Alfred Shaw
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Alfred Shaw | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Burton Joyce, Nottinghamshire, England | 29 August 1842|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 16 January 1907 Gedling, Nottinghamshire, England | (aged 64)|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bowling | Right-arm slow-medium | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National side | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Test debut (cap 9) | 15 March 1877 v Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Last Test | 14 March 1882 v Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1864–1897 | Nottinghamshire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1865–1881 | MCC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1894–1895 | Sussex | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricketArchive, 21 September 2008 |
Alfred Shaw (29 August 1842 – 16 January 1907) was a Victorian
Career
Shaw was one of the few cricketers of his time whose Christian name was used more frequently than his initials. Standing only 5'6½" tall, he put on copious weight near the end of his career, when his naturally corpulent build was dramatically accentuated. It is unfortunate, therefore, that most photographs of him were taken so late in his cricketing life. A man of droopy aspect, bushed eyes, some classically Victorian facial hair and a belt nearer his breast than his substantial waist, he did not look the part of the era's finest medium-pacer, but there were few who questioned his credentials.
Shaw's first-class career extended from 1864 to 1897, and most of his matches were for Nottinghamshire. He had the unusual distinction for a professional of frequently captaining that county, and this was vindicated when he took Notts to four successive Championships from 1883 to 1886. He was a natural leader with a powerful persona, but his connection with Notts all but ended after that last triumph. As his team-mates observed, the county's team went into rapid decline upon his departure.
Sometime during Shaw's early career, he suggested that the creases should be made by whitewash and this was gradually adopted through the 1870s.[2] The origin of creases is uncertain, but they were in use at the beginning of the 18th century when they were created by scratching, the popping crease being 46 inches in front of the wicket at each end of the pitch. In the course of time, the scratches became cuts which were an inch deep and an inch wide. The cut was in use until the second half of the 19th century when whitewashing replaced it.[3]
A fervent champion of the professional cricketer's rights, Shaw did a lot of work in support of his contemporaries. He declined to tour with
He was a remarkably accurate bowler, sending down more overs than he conceded runs in his entire career. A maiden over was more easily bowled then than it is now, as it comprised only four deliveries, but Shaw's unparalleled consistency in this regard scarcely dropped off when the five-ball over was launched in 1889. Nearly two-thirds of all the overs that he bowled were runless.
Although he might by today's terms be called a seamer, back then Shaw was fundamentally a length bowler, holding a line on or just outside the off-stump: certainly, he often employed the off-theory, with as many as eight fielders patrolling the offside. His run-up was made up of six rapid, economical steps, but, according to the man himself, "I really used to bowl faster than people thought I did, and I could make the ball break both ways, but not much. In my opinion, length and variation of pace constitute the secret of successful bowling." However, although he was regarded almost universally as "the high priest of length", he and Ted Peate together poured scorn all over suggestions that they were capable of "hitting the spot" with nearly every delivery (as was the common perception).
Shaw's first-class bowling average is, by a quite substantial margin, the lowest of any bowler to have taken 2,000 or more wickets, but must be remembered that the pitches of the nineteenth century (particularly those at the start of his career) were far more bowler-friendly than they later became and are today. Still, this did not stop WG Grace from asserting that, between 1870 and 1880, Shaw was "perhaps the best bowler in England".[4] Certainly, he was supreme among slow bowlers.
For many years he was on the MCC groundstaff. In 1874, he took all ten wickets for the club in a first-class innings. In 1875 (against the MCC this time), he returned bowling figures of seven for seven off 41.2 overs, 36 of them maidens.
At the end of that 1876 season, Shaw went to Australia with James Lillywhite Junior's side. He is famous for having bowled the first-ever delivery in Test Match cricket (unscored off, of course) to
Shaw helped fellow cricketers
After Shaw's first retirement, he became a renowned
In 1894, he bowled 422 overs for his new county, conceding just 516 runs and capturing 41 wickets. The following year, at Trent Bridge (when it was so cold that
See also
References
- ^ "Cricket's pioneers – a look at England's firsts". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- ^ Altham, p. 95.
- ^ Altham, p. 25.
- ISBN 0-575-06453-6, p62.
- ^ "1st Test: Australia v England at Melbourne, Mar 15–19, 1877". espncricinfo. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
- ISBN 978-1-84607-880-4.
Sources
- Altham, H. S. (1962). A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914). George Allen & Unwin.
External links
- Media related to Alfred Shaw at Wikimedia Commons
- Alfred Shaw at ESPNcricinfo