William Evans Midwinter (19 June 1851 – 3 December 1890) was a

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 ...

er who played four

Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

for

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 ...

, sandwiched in between eight Tests that he played for

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 ...

. Midwinter holds a unique place in cricket history as the only cricketer to have played for both Australia and England in Test Matches against each other.

Professional career

Midwinter made his Test debut in the first ever Test match in 1877, playing for Australia, where he had emigrated aged nine, against the country of his birth. He took five wickets in the first innings against England in Melbourne. Billy played in the 2nd test of the 1876–1877 Series. The match started on 31 March 1877. Australia won the toss and elected to bat. Billy played at No: 6. He came out when Australia were 60 for 4 to join debut man Thomas Kelly. Billy batted with all 3 test debutants, Thomas Kelly, Frederick Spofforth and Billy Murdoch. He scored 31, his top score at the time and became the 3rd Test Batsman to score 53 runs in a Test Career. Later that year he returned to England, playing for

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 ...

Gloucestershire County Cricket Club Gloucestershire 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 Gloucestershire. Founded in 1870, Gloucestershire have always ...

. He was included in the Australian team to tour England in 1878, and played some matches for them, before, about to take the field 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 ...

he was virtually kidnapped by Grace, who took him to

the Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...

to play for Gloucestershire in their game against

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. He didn't return to the tour, instead remaining (voluntarily) with Gloucestershire until the 1882 season. He was selected to tour with the England team visiting Australia in 1881/2, playing four Tests, and then in 1882/3 Midwinter emigrated back to Australia, joining Victoria. He was selected for Australia to play the one-off Test after England had won the first Ashes series in 1883/4, and then for the Australian tour of England in 1884. This makes him the only man to play Test cricket for one international side, then another, and then return to his original international team. His batting performance at Test level was not exceptional, but his first-class performances for Victoria and Gloucestershire show he was among the best all-rounders in his era. Gloucester cricketclub 1880

By 1889, Midwinter's wife and two of his children had died, and his businesses were failed or failing. He became "hopelessly insane" and was confined to Bendigo Hospital in 1890. He was then transferred to the

Kew Asylum Kew Lunatic Asylum is a decommissioned psychiatric hospital located between Princess Street and Yarra Boulevard in Kew, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Operational from 1871 to 1988, Kew was one of the largest asylums ever built in Australia. ...

, where he died later that year. He was buried in the

Melbourne General Cemetery The Melbourne General Cemetery is a large (43 hectare) necropolis located north of the city of Melbourne in the suburb of Carlton North. The cemetery is notably the resting place of four Prime Ministers of Australia, more than any other nec ...

References

External links

*
The Midwinter file
Graham Parker, Wisden 1971

* ttps://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/0/17/17.html CricketArchive page on Billy Midwinter {{DEFAULTSORT:Midwinter, Billy 1851 births 1890 deaths Australia Test cricketers Dual international cricketers England Test cricketers English cricketers Gloucestershire cricketers Victoria cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers United South of England Eleven cricketers People from St Briavels Melbourne Cricket Club cricketers Australian cricketers Cricketers who have taken five wickets on Test debut Players cricketers Sportspeople from Gloucestershire North v South cricketers Burials at Melbourne General Cemetery

Professional career

See also

References

External links