George Hirst

George Hirst

George Herbert Hirst was a professional English cricketer. He played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1891 and 1921, with a further appearance in 1929. Hirst played in 24 Test matches for England between 1897 and 1909. He became a cricket coach at Eton College in 1920, where he remained until 1938.

About George Hirst in brief

Summary George HirstGeorge Herbert Hirst was a professional English cricketer. He played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1891 and 1921, with a further appearance in 1929. He was a left arm medium-fast bowler and right-handed batsman. Hirst played in 24 Test matches for England between 1897 and 1909. He completed the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in an English cricket season 14 times, the second most of any cricketers 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. He became a cricket coach at Eton College in 1920, where he remained until 1938. He died in 1954, aged 82, at his home in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. He is buried in the Hirst family grave in Kirkheaton, near Hudderfield. His wife, Sarah Maria Woolhouse, was a former schoolmistress, and their daughter, Mary Elizabeth, is also a former cricket coach, and is buried at the family grave at Huddertonshire Cricket Club in the West Yorkshire village of Stokesley. He had 10 children, all of whom played cricket or rugby football in the summer. His father died in 1880, and Hirst lived with his sister Mary Elizabeth Woolhouse and her husband John Berry in Kirk heaton. After leaving school at 10 years of age, he first worked for a hand-loom weaver in a local cottage, and then at a dyeing firm.

By the age of 15 he was playing regularly for a local cricket team and his batting and bowling performances regularly won prizes from a local newspaper. In 1891 he made his first- class debut for Yorkshire against Somerset; he took two wickets and 15 runs in the Championship. For the 1992 season, he joined the Marylebone Cricket Club, which gave him a longer run in the first team. In 1905, he scored 341 runs in an innings against Leicestershire, still the highest total for Yorkshire as of 2015. In 1906, he completed an unprecedented and unrepeated double of 2,000 Runs and 200 Wickets. In Tests, he made 790 runs and captured 59 wickets; he also toured Australia twice. After the First World War, 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. His reputation grew; when he was 18 he was a key player in the Lumb Challenge Cup of 1889. In the final, he took five wickets for 23 runs. Days later, invited to take part along with another local player, he appeared for Yorkshire in a non-first-class match in Huddleersfield. He scored six runs in his only innings, and took three wicket in the match.