George Wootton (1834–1924) was an English cricketer.

Biography

Born 16 October 1834,

Clifton, Nottingham Clifton is a large suburban village and historic Manorialism, manor in the city of Nottingham, England. In 2020 it had an estimated population of 22,749. Clifton has two Local government in England#Elections, council wards in the City of Nott ...

shire, England; Wootton joined the

All England Eleven In English cricket since the first half of the 18th century, various ''ad hoc'' teams have been formed for short-term purposes which have been called England (or sometimes "All-England"; i.e., in the sense of "the rest of England") to play against, ...

1860 Events January–March * January 2 – The discovery of a hypothetical planet Vulcan is announced at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris, France. * January 10 – The Pemberton Mill in Lawrence, Massachusett ...

but did not play his first first-class match until the following season, when with five for 25 against Surrey at

Trent Bridge Trent Bridge Cricket Ground is a cricket ground mostly used for Test, One-Day International and county cricket located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, just across the River Trent from the city of Nottingham. Trent Bridge is also t ...

, he established himself as a member of the county side and was to remain a regular for a decade. However, it was when Wootton joined the ground staff at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

the following season that he became famous. A round-arm fast-medium left hand bowler, who skilfully varied his speed off a run of merely two paces,Lubbock, Alfred (1909
“Cricket in the sixties and at the present day: Not an easy comparison”
in '' John Wisden's Cricketers’ Almanac''; Forty-Sixth Edition Wootton was exactly suited to the rough Lord's wickets of the 1860s."Obituary – George Wootton"
''Wisden Almanack'' On these wickets, where no

heavy roller The roller is an agricultural tool used for flattening land or breaking up large clumps of soil, especially after ploughing or disc harrowing. Typically, rollers are pulled by tractors or, prior to mechanisation, a team of animals such as horses ...

was ever used and the grass was cut by a

scythe A scythe ( ) is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass or harvesting crops. It is historically used to cut down or reap edible grains, before the process of threshing. The scythe has been largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor m ...

that left rough tufts on the surface, there were typically stones formed from the drying of the clayey soils and balls which hit these stones could either become dead shooters or fly right over a batsman's and wicket-keeper's head. Wootton's low delivery allowed him to bowl, according to contemporaries, even more shooters than such terrifying bowlers as

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Q ...

, Tarrant and George Freeman. It was normal for batsmen facing Wootton at Lord's to receive two shooters in each four-ball over and in tandem with veteran Jimmy Grundy, Wootton was almost unplayable. In his first Lord's game for the MCC Wootton took fourteen for 46 and bowling eight men in his first innings and on the strength of this performance he played one game in the Canterbury Week for "England" 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 ...

. The following year Wootton took eighty-seven wickets for 9.74 and again was deadly 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 ...

, but it was already noted that Wootton was not a formidable bowler on other southern grounds where the light roller then in use was adequate for true bounce. At Hove, Wootton did achieve the unusual feat of adding 106 for the tenth wicket with Ralph Forster – almost the first time a century was added for the last wicket in a first-class match. In 1864, the difference in his and Grundy's deadliness between Lord's and other grounds was graphically seen when at Lord's the pair bowled out

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 ...

for 44 and the newly formed Middlesex club for a record-low 20 – but were hit by the same two teams for 439 at Oxford and 411 at the soon-to-be-demolished

Cattle Market Ground Cattle Market Ground was a cricket ground in Islington, London (formerly Middlesex). The first recorded match on the ground was in 1863, when Middlesex Clubs played a United England Eleven. In 1864, the ground held its first first-class match ...

. 1865 saw no advance on his previous three years despite taking ten wickets in an innings against a very weak Yorkshire eleven, but as Grundy gradually declined with age Wootton came to take on more responsibility for the Marylebone Club and even for Nottinghamshire, where he was always second fiddle to Grundy,

Cris Tinley Robert Crispin Tinley (25 October 1830 – 11 December 1900) was an English first-class cricketer in the mid-19th century who was recognised as one of the best slow bowlers of his time. Tinley was born at Southwell, Nottinghamshire, and pla ...

Jem Shaw James Coupe "Jem" Shaw (11 April 1836 – 7 March 1888) was an English professional cricketer who played for Nottinghamshire from 1865 to 1875 making 115 appearances. According to WG Grace, few bowlers had a better record. Shaw was born at Sut ...

. He also established himself as a regular for the Players and other representative elevens, though he did little apart from six for 24 on a

Kennington Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since it ...

pitch spoiled by rain where the Gentlemen came back and won well.Gentlemen v Players in 1866
/ref> 1867 was Wootton's most successful season ever with 142 wickets in just nineteen games; though he again failed against the Gentlemen where

Alfred Lubbock Alfred Lubbock (31 October 1845 – 17 July 1916) was an English insurance underwriter and banker. He is best known as an amateur cricketer who played first-class cricket for a variety of sides including Kent County Cricket Club and the Marylebo ...

and E.M. Grace made large scores, he was more terrifying than ever elsewhere until August. The exceptionally hot and dry summer of 1868, however, saw him lose a little of his deadliness with thirty-six fewer wickets, but Wootton recovered this ground for one last time in 1869 before, at the beginning of the 1870s, losing his skill for good just before the

and motor mower eliminated the shooters that made him so feared. Wootton took ninety wickets in 1870, but was so ineffective after May in 1871 with the first extensive use of heavy rollers, as to drop out of first-class cricket at the end of July with a mere ten wickets in eight games. A few deadly games in 1872 suggested he was still capable of terrorising batsmen at Lord's, but around this time Wootton showed an interest in giving up cricket for a career as a farmer, which he did following a benefit in 1873. Wootton stood as a first-class

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...

from 1871 to 1883. In 1921, his eighty-seventh year, he watched the first

Test match 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) ...

ever played at Trent Bridge. He died on 15 June 1924 at

Ruddington Ruddington is a large village in the Borough of Rushcliffe in Nottinghamshire, England. The village is south of Nottingham and northwest of Loughborough. It had a population of 6,441 at the 2001 Census, increasing to 7,216 at the 2011 Censu ...

, Nottinghamshire, England

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wootton, George 1834 births 1924 deaths English cricketers English cricket umpires Nottinghamshire cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Players cricketers North v South cricketers All-England Eleven cricketers United North of England Eleven cricketers Cricketers from Nottingham People from Ruddington Cricketers from Nottinghamshire Cricketers who have taken ten wickets in an innings Professionals of Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers R. Daft's XI cricketers North of the Thames v South of the Thames cricketers