George Alfred Wilson (5 April 1877 – 3 March 1962) was an English cricketer, a right-arm fast bowler and right-handed batsman who was the first man to take a wicket for

Worcestershire County Cricket Club Worcestershire 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 Worcestershire. Its Vitality Blast T20 team has been rebranded ...

after they attained first-class status for the 1899 season. Born in

Amersham Amersham ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, northwest of central London, from Aylesbury and from High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter belt. ...

, Buckinghamshire, Wilson opened the bowling in Worcestershire's very first

County Championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...

match against

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

on 4 May 1899, and made his mark at once by dismissing

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 ...

batsman Jack Brown before Yorkshire had scored a run. He continued in the same vein, finishing with an outstanding debut innings return of 8–70, although he was less successful (2–69) in the second innings and Worcestershire were defeated by 11 runs thanks to 6–19 from

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

. Wilson enjoyed a fine first season in first-class cricket, finishing with 92 wickets at 22.46, including 8–46 in Worcestershire's first win, against

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and eight wickets in the match in their first Championship win, against

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

in late July. He also played twice against the touring

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, several (or all) ...

: once for an England XI, when he took only one wicket (that of Victor Trumper), and once for a Midland Counties side, for whom he was more successful and picked up five wickets in the game. In 1900, Wilson passed 100 wickets for the first time, a feat he was to repeat in

1901 Events January * January 1 – The Crown colony, British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and Western Australia Federation of Australia, federate as the Australia, ...

and

1902 Events January * January 1 ** The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world's f ...

, his best being 122 wickets in 1901. The 1900 season also saw him make his highest score of 78 against London County, batting at number 11 and adding 97 for the last wicket with

Albert Bird Albert Bird (17 August 1867 – 16 June 1927) was an English cricketer: a right-arm off-break bowler and lower-order right-handed batsman who played for Worcestershire for the first ten years of their existence as a first-class county. Born i ...

; while in 1901, he played in a Rest of England side against Yorkshire, a game in which

Gilbert Jessop Gilbert Laird Jessop (19 May 1874 – 11 May 1955) was an English cricket player, often reckoned to have been the fastest run-scorer cricket has ever known. He was Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1898. Career Jessop was born in Cheltenham, Gl ...

scored 233 for the Rest of England in about two and a half hours. In these three summers combined, Wilson took five or more wickets in an innings on 30 occasions. From

1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 19 – The first west–east transatlantic radio broadcast is made from the United States to England (the first east–west broadcast having been ...

onwards, Wilson's effectiveness steadily declined; indeed, after 1901, he took fewer wickets each summer until his retirement five years later. However, he remained good enough to be selected for the

Players of the South Players may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Players'' (1979 film), a film starring Ali MacGraw * ''Players'' (2012 film), a Bollywood film * ''Players'' (Dicks novel), a novel by Terrance Dicks, based on the television series ''Doc ...

against

Gentlemen of the South A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...

in 1903, while the following year he achieved career-best innings figures of 9–75 against Oxford University. In 1906 Wilson's season's bowling average, which with the exception of 1904 had remained in the low twenties throughout his career, ballooned to 36.09, and at the end of that season he retired from first-class cricket. He died in

Abbots Langley Abbots Langley is a large village and civil parish in the English county of Hertfordshire. It is an old settlement and is mentioned (under the name of Langelai) in the Domesday Book. Economically the village is closely linked to Watford and was f ...

, Hertfordshire, just over a month short of his 85th birthday. His son,

George Clifford Wilson George Clifford Wilson (27 July 1902 – 18 May 1957) was an English first-class cricketer who followed his father, the more accomplished George Alfred Wilson, into a career as a right-arm fast bowler (and right-handed batsman at the bottom o ...

, played 70 times for Worcestershire between 1924 and 1926.

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, George Alfred 1877 births 1962 deaths Sportspeople from Amersham English cricketers Worcestershire cricketers Buckinghamshire cricketers North v South cricketers Staffordshire cricketers Players of the South cricketers Midland Counties cricketers Cricketers from Buckinghamshire