed with the aim of catching an edged ball which is beyond the wicket-keeper's reach. Many teams employ two or three slips...
, only to have the umpire refuse the dismissal. It was the last ball of the over and as the field changed, Armstrong brusquely inquired why this was so. Informed that the ball had struck the batsman's pads, Armstrong then appealed for a leg before wicket
Leg before wicket
In the sport of cricket, leg before wicket is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed. An umpire will rule a batsman out LBW under a series of circumstances which primarily include the ball striking the batsman's body when it would otherwise have continued on to hit the batsman's...
dismissal, which the umpire then upheld.
Armstrong was not a "walker"; he believed in waiting for the 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...
to make a decision, once telling the English cricketer Arthur Gilligan
Arthur Gilligan
Arthur Edward Robert Gilligan was an English cricketer who played for Cambridge University, Sussex, Surrey and England....
, "The more you play this game, the more you will find out that will be given out many times when you are not out and vice versa". English professional cricketers
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:...
took a dim view of Armstrong's approach to the game. Jack Hobbs
Jack Hobbs
Sir John Berry "Jack" Hobbs was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches from 1908 to 1930....
, describing one instance said,
The chief offender was Warwick Armstrong, who got very nasty and unsportsmanlike, refusing to accept the umpire's decision. That upset me. I did not know if was standing on my head or my heels with the consequence that two balls later I let one go, never even attempting to play it; and it bowled me. I still bear this incident in mind against Armstrong.