George Edward Charles Wood (22 August 1893 – 18 March 1971) was an English

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 in 3

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) ...

in 1924.Carlaw D (2020) ''Kent County Cricketers A to Z. Part Two: 1919–1939'', pp. 162–164.
Available online
at the

Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (ACS) was founded in England in 1973 for the purpose of researching and collating information about the history and statistics of cricket. Originally called the Association of Cricket Stati ...

. Retrieved 2020-07-01.) A wicket keeper who habitually stood up to the stumps against all styles of bowling, he was educated at

Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent School Day and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Huggett ...

and Pembroke College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

and played first-class cricket for

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

from 1913 to 1920. He won Blues both before and after the First World War and proved his all round sporting talent by also gaining Blues in hockey and rugby. He made his debut for

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 1919, winning his cap in 1920, and played for the county until 1927. He turned down an invitation to tour Australia in 1920/21 but played for the amateur team led by

Archie MacLaren Archibald Campbell MacLaren (1 December 1871 – 17 November 1944) was an English cricketer who captained the English cricket team, England cricket team at various times between 1898 and 1909. A right-handed Batting (cricket), batsman, he ...

which defeated the Australians in 1921. He also appeared in matches for

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 ...

from 1924 to 1932, and, with a smattering of matches for L Robinson's XI (1913-1921), the Gentlemen (1920-1932), South of England (1920), Free Foresters (1921-1928), England XI (1921), CI Thornton's XI (1921), The Rest of England (1923) and HDG Leveson-Gower's XI (1936) made 101 first-class appearances in all. A right-handed lower order batsman, promoted on occasion to open. his only first-class century, 128, came against Free Foresters. His three tests were played against the touring South Africans in 1924. The first was the remarkable match at Edgbaston in June which saw South Africa bowled out for just 30 in reply to England's imposing 438. The tourists rallied in their second innings, posting 390, to lose by an innings and 18 runs in the three day match. Batting at number 10, Wood contributed just a single on debut before being bowled by Parker, and caught

Dave Nourse Arthur William "Dave" Nourse (26 January 1878 (some sources say 25 January 1879) – 8 July 1948) was a cricketer who played for Natal, Transvaal, Western Province and South Africa. Life and career A left-handed batsman and left-arm medium- ...

from the bowling of

Arthur Gilligan Arthur Edward Robert Gilligan (23 December 1894 – 5 September 1976) was an English first-class cricketer who captained the England cricket team nine times in 1924 and 1925, winning four Test matches, losing four and drawing one. In fi ...

when South Africa followed on. England won the second Test at Lords by exactly the same margin, thanks to a double century by Jack Hobbs and centuries from Sutcliffe and Woolley. Wood caught South Africa's captain

Herbie Taylor Herbert Wilfred Taylor (5 May 1889 – 8 February 1973) was a South African cricketer who played 42 Test matches for his country including 18 as captain of the side. Specifically a batsman, he was an expert on the matting pitches which wer ...

for 4, again from the bowling of Gilligan. Wood's last Test match was the third in the series, played at Headingley in July, which England again won in convincing style. Although run out for just 6, Wood took 3 catches and completed a stumping as England ran out winners by 9 wickets.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, George 1893 births 1971 deaths Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge C. I. Thornton's XI cricketers Cambridge University cricketers Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players Cricketers from Greater London England Test cricketers English cricketers of 1919 to 1945 English cricketers English rugby union players Free Foresters cricketers Gentlemen cricketers H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI cricketers Kent cricketers L. G. Robinson's XI cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers North v South cricketers People educated at Cheltenham College Sportspeople from Blackheath, London Wicket-keepers Rugby union players from the London Borough of Lewisham