Sir Harold Bruce Gardiner Austin OBE (15 July 1877 – 27 July 1943) was a Barbadian politician and cricketer. He was known as H.B.G.. Austin was the son of John Gardiner Austin, a shipper connected with the sugar trade, and his wife Dorothy and was educated at Harrison College, Barbados. He married Lillian Marie Dennehy in St. Lucia in 1904 and had two daughters. Austin was awarded the OBE in 1927, was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1935. He lost his seat to

Charles Duncan O'Neal Charles Duncan O'Neal (30 November 1879 – November 1936)Sean Creighton and Peter Freshwater"Charles Duncan O'Neal", ''North East Slavery & Abolition Group ENewsletter'', No. 8, April 2010, p. 15. was a Barbados physician, political figure a ...

in 1932 by one vote. Austin was Speaker of the House of Assembly of Barbados 1934-1937, 1938-1942. Austin captained the

West Indian cricket team The West Indies cricket team, nicknamed the Windies, is a multi-national men's cricket team representing the mainly English-speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean region and administered by Cricket West Indies. The players on t ...

s that toured

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 1906 and 1923. He was a right hand batsman and occasional wicket-keeper. He was one of a family of cricketers which included his brothers John ("Ruff"), Arthur ("A.P.G."), Malcolm ("M.P.G.") and

Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural M ...

. H.B.G.'s younger daughter Clodagh married

Gilbert White Gilbert White FRS (18 July 1720 – 26 June 1793) was a " parson-naturalist", a pioneering English naturalist, ecologist, and ornithologist. He is best known for his ''Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne''. Life White was born on ...

who played cricket for the Army in 1938. In June 1988 Austin was celebrated on a 75c Barbadian stamp alongside the

Barbados Cricket Buckle The Barbados Cricket Buckle is a repoussé engraving on a belt buckle of a slave playing cricket in Barbados circa 1780–1810. It is believed to be the only known image of a slave playing cricket and is thought to be the oldest surviving artif ...

Cricket career

Harold Austin made his debut in important matches aged just 17 playing for Barbados against Slade Lucas's team in the 1894–95 season. He later played against both Arthur Priestley's side and Lord Hawke's team that both toured in 1896–97 and was also selected for the combined West Indies team against Priestley's XI scoring an impressive 75*, the highest score by either side, enabling the home side to win by 3 wickets. He scored an impressive 129 for Barbados against Trinidad in the 1897–98

Inter-Colonial Tournament The Inter-Colonial Tournament was the main first class cricket competition in the West Indies held between 1892-93 and 1938-39. Competing teams * Barbados * British Guiana * Trinidad In the early tournaments British Guiana were sometimes ...

. He would certainly have played in the 1900 tour to England, probably as captain, but he was serving in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, taking part in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

. He joined the 20th Brigade, becoming a Major in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, but fell ill and never saw service. Returning to Barbados he played for the combined West Indies team in 1901–02 (scoring 68) and 1904–05 (scoring 83), as captain on both occasions. He was selected for the 1906 West Indies touring side and then elected captain. Before the tour he was described as "an excellent bat and fine field, considered the best in the West Indies" and "a graceful bat with an especially good drive. He uses his weight to advantage, and although not too good a starter, he ought to make a lot of runs". In fact he was something of a disappointment on the tour, scoring 529 at an average of 21.16. He scored a useful 74 in the second match of the tour against Essex and later 68* against Scotland and 68 against Leicestershire. 'Cricket' later remarked that "once he retired, but cricket lured him back again; once he left the island for good, but Barbados called him back".''Cricket – A Weekly Record of the Game'', 1913 page 41 Perhaps this explains why he did not play again after the 1906 tour until the 1908–09 season when he scored 53 and a rapid 81 in the final of the

and then played a couple of matches in England in 1909. He continued playing for Barbados both before and after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, generally as captain. He was the natural captain again for the 1923 tour to England. In the first class matches he scored 360 runs at an average of 25.71, including 51* against Cambridge University and 76 against Somerset. He missed a number of matches through illness, playing in just 11 of the 20 first class matches. His final first class match was in a trial match for the 1928 tour to England at which time he was 50 years old.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Harold 1877 births 1943 deaths Barbadian cricketers Officers of the Order of the British Empire Barbados cricketers Members of the House of Assembly of Barbados Speakers of the House Assembly of Barbados Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Cricket players and officials awarded knighthoods People from Saint Michael, Barbados People educated at Harrison College (Barbados) British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Royal Artillery officers