George Warrington Gaukrodger (11 September 1877 – 4 January 1938) was a

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 more than 100 times for

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

between 1900 and 1910; he also played once for the Players 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) ...

in 1902. Born in Ireland and hailing from an Irish family, Irish born Gaukrodger qualified for

and made his first-class debut against London County in May 1900, his first dismissal being the

stumping Stumped is a method of dismissing a batsman in cricket, which involves the wicket-keeper putting down the wicket while the batsman is out of his ground. (The batsman leaves his ground when he has moved down the pitch beyond the popping crease ...

of tail-ender

Lionel Wells Admiral Sir Lionel Victor Wells KCB, DSO (28 November 1884 – 22 April 1965) was a Royal Navy officer who became Admiral Commanding, Orkneys and Shetlands. Naval career Wells joined the Royal Navy as a cadet on 15 September 1899. As a midship ...

. He played a further two matches that season, and another two the following year, but it was not until 1902 that he established himself in the Worcestershire side, replacing

Thomas Straw Thomas Straw (1 September 1870 – 8 September 1959) was an English first-class cricketer. A right-handed batsman born in Hucknall, Hucknall Torkard, Nottinghamshire, he wicket-keeper, kept wicket for Worcestershire County Cricket Club in th ...

as regular

wicket-keeper The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. Th ...

. In that 1902 season, Gaukrodger played 24 times, including the aforementioned game for the Players at

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...

; he failed twice with the bat, but pulled off two stumpings. In total he made 48 dismissals, a tally which was to remain his best, and nor did he ever surpass the 666 first-class runs he hit that year, which included 58 against the Australians at New Road. He enjoyed another good season with the bat in 1903, once more passing 500 runs and hitting his highest first-class score when he made 91 against

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 ...

in June, putting on 167 with HK Foster to drag Worcestershire from the depths of 32/4. With the exception of last man Robert Burrows (18), Gaukrodger and Foster were the only batsmen to reach double figures in the first innings. His 37 dismissals in 1903 also contributed to a satisfactory summer. Never again did Gaukrodger play more than 13 times in a season, being gradually superseded by Bale. However the best summer of his later years was 1907, when he took 26 catches and made 13 stumpings. His batting, however, fell away. In 1906 he managed only 82 runs from 21 innings with an average below 6. One score of exactly 50 in 1904 proved to be his last half-century, although he did score an unbeaten 45 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 ...

in 1908. Gaukrodger's last first-class appearance of all was also his only match of the 1910 season, against

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

, making 0 not out and capturing three dismissals. He did not appear at this level again, giving up his position completely to Ernest Bale. He umpired one first-class match, standing with George Bromhead at Worcestershire's game against the

Philadelphians The Philadelphians, or the Philadelphian Society, were a 17th-century English dissenter group. They were organized around John Pordage (1607–1681), an Anglican priest from Bradfield, Berkshire, who had been ejected from his parish in 1655 beca ...

in July 1908 though he officiated in Club and Ground fixtures.. A gifted sportsman, Gaukrodger played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

at the international level, appearing for

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

in March 1895. He was not yet eighteen but earned his selection as a prolific goal scorer after success in the Irish league for the Belfast side Linfield.

References

External links

*
Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaukrodger, George 1877 births 1938 deaths People from Kirkburton English cricketers Irish cricketers Linfield F.C. players Irish association footballers (before 1923) Pre-1950 IFA international footballers Worcestershire cricketers Players cricketers Association football forwards Sportspeople from Yorkshire Wicket-keepers