Albert Edwin Trott (6 February 1873 – 30 July 1914) was a

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last fo ...

er for both

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He was named as one of the

Wisden Cricketers of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...

in 1899. He is believed to be the only batsman to have struck a ball over the top of the

Lord's Pavilion The Lord's Pavilion is a cricket pavilion at Lord's Cricket Ground in London, England. Designed by Thomas Verity and built in 1889–1890, the pavilion has achieved Grade II* listed heritage designation. Like the rest of Lord's, the pavilion is o ...

. He is also one of only two players to take two

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

s in the same first-class innings, the other being

Joginder Rao Rao Joginder Singh whose name was recorded incorrectly as Joginder Singh Rao throughout his career (16 October 1938 – 3 October 1994) was an Indian cricketer: a right-arm medium pace bowler who played only five first-class cricket, first-class ...

. Despite his notability, having played in 375 first-class matches including 5 Tests, he was almost penniless when he committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

at the age of 41.

Birth

Trott was born in Abbotsford,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. He was one of eight children of accountant Adolphus Trott and his wife Mary-Ann (née Stephens). His older brother,

Harry Trott George Henry Stevens Trott (5 August 1866 – 9 November 1917) was an Australian cricketer who played 24 Test matches as an all-rounder between 1888 and 1898. Although Trott was a versatile batsman, spin bowler and outstanding fielder, "it is ...

also played Test cricket for Australia. They played junior cricket with the local Capulet club and then played together for

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in Australia's domestic first-class cricket competition, the

Sheffield Shield The Sheffield Shield (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Marsh Sheffield Shield) is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams from the six states of Australia. Sheffield Shi ...

Cricket career in Australia

Trott's story represents one of the great enigmas of

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

history. After just three first-class matches for Victoria, he burst onto the

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

scene against AE Stoddart's

team in the 3rd Test at

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

in 1894–95, with an amazing debut which included taking 8 for 43 with his slinging, round-arm bowling and scoring 38 and 72 with the bat, both

not out In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at t ...

, batting at number 10. Australia won the match by 382 runs. He followed this up in the 4th Test in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, by scoring 85 6?(again not out) in Australia's only innings. Trott was not asked to bowl by captain

George Giffen George Giffen (27 March 1859 – 29 November 1927) was a cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. An all-rounder who batted in the middle order and often opened the bowling with medium-paced off-spin, Giffen captained Australia ...

, with England being bowled out cheaply twice by Harry Trott, Charlie Turner and

. Australia won by an innings and 147 runs to tie the series 2–2. Trott played again in the 5th Test at Melbourne, which England won to win

the Ashes The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, ''The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, its first Te ...

, chasing down a target of 297 runs in the second innings with only four wickets down. Albert's brother,

, was named captain of the Australian team which toured England in 1896. Despite Albert having

averaged In mathematics and statistics, the arithmetic mean ( ) or arithmetic average, or just the ''mean'' or the ''average'' (when the context is clear), is the sum of a collection of numbers divided by the count of numbers in the collection. The colle ...

102.5 with the bat in the Test series against England, he was not selected for the tour. Nonetheless, Trott sailed to England independently in 1896, on the same ship as the Australian touring side.

Cricket career in England

In England, Trott joined the ground staff at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

with a view to qualifying by residence to play for

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

. He started to play for the

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

(MCC) in 1896, and with the help of the Australian cricketer and Test umpire Jim Phillips, he started to play for Middlesex in 1898. Despite missing a month due to an injured hand, he took 102 wickets in his first season, forming a formidable bowling partnership with

J. T. Hearne John Thomas Hearne (3 May 1867 – 17 April 1944)
cricinfo.com (known as Jack Hearne, J. T. Hearne or Old Jack Hearne ...

. Between December 1898 and April 1899, Trott took part in a

tour of South Africa The Tour of South Africa was a stage cycling race in South Africa that was only held once, in 2011. It was part of UCI Africa Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by th ...

organised by

Lord Hawke Martin Bladen Hawke, 7th Baron Hawke (16 August 1860 – 10 October 1938), generally known as Lord Hawke, was an English amateur cricketer active from 1881 to 1911 who played for Yorkshire and England. He was born in Willingham by Stow, near Ga ...

. He played in two matches against the South Africa national cricket team which were retrospectively awarded Test status and thus became one of only fourteen players to have played test cricket for two countries and the last cricketer to have played for both England and Australia. He was at the peak of his powers as an all-rounder in 1899 and 1900. In 1899 he scored 1,175 first-class runs and took 239 wickets, and in 1900 he scored at 1,337 runs and took 211 wickets. Trott's penchant for the spectacular did not fail him: having already landed the ball on the pavilion balcony at

in the match, he became the only batsman to hit a ball over the current Lord's pavilion, bludgeoning

Monty Noble Montague Alfred Noble (28 January 1873 – 22 June 1940) was an Australian cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. A right-hand batsman, right-handed bowler who could deliver both medium pace and off-break bowling, capable field ...

out of the ground on 31 July 1899. The ball hit a chimney and fell into the garden outside the house of Philip Need, the Lord's dressing room attendant. At the time, Trott had been playing for the MCC and Ground against the Australians; the MCC team also included

WG Grace William Gilbert Grace (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English amateur cricketer who was important in the development of the sport and is widely considered one of its greatest players. He played first-class cricket for a record-equal ...

and

KS Ranjitsinhji Colonel H. H. Shri Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji II, Jam Saheb of Nawanagar, (10 September 1872 – 2 April 1933), often known as Ranji or K. S. Ranjitsinhji, was the ruler of the Indian princely state of Nawanagar from 1907 to 1933, as Ma ...

. Noble soon had his revenge when Trott was dismissed shortly afterwards, caught off a top edge at

third man Fielding in the sport of cricket is the action of fielders in collecting the ball after it is struck by the striking batter, to limit the number of runs that the striker scores and/or to get a batter out by either catching a hit ball befo ...

. Only two months earlier, playing for Middlesex against Sussex, Trott had hit a lofted drive from

Fred Tate Frederick William Tate (24 July 1867 – 24 February 1943) was an English cricketer who played in one Test cricket, Test in 1902. This was the Australian cricket team in England in 1902#Fourth Test: 24.E2.80.9326 July: England v Australia, fam ...

into the ironwork at the top of one of the pavilion towers. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1899. He took all ten wickets in an innings (10 for 42) bowling for Middlesex against Somerset at Taunton in 1900. Trott was widely acknowledged as the finest all-round cricketer of his day. A true student of the game, Trott's bowling relied less on pace than it did on guile and

spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

; his variations ensured that a batsman rarely faced the same ball twice in an over. Trott was a dynamo in the field, with the ball seldom escaping his commodious clutch. He regularly turned matches for Middlesex with his powerful hitting, using a bat, at least half a pound heavier than was then usual. However, from 1901 or 1902, Trott declined abruptly. His weight increased rapidly and he lost mobility, so he could not bowl the very fast ball that was so deadly in his early years. His haul of

wickets In cricket, the term wicket has several meanings: * It is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch. The fielding team's players can hit the wicket with the ball in a number of ways to get a batsman out. * ...

fell rapidly: from 176 in 1901 to 133 in 1902 and 105 in 1903. By 1905, he was extremely expensive and ineffective (taking only 62 wickets), and only in the very dry summer of 1906 did his batting reach the levels of his early years with Middlesex. Trott's ability to entertain never left him. His popularity rose as he enjoyed regular

ale Ale is a Type of beer, type of beer brewed using a Warm fermentation, warm fermentation method, resulting in a sweet, full-bodied and fruity taste. Historically, the term referred to a drink brewed without hops. As with most beers, ale typicall ...

s with spectators on the

boundary Boundary or Boundaries may refer to: * Border, in political geography Entertainment *Boundaries (2016 film), ''Boundaries'' (2016 film), a 2016 Canadian film *Boundaries (2018 film), ''Boundaries'' (2018 film), a 2018 American-Canadian road trip ...

while fielding. In his

benefit match A benefit is a match or season of activities granted by a sporting body to a loyal sportsman to boost their income before retirement. Often this is in the form of a match for which all the ticket proceeds are given to the player in question. Howeve ...

in 1907, he took four wickets in four balls, and then followed up with a second hat trick later in the innings. The feat of two hat-tricks in an innings has been repeated only once in

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

, by

). However, the early end to the match meant that it did not raise as much money for him as it might have done, and he is said to have remarked that he had "bowled himself into the

poorhouse A poorhouse or workhouse is a government-run (usually by a county or municipality) facility to support and provide housing for the dependent or needy. Workhouses In England, Wales and Ireland (but not in Scotland), ‘workhouse’ has been the ...

Death

After retiring from cricket, Trott suffered a lengthy illness. A heart condition complicated by nephralgia. In 1914, he wrote his

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

on the back of a

laundry Laundry refers to the washing of clothing and other textiles, and, more broadly, their drying and ironing as well. Laundry has been part of history since humans began to wear clothes, so the methods by which different cultures have dealt with t ...

ticket, leaving his

wardrobe A wardrobe or armoire or almirah is a standing closet used for storing clothes. The earliest wardrobe was a chest, and it was not until some degree of luxury was attained in regal palaces and the castles of powerful nobles that separate accomm ...

and £4 to his landlady. Shortly afterwards, one day before the 15th anniversary of his famous strike over the pavilion at Lord's, he shot himself in

Willesden Green Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has formed p ...

. He was buried at Willesden New Cemetery in plot 613P at the expense of

Middlesex County Cricket Club Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Middlesex which has effectively been subsumed within the ceremonial ...

. A headstone was erected in 1994. The South African-born English cricketer

Jonathan Trott Ian Jonathan Leonard Trott (born 22 April 1981) is a South African-born English former professional cricketer who played international cricket for the England cricket team. Domestically, he played for Warwickshire County Cricket Club as well as ...

is said to be a distant relation of Albert and Harry Trott. However, it has now been proved that this is incorrect. Jonathan's family originates in Woodbridge, Suffolk, whereas Harry and Albert's family originates in Yorkshire. File:AusTeam1894.95.jpg, The Australian team pictured during the summer of 1894–95. Albert is seated at the front, on the right; his older brother

is at the far left of the middle row. File:Albert Trott.jpg, The bowling action of Albert Trott File:Albert Trott's Grave.jpg, Albert Trott's headstone

References

* "Over and Out : Albert Trott The Man Who Cleared the Lord's Pavilion" Biography by Steve Neal author. Pitch Publishing 2017. Sports Book Awards Cricket Book of the Year Winner 2017. Cricket Writers Book of the Year 2017

External links