George John Bonnor (25 February 1855 – 27 June 1912) was an Australian

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, known for his big hitting, who played

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last fo ...

between 1880 and 1888.

Career

Bonnor was born in

Bathurst, New South Wales Bathurst () is a city in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. Bathurst is about 200 kilometres (120 mi) west-northwest of Sydney and is the seat of the Bathurst Regional Council. Bathurst is the oldest inland settlement in ...

, and made his international debut in the first match played in

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 ...

in 1880. Being very tall for the 19th century at 6 foot 6 inches he was also exceedingly strong and made the most of it with some powerful hitting, however at times his cavalier attitude led to some periods of poor scores as well. Two anecdotes testify to his enormous strength. First, during the

Oval An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.) it is given a more precise definition, which may include either one or ...

Test match of 1880 between

and

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 ...

, he was out caught for two to a ball he had hit so high that by the time

GF Grace George Frederick Grace (13 December 1850 – 22 September 1880) was an English first-class cricketer active from 1866 to 1880 who played for Gloucestershire and the United South of England Eleven (USEE). He played in one retrospectively recogn ...

had snaffled him, waiting directly underneath it on the boundary, he and his partner had almost completed their third run. "My heart stopped beating as I went on waiting or the ball to come" said Grace later. On the next tour, in 1882, Bonnor made a £100 wager with a disbelieving fellow passenger on the ''SS Assam'' that he could, with his throw after stepping off the ship, send a cricket ball 100 yards: he won the wager by throwing the ball 119 yards and seven inches, done without a run up.

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 First-class c ...

credits Bonnor with another throw of 130 yards, but legend has it that Grace himself threw even further in their one-on-one competition. Measured hits of his in practice included ones at Melbourne of 160 and 149 yards, and one of 147 at Mitcham Common in May 1880, which was carefully measured by the famed bowler James Southerton. Bonnor also reached 160 yards in actual play when, at Longsight in 1880, the Australians played the local XVIII and he sent Grace's cousin, W.R. Gilbert, a long way. In 1884, George Bonnor became the first player in Test cricket as well as international cricket history, to be dismissed

hit wicket Hit wicket is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. This method of dismissal is governed by Law 35 of the Laws of Cricket. The striker is out "hit wicket" if, after the bowler has entered his delivery stride and while the ball is in pla ...

. Bonnor died of a heart attack, aged 57, in

Orange, New South Wales Orange is a city in the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the state capital, Sydney on a great circle at an altitude of . Orange had an estimated urban population of 40,493 Estimated resident population, 3 ...

, and is buried at the cemetery there.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonnor, George 1855 births 1912 deaths Australia Test cricketers Victoria cricketers New South Wales cricketers Melbourne Cricket Club cricketers Australian cricketers People from the Central Tablelands Cricketers from New South Wales