George Hirst

George Hirst

George Herbert Hirst (7 September 1871 – 10 May 1954) 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. One of the best all-rounders of his time, Hirst was a left arm medium-fast bowler and right-handed batsman. He completed the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in an English cricket season 14 times, the second most of any cricketer after his contemporary and team-mate Wilfred Rhodes. One of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year for 1901, Hirst scored 36,356 runs and took 2,742 wickets in first-class cricket. His Test figures were 790 runs and 59 wickets.

Born in Kirkheaton, Hirst first achieved success for Yorkshire as a bowler who could bat a little. Over his first few seasons, his batting developed at the expense of his bowling until he was regarded mainly as a specialist batsman. Around 1900, his bowling re-emerged when he discovered a method to make the ball swing in the air after he released it. He was one of the first bowlers to control the swing of the ball; batsmen found it very difficult to counter this method and Hirst's bowling was subsequently far more successful. From 1903 he achieved 11 consecutive doubles. He set records in 1905, when he scored 341, still the highest total for Yorkshire as of 2011, and in 1906, when he completed an unprecedented and unrepeated double of 2,000 runs and 200 wickets. In many seasons, he battled injury which reduced his effectiveness, but his bowling remained successful until shortly before the First World War. Hirst played in all England's home Test series between 1899 and 1909, but his record for England was less impressive than his record for Yorkshire and he may have suffered from playing in Australia where playing conditions did not suit him.

Hirst returned to play for Yorkshire after the war, but became a cricket coach at Eton College in 1920, where he remained until 1938. After making occasional appearances in 1920 and 1921, he retired from regular first-class cricket. He maintained his connections with Yorkshire for the rest of his life, coached young players and established an excellent reputation for developing players of all social backgrounds. A popular player, coach and personality with cricketers and spectators, Hirst died in 1954, aged 82.