George Simpson-Hayward

George Simpson-Hayward Biography

The concept of underarm bowling had died out in cricket once the genuine fast bowlers arrived on the scenario. George Simpson-Hayward of Worcestershire fought a curiously lone battle in the era, even going on to play 5 Tests, that too with success.

The idea struck him when he was idly tossing a billiards ball in his hands. He realised he was giving the ball a reasonable rip. He decided to apply it to cricket. He knew the art and had the guile to apply it. All he needed was practice to gain that accuracy; and he did put in the toil. He started from twelve yards, eventually bowling from twenty-two with perfection inside three years.

Simpson-Hayward was not merely a lob-bowler (‘lobster’, they called them). He could generate more pace than any underarm bowler. Plum Warner mentioned that he had three off-breaks, one that turned a foot, one six inches, the third an inch or two, all pitching on the perfect length. As a result he often bowled without a slip, and packed the leg-side with fielders.

There was also the straighter delivery that he bowled without any change of action. His fingers did not flick when he bowled it, so he flicked the fingers of his left hand to deceive batsmen. The straight ball, combined with the deceptive flick, would later influence Clarrie Grimmett to invent the flipper after the youngster saw him when MCC toured New Zealand in 1906-07.

They ridiculed him, none more than CB Fry, who tried to hit him “between his legs croquet style”. It did not matter: his 503 First-Class wickets came at a mere 21. He could also bat, and his 5,556 runs came at 19. From 5 Tests — all in the same series, in South Africa 1909-10, he took 23 wickets at 18 — that too on matting wickets.

In his first Test at Johannesburg, Simpson-Hayward took 6 for 43. No Englishman had better figures in his debut innings till then. His first 3 Tests fetched him 21 wickets. In the last 2, he, for some reason, bowled an aggregate of 25.5 overs.

South Africa’s googly quartet won the series for them, but Simpson-Hayward topped the bowling charts for England. George Thompson had the same number of wickets, but he averaged 27 to Simpson-Hayward’s 18.

Though he led Worcestershire in 1911, he was never the same bowler after that. His last great act was an astonishing unbeaten 105 in 1913; Worcestershire scored only 161 during his stay.

He did not play after The Great War. He passed away in 1936, at 61.

Abhishek Mukherjee

George Simpson-Hayward Batting & Fielding Averages

Career	M	In	R	NO	HS	Avg	BF	SR	100s	50s	4s	6s	Ct	St
Test	5	8	105	1	29*	15.00	--	--	0	0	--	--	1	0
ODIs	0	--	--	--		--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
T20s	0	--	--	--		--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
World Cup	0	--	--	--		--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--

George Simpson-Hayward Bowling Averages

Career	M	B	R	W	Avg	EC	SR	5WI	10WM	BBI	BBM
Test	5	898	420	23	18.26	2.806	39.	2	0	6/43	8/102
ODIs	0	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
T20s	0	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
World Cup	0	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--		--

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