George Robert Baker (18 April 1862 – 6 February 1938) was an English

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 ...

er, who played seven matches for

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 ...

in 1884, and then 227 games for

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

between 1887 and 1899. Baker umpired one first-class match in 1901.George Baker cricket umpire
Retrieved 27 July 2012

Life and career

Baker was born in New Malton,

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 a right-handed middle-order batsman, who scored 7,563 runs in 249 first-class matches, at an average of 21.28 with four centuries and 39 fifties. His best score was 186 against

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, and he posted 153 against

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

, 140 against

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

and 109 against

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. He was a fairly moderate performer until 1894, though his first century came in 1892. He passed 1,000 runs in a season only three times, with a best of 1,444 runs in 1897 at an average of 32.81. His three highest centuries came in that season, and his Lancashire aggregate and average in a season, in which the team won the

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 ...

, were exceeded only by Albert Ward. He took 152 catches and was an increasingly useful bowler, taking 145 first-class wickets at an average of 24.93 with his right-arm medium pace, including spells of 6 for 18 against

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

in 1896 and 6 for 28 against Sussex in 1898. Despite his apparently modest career figures, Baker was accorded a

benefit season A benefit season is a method of financially rewarding professional cricketers that is used by English county cricket teams to compensate long serving players. The system originated in the 19th century to help out professional cricketers who were ...

by Lancashire in 1898, which raised £1,850. His obituary in '' Wisden'' in 1939 noted that he was a man of "happy disposition and popular with everyone". He left first-class cricket after the 1899 season, and was later

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

for twelve years. Baker died in February 1938 at Wing Hill,

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, at the age of 75.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, George 1862 births 1938 deaths Yorkshire cricketers Lancashire cricketers English cricketers People from Malton, North Yorkshire Cricketers from North Yorkshire North v South cricketers Players cricketers English cricket umpires C. I. Thornton's XI cricketers