Arthur Gilligan - Style and Technique

Style and Technique

At the peak of his career, Gilligan was a fast bowler. He bowled with his arm quite low, but was very accurate; his usual strategy was to aim at the stumps or to try to induce the batsmen to edge the ball to be caught in the slips. According to his Wisden obituary, he "regarded it as a cardinal sin to bowl short". Following his injury, he could not reach his former speed and was reduced to medium pace. In this style, he continued to have some success at county level. His batting was based mainly around driving the ball. He batted low in the order, and tried to score quickly, particularly against fast bowling. Several of his centuries were scored against the most successful teams, and often in difficult situations. He excelled as a fielder; his Wisden obituary stated: "At mid-off he has had few rivals".

As a captain, Gilligan was not tactically sophisticated but was adept at inspiring his players. His Sussex teams were not consistent but became attractive to watch; under Gilligan's direction the team ranked among the best fielding sides in England. The off side fielders were nicknamed the "ring of iron". His Wisden obituary stated: "In two or three seasons by his insistence on fielding and on attacking cricket and by his own superb example he raised Sussex from being nothing in particular to one of the biggest draws in England." According to The Times, Gilligan's captaincy laid the foundations for the county's relative success in the 1930s. In the official history of Sussex, writer Christopher Lee suggests: "The ten years from 1920 to the end of Gilligan's captaincy in 1930 saw the blooding of some of the most famous names in Sussex and England cricket. Gilligan himself was a mixture of amateur brilliance and professional thoroughness which inevitably brought about criticism."

Gilligan also extensively coached and lectured around the county, spending time in the English winters raising the team's profile. He encouraged the search for promising young cricketers, and most of the club's professional cricketers during its successful years in the 1930s were discovered during Gilligan's drive for new talent. Percy Fender believed that Gilligan allowed the team's professionals a greater say in Sussex's affairs than previously permitted. Fender wrote that Gilligan's teams enjoyed playing under him and that Gilligan was one of the most popular captains in county cricket. Cricket writer R. C. Robertson-Glasgow said: "With him there was no sharpnesses, no petty restraints, no mathematical cricket. He won or lost plumb straight". Swanton wrote that "Gilligan was essentially a friendly man, hail-fellow-well-met, and it is hard to think that in the world of sport he ever made an enemy."