Alec Bannerman

Alec Bannerman Biography

When he passed away in September 1924, Wisden remarked: “Alec Bannerman will be remembered as long as cricket is played.” Many spectators who saw him in action voiced similar concerns around his willow-work, fearing that he would continue to bat in the ongoing innings as long as cricket was played.

He was nicknamed ‘Barn Door’ for his stout, static, stagnant and stroke-less defence. Brother of the more famous Charles, who gained cricketing immortality by scoring the first ever run and the first ever hundred in Test cricket, Alec was as different from his sibling as possible. While Charles Bannerman brandished every possible stroke, driving through the off with vim and vigour and hitting powerfully through leg, Alec (or Alick, as he was also known) preferred the uncomplicated straight bat, offered with the last breath of life removed from the willow.

In his seminal Australian Batsmen, AG Moyes describes the reaction of the crowd to his approach with disturbing imagery: “At times the crowd found him as wearisome to the flesh as fleas in a warm bed.”

His fielding was more spectacular. Bannerman first made the Australian side mainly for his brilliance in the field. He stood at mid-off, chasing balls tirelessly, according to Sydney Pardon: “fast, sure … and a wonderfully safe catch”.

Bannerman was one of nature’s unadulterated stonewallers, and eschewed every possible risk at the wicket — as also away from it. Indeed, while the rest of that trendsetting Australian XI travelled around the colonies, England and North America to play cricket, they indulged in a business venture, each one of the men a shareholder of the proceeds from the matches. Bannerman was the only one who played for a fixed sum, unwilling to venture into any sort of speculation. He sometimes boosted the assured amount with frill-free perks, on one occasion earning a bonus of £90 for good behaviour.

He hated to give his wicket away. In 1890-91, after nearly a dozen years at the top level, he refused to leave when given out caught at the wicket by umpire Denis Cotter in a match against Victoria. This rendered Tom Horan choleric enough to remark, “Some men require to be told half-a-dozen times that they are out before they will move away.”

Against WG Grace’s Englishmen at Melbourne in 1891-92, Bannerman batted 195 minutes for 35 and 230 more for 45. And at Sydney, with Australia trailing by 163 runs in the first innings, he came in to bat towards the end of the second day to essay his most famous innings, spending 448 minutes at the wicket for 91. William Attewell sent down 204 balls to him, and he scored from just 5 of them. This was when the crowd was moved to polite barracking, and one poetic sort was moved to recite,

“O Bannerman, O Bannerman,
We wish you’d change your manner, man;
We pay our humble tanner, man,
To see a bit of fun.

You’re a beggar though to stick it,
But it ain’t our sort of cricket;
They haven’t hit your wicket,
Yet, you haven’t got a run.”

Arunabha Sengupta

Alec Bannerman Batting & Fielding Averages

Career	M	In	R	NO	HS	Avg	BF	SR	100s	50s	4s	6s	Ct	St
Test	28	50	1108	2	94	23.08	215	515.3	0	8	73	--	21	0
ODIs	0	--	--	--		--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
T20s	0	--	--	--		--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
World Cup	0	--	--	--		--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--

Alec Bannerman Bowling Averages

Career	M	B	R	W	Avg	EC	SR	5WI	10WM	BBI	BBM
Test	28	438	163	4	40.75	2.232	109	0	0	3/111	3/111
ODIs	0	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
T20s	0	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
World Cup	0	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--		--

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सबसे तेज 400 टेस्ट विकेट लेने वाले दूसरे गेंदबाज बने रविचंद्रन अश्विन

एक ही टेस्ट में सबसे ज्यादा बार अर्धशतक लगाकर 5-विकेट हॉल लेने वाले तीसरे खिलाड़ी बने रविचंद्रन अश्विन

हरभजन को पीछे छोड़ भारत में सर्वाधिक टेस्ट विकेट लेने वाले दूसरे गेंदबाज बने अश्विन