William Lockwood
Encyclopedia
William 'Bill' LockwoodWilliam 'Bill' Lockwood (William Henry Lockwood; born 25 March 1868, Radford
, Nottingham
; died 26 April 1932, Radford
, Nottingham
was a fast bowler
and the unpredictable, occasionally devastating counterpart to the amazingly hard-working Tom Richardson
for Surrey in the early County Championship
. A capable enough batsman against weaker bowling sides who scored over 10,000 runs in first-class cricket
, stronger bowling tended to show flaws in his technique.
In contrast to Richardson's consistency and strenuous work, Lockwood was never capable of long bowling spells. He bowled off a much shorter run than Richardson and tended to come down very heavily in his delivery stride. Lockwood could break back, though rarely as sharply as Richardson, but what really set Lockwood apart was his unpredictability, with extremely subtle variations of pace and pitch characterising his bowling. Frequently Lockwood would deliver a slow ball without change of action and the batsman would claim they never expected it.
and John Sharpe
doing all that was required, Lockwood was regarded as little more than a capable batsman. However, with some support bowling wanted as Sharpe began a sudden decline, Surrey turned to Lockwood and on the treacherous wickets of August 1891 he proved quite irresistible. His 7 for 19 against Kent was seen as the most difficult bowling of the year by Wisden.
In the following two years the pitches at The Oval
were exceedingly fiery and gave Lockwood a lot of help. In 1892, he was regarded as the most difficult bowler of the year and took a career-high 151 wickets. The following year, he proved his class as a bowler with 9 for 126 for Lord Sheffield's XI against the Australians in May, and 8 for 33 against Cambridge University to give Surrey a surprise win. After taking twenty-one wickets in two games on firm pitches against Yorkshire
and Sussex
, Lockwood played his first Test
at Lord's and took an impressive six for 101. He followed this up with eight for 133 in two innings of the second Test, but injury ruled him out of the last.
In 1894 Lockwood and Richardson, with their pace and sharp break-back, were an irresistible combination on the many treacherous wickets. Lockwood's bowling reached its highest point, though, against Yorkshire at the Oval when Richardson was injured: he took 7 for 94 on a very true pitch to win the match that decided the Championship. Lockwood's batting did not suffer from the advance of his bowling: indeed he frequently opened with Bobby Abel
in 1894 and scored over 900 runs under the most difficult conditions. After demolishing Kent on a perfect batting wicket in the last match at The Oval, he and Richardson were chosen to tour Australia.
In 1895 and 1896, it was clear that Lockwood's failure in Australia was due to more than different conditions: his physical condition was clearly very poor and his weight was far too great for him to sustain first-class cricket. Only on rare occasions (for example, against Gloucestershire at the Oval in 1895) did his bowling have the sting of previous years, and apart from one innings of 158 against Warwickshire, his batting was disappointing. Lockwood was frequently dropped from the Surrey eleven, and after failing in early 1897 he was never recalled and it looked as though has career was over.
The dreadfully wet summer of 1902 restricted Lockwood's opportunities. However, his bowling in the thrilling last two Tests was remarkable: 11 for 76 at Old Trafford and 5 for 45 in the second innings at the Oval, whilst his wonderful 8 for 25 on a wearing wicket at Lord's showed "his fast ball coming back to telling effect" (The Times).
He retired at the end of the year, and for the rest of his life moved back to his native Nottinghamshire.
Radford
-Places:England* Radford, Coventry* Radford, Nottingham* Radford, Oxfordshire* Radford, Somerset* Radford Semele, WarwickshireAustralia* Radford College, CanberraUSA* Radford, Virginia* Radford University, Virginia...
, Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
; died 26 April 1932, Radford
Radford
-Places:England* Radford, Coventry* Radford, Nottingham* Radford, Oxfordshire* Radford, Somerset* Radford Semele, WarwickshireAustralia* Radford College, CanberraUSA* Radford, Virginia* Radford University, Virginia...
, Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
was a fast bowler
Fast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
and the unpredictable, occasionally devastating counterpart to the amazingly hard-working Tom Richardson
Tom Richardson
Tom Richardson was an English cricketer. A fast bowler, Richardson relied to a great extent on the break-back , a relatively long run-up and high arm which allowed him to gain sharp lift on fast pitches even from the full, straight length he always bowled...
for Surrey in the early County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
. A capable enough batsman against weaker bowling sides who scored over 10,000 runs in 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...
, stronger bowling tended to show flaws in his technique.
In contrast to Richardson's consistency and strenuous work, Lockwood was never capable of long bowling spells. He bowled off a much shorter run than Richardson and tended to come down very heavily in his delivery stride. Lockwood could break back, though rarely as sharply as Richardson, but what really set Lockwood apart was his unpredictability, with extremely subtle variations of pace and pitch characterising his bowling. Frequently Lockwood would deliver a slow ball without change of action and the batsman would claim they never expected it.
Early days as a batsman
Lockwood first played first-class cricket as a batsman for his native county, Nottinghamshire, in 1886. He played five matches for the county (prior to the official County Championship) in 1886 and 1887, but met with no success and only bowled much on one occasion against the Australians. Because Surrey apparently saw considerable potential in him, Lockwood spent two years qualifying by residence. He began to play for Surrey in 1889 and immediately showed that Surrey's belief in his ability as a batsman was justified, scoring a then-highly respectable 384 runs in 1889 and in 1890 he averaged 24 for over 500 runs, in the process scoring a maiden first-class hundred against Yorkshire at the Oval (ironically Surrey lost the match).Rapid development into a top-flight bowler
In his first two years for Surrey, with George LohmannGeorge Lohmann
George Alfred Lohmann is regarded as one of the greatest bowlers of all time...
and John Sharpe
John Sharpe (cricketer)
John Sharpe was a bowler who was George Lohmann's partner in the formidable Surrey sides that dominated the first years of the official cricket County Championship...
doing all that was required, Lockwood was regarded as little more than a capable batsman. However, with some support bowling wanted as Sharpe began a sudden decline, Surrey turned to Lockwood and on the treacherous wickets of August 1891 he proved quite irresistible. His 7 for 19 against Kent was seen as the most difficult bowling of the year by Wisden.
In the following two years the pitches 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...
were exceedingly fiery and gave Lockwood a lot of help. In 1892, he was regarded as the most difficult bowler of the year and took a career-high 151 wickets. The following year, he proved his class as a bowler with 9 for 126 for Lord Sheffield's XI against the Australians in May, and 8 for 33 against Cambridge University to give Surrey a surprise win. After taking twenty-one wickets in two games on firm pitches against Yorkshire
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
and 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...
, Lockwood played his first Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
at Lord's and took an impressive six for 101. He followed this up with eight for 133 in two innings of the second Test, but injury ruled him out of the last.
In 1894 Lockwood and Richardson, with their pace and sharp break-back, were an irresistible combination on the many treacherous wickets. Lockwood's bowling reached its highest point, though, against Yorkshire at the Oval when Richardson was injured: he took 7 for 94 on a very true pitch to win the match that decided the Championship. Lockwood's batting did not suffer from the advance of his bowling: indeed he frequently opened with Bobby Abel
Bobby Abel
Robert Abel , nicknamed "The Guv'nor", was a Surrey and England opening batsman who was one of the most prolific run-getters in the early years of the County Championship...
in 1894 and scored over 900 runs under the most difficult conditions. After demolishing Kent on a perfect batting wicket in the last match at The Oval, he and Richardson were chosen to tour Australia.
Decline
Whilst Richardson's superb work won England a difficult series in 1894/1895, Lockwood was a complete failure, being utterly unable to come to grips with the workload required under Australian conditions of pitch and climate. In fact, Lockwood never took more than one wicket in any Test innings that season, and his highest score was only 33. Lockwood also had several escapes from major accidents: he narrowly escaped both drowning and losing an arm, and when he returned to England his wife and a child both died. Lockwood, in despair, turned to drinking alcohol prodigiously, and his weight increased severely, reducing his effectiveness very quickly.In 1895 and 1896, it was clear that Lockwood's failure in Australia was due to more than different conditions: his physical condition was clearly very poor and his weight was far too great for him to sustain first-class cricket. Only on rare occasions (for example, against Gloucestershire at the Oval in 1895) did his bowling have the sting of previous years, and apart from one innings of 158 against Warwickshire, his batting was disappointing. Lockwood was frequently dropped from the Surrey eleven, and after failing in early 1897 he was never recalled and it looked as though has career was over.
Revival
However, in 1898 Lockwood, having married again and slimmed considerably, began an amazing revival, with his pace and break being as good as ever. When Richardson returned to form, the two could form an amazing pair, and against Yorkshire at the Oval their wonderful bowling allowed Surrey to inflict an all-time record defeat, something they gave to Kent a week later. With the bat, Lockwood was also back in form and hit three centuries. The following year, Lockwood was plagued by injury, but in at least three matches he bowled better than ever (notably when recalled for the last Test at the Oval). He also reached a thousand runs for the first time, which he repeated in 1900, when despite some inconsistencies, he was still clearly the best bowler on a good pitch when at his best. In 1901 Lockwood had a benefit match washed out by rain and played after the normal cricket season had ended. His cricket, too was disppointing, though this was largely due to injury wiping out more than a quarter of his season.The dreadfully wet summer of 1902 restricted Lockwood's opportunities. However, his bowling in the thrilling last two Tests was remarkable: 11 for 76 at Old Trafford and 5 for 45 in the second innings at the Oval, whilst his wonderful 8 for 25 on a wearing wicket at Lord's showed "his fast ball coming back to telling effect" (The Times).
Last years
1903 was another summer totally against fast bowlers, and Lockwood bowled very little in many matches. Moreover, he rarely bowled at anything like his old pace and by August he was generally no more than medium pace. Nonetheless, he still did some superb work, most especially his 8 for 110 against Middlesex at Lord's. In 1904, Lockwood bowled very well early in the year against Derbyshire, but after that, despite hard pitches emerging, his form (along with Richardson) declined so much that Surrey dropped him before the season was half over.He retired at the end of the year, and for the rest of his life moved back to his native Nottinghamshire.