Sammy Woods
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Samuel Moses James Woods (13 April 1867 – 30 April 1931) was an Australian sportsman who represented both
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 ...
and
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 ...
at
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 ...
, and appeared thirteen times for
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 ...
at
rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
, including five times as captain. He also played at county level in England at both
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
and
hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...
. At cricket—his primary sport—he played over four hundred first-class matches in a twenty-four-year career. The majority of these matches were for his county side,
Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...
, whom he captained from 1894 to 1906.
A. A. Thomson Arthur Alexander Thomson, (7 April 1894 at Harrogate, Yorkshire – 2 June 1968 near Lord's in London) was an English writer best known for his books on cricket, for which he used the byline A. A. Thomson. He wrote nearly 60 books in all, inclu ...
described him thus: "Sammy ... radiated such elemental force in hard hitting, fast bowling and electrical fielding that he might have been the forerunner of Sir
Learie Constantine Learie Nicholas Constantine, Baron Constantine, (21 September 19011 July 1971) was a West Indian cricketer, lawyer and politician who served as Trinidad and Tobago's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and became the UK's first black pee ...
." Having moved to England at the age of sixteen to complete his education, Woods became entrenched in English sport. Having already played cricket and rugby growing up in Australia, at
Brighton College Brighton College is an independent, co-educational boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in Brighton, England. The school has three sites: Brighton College (the senior school, ages 11 to 18); Brighton College Preparatory Sc ...
he began playing soccer, and while still at the college, represented Sussex at the sport. Woods was also part of a strong cricket team at the college; in the 23 matches he played for them, only two were lost. He made his first-class cricket debut shortly after leaving Brighton College, in August 1886, playing for GN Wyatt's XI against the touring Australians. Later in the same month he made his first appearance for Somerset, a second-class match against
Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...
. At
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 ...
he achieved
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
in both cricket and rugby. Woods played the first three of his six Test cricket matches during his first year at Cambridge, called up to the Australian squad to face England in 1888 after
Sammy Jones Samuel Percy Jones (1 August 1861 – 14 July 1951) was an Australian cricketer who played 12 Tests between 1882 and 1888. A solid right-handed batsman and a handy medium pace bowler, Jones excelled for New South Wales and later for Queensl ...
contracted
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
. During this early part of his career, Woods was considered among the finest bowlers in England, and was named as one of the 'Six Great Bowlers of the Year' (later to form the inaugural
Wisden Cricketers of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...
) in 1889. He twice claimed in excess of a hundred first-class wickets in an English season, and
averaged In mathematics and statistics, the arithmetic mean ( ) or arithmetic average, or just the ''mean'' or the ''average'' (when the context is clear), is the sum of a collection of numbers divided by the count of numbers in the collection. The colle ...
under twenty in five consecutive seasons from 1888. In an 1890 match 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 ...
, Woods claimed all ten of the opposition's wickets in the second-innings. However, by the time he was selected as part of the England Test squad to tour
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 ...
in 1895–96, his bowling was beginning to lose its potency. Additionally curtailed by injuries, Woods claimed five wickets on the tour, thirty less than the leading wicket-taker
George Lohmann George Alfred Lohmann (2 June 1865 – 1 December 1901) was an English cricketer, regarded as one of the greatest bowlers of all time. Statistically, he holds the lowest lifetime Test bowling average among bowlers with more than fifteen wicke ...
. While his bowling worsened, his batting improved; in 133 first-class matches up to the end of 1894, Woods scored one
century A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...
, while in his next 129 matches he passed a hundred on fourteen occasions. Primarily an aggressive batsman, Woods had fast footwork and was capable of powerful strokes all around the ground, though he favoured the square cut. His twelve-year Somerset captaincy is the longest at the county. He was an attacking captain, once observing: "Draws? They're only for bathing in." He also served the club as
secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...
from 1920 to 1922.


Growing up in Australia

Samuel Moses James, or Sammy as he commonly came to be known, was born to John Woods and Margaret Ewing on 13 April 1867. His parents, both born and raised in
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 ...
, had emigrated to Australia in 1853 shortly after their wedding. At the time of their wedding, John Woods was described as a 'labourer', but by the birth of Samuel Woods, he was listed as a 'gentleman', having carried out various contracts in the development of
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, and served as the city's mayor for a term in 1865. Sammy Woods was one of five boys all of whom were athletic, and at the age of ten he played a match for an under-16s team captained by one of his elder brothers. A boy short for the match, Sammy was enlisted; he scored a few runs in each innings and claimed three wickets, and was afterwards presented with a cap by his brother, which he later claimed to prize more than even his international caps. Woods was educated at Royston College and
Sydney Grammar School (Praise be to God) , established = , type = Independent, day school , gender = Boys , religious_affiliation = None , slogan = , headmaster = R. B. Malpass , founder = Laurence Hynes Halloran , chairman = ...
, and while at Royston once claimed seven wickets in seven balls. One school season, he claimed seventy wickets at an
average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...
of five runs. Woods often missed school to watch cricket, and recounts that on more than one occasion he "got a jolly good caning". On one such occasion when he was 14, during the English tour of Australia of 1881–82, after buying a couple of the England team drinks, he bowled at
George Ulyett George Ulyett (21 October 1851 – 18 June 1898) was an English cricketer, noted particularly for his very aggressive batsmanship. A well-liked man (who, in later years, kept a pub in his native Sheffield), Ulyett was popularly known as "Happy ...
in the nets. He played a number of matches for the Manly cricket club, taking part in challenge matches which on occasion included famous cricketers of the day such as
Fred Spofforth Frederick Robert Spofforth (9 September 1853 – 4 June 1926), also known as "The Demon Bowler", was arguably the Australian cricket team's finest pace bowler of the nineteenth century. He was the first bowler to take 50 Test wickets, and the fi ...
and
Billy Murdoch William Lloyd Murdoch (18 October 1854 – 18 February 1911) was an Australian cricketer who captained the Australian national side in 16 Test matches between 1880 and 1890. This included four tours of England, one of which, in 1882, gave ri ...
.


Education in England


Brighton College

When he was aged 16, Woods' father decided to send him and his younger brother, Harris, to complete their education in England. Both boys were sent to Silwood House in
Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...
,
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 ...
, a preparatory school. While at the school, Woods played for the town cricket club, and by the end of the season he was seventh in the published batting averages, with a top-score of 42
not out In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at t ...
. He joined
Brighton College Brighton College is an independent, co-educational boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in Brighton, England. The school has three sites: Brighton College (the senior school, ages 11 to 18); Brighton College Preparatory Sc ...
in August 1884, and after playing a couple of cricket matches, the weather turned and the
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 ...
season began. For Woods, whose Australian upbringing had consisted of cricket in the summer and
rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...
in the winter, the realisation that 'soccer' was played at the school was one made with some dismay. After only a few weeks though, he was playing
in goal IN, In or in may refer to: Places * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * Indepe ...
for both the school and the
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 ...
county football team. His newly discovered prowess at soccer did not detract from his cricketing skills. The two summers in which Woods played for Brighton College were strong ones for the school, of the 23 matches they played, only 2 were lost. Alongside the Woods brothers were a number of other players who would go on to appear in
county cricket Inter-county cricket matches are known to have been played since the early 18th century, involving teams that are representative of the historic counties of England and Wales. Since the late 19th century, there have been two county championship ...
; George Cotterill and George Wilson both played for
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 ...
, while Leslie Gay made one Test appearance for England in addition to representing
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
and Somerset. Woods topped the bowling averages in both his years at the school; in the first he claimed 59 wickets at an average just over eight, figures which he improved upon during his second year when he took 78 wickets at an average of 7.3. His college reports commented much more favourably on his sporting achievements than his academic ones, praising his batting, bowling and fielding alike. The highlight of Woods' time at Brighton College was during a schools match against
Lancing College Lancing College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in southern England, UK. The school is located in West Sussex, east of Worthing near the village of Lancing, on the south coast of England. ...
. Playing away from home at the
West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...
school, Woods claimed 8 wickets for 17 in the first-innings, with all his victims being
bowled In cricket, the term bowled has several meanings. First, is the act of propelling the ball towards the wicket defended by a batsman. Second, it is a method of dismissing a batsman, by hitting the wicket with a ball delivered by the bowler. (Th ...
, and followed this with 6 for 10 in the second-innings, five of the wickets bowled, and the other
caught and bowled Caught is a method of dismissing a batsman in cricket. A batsman is out caught if the batsman hits the ball, from a legitimate delivery, with the bat, and the ball is caught by the bowler or a fielder before it hits the ground. If the ball h ...
. On another occasion playing for the College's first eleven, Woods hit the
stumps In cricket, the stumps are the three vertical posts that support the bails and form the wicket. '' Stumping'' or ''being stumped'' is a method of dismissing a batsman. The umpire ''calling stumps'' means the play is over for the day. Part of ...
eight times in eight balls, but only claimed three wickets. After three successive
no-ball In cricket, a no-ball is a type of illegal delivery to a batter (the other type being a wide). It is also a type of extra, being the run awarded to the batting team as a consequence of the illegal delivery. For most cricket games, especially ...
s hit, he bowled an opponent with the fourth ball (the first legal ball of the over), hit the leg stump without dislodging a
bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countries ...
with the fifth, took successive wickets with the sixth and seventh, and then once again hit the stumps without disturbing the bails with the eighth. This was not the only time on which Woods hit the stumps without removing the bails: in an interview a few years later, he recalls a match against
Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2–19 independent, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...
in which he " itthe leg stump – and itit hard – three times in one over, without knocking the bails off", each ball then went for four
byes In cricket, a bye is a type of extra. It is a run scored by the batting team when the ball has not been hit by the batter and the ball has not hit the batter's body. Scoring byes Usually, if the ball passes the batter without being deflected, th ...
.Jiggens (1997), p21. During his time at the college, Woods developed a
slower ball In the sport of cricket, a slower ball is a slower-than-usual delivery from a fast bowler. The bowler's intention is to deceive the batsman into playing too early so that he either misses the ball completely or hits it high up in the air to off ...
after watching
George Lohmann George Alfred Lohmann (2 June 1865 – 1 December 1901) was an English cricketer, regarded as one of the greatest bowlers of all time. Statistically, he holds the lowest lifetime Test bowling average among bowlers with more than fifteen wicke ...
bowling against Sussex. Woods claimed that after practising the delivery for hours, he took a wicket with the first one he ever bowled, dismissing GG Hearne caught and bowled in a match against the
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 ...
and Ground. Woods left Brighton College in 1886, aged 19, and shortly after, in August of the same year, he made his
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 ...
debut. Playing for GN Wyatt's XI against the touring Australians, Woods opened the bowling in both innings for the English side which was termed a 'South of England XI'. Woods made scores of 21 and 11 with the bat, and took 2/45 and 0/40 bowling. He claimed that he strained his side trying to bowl too fast, and would have done better otherwise.


Somerset: Learning business habits

After completing his time at Brighton College, Woods moved to
Bridgwater Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...
where a friend of his father's helped to find him a job as a bank clerk. Woods reflected in his reminiscences that his father wanted him to "learn business habits" before he went to university. He soon became a key figure in the town's sport, playing for both the cricket and rugby teams. His performances on the cricket field drew the attention of the county club, and late during the 1886 season, Woods made his first appearance for
Somerset County Cricket Club Somerset County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Somerset. Founded in 1875, Somerset was initially regarded as a minor ...
. Somerset were not at the time a first-class county, and Woods travelled up to
Edgbaston Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest of the city centre. In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family an ...
,
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
to play
Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...
, who similarly lacked first-class status. He failed in both batting innings, collecting a
pair Pair or PAIR or Pairing may refer to: Government and politics * Pair (parliamentary convention), matching of members unable to attend, so as not to change the voting margin * ''Pair'', a member of the Prussian House of Lords * ''Pair'', the Frenc ...
, but claimed twelve wickets; 7/23 in the first-innings and 5/34 in the second. His performance was praised in the ''
Somerset County Gazette The Somerset County Gazette is a weekly tabloid newspaper in Somerset, England. It is published in a tabloid format on a weekly basis and has a circulation of about 10,195 based on its last published ABC figures to December 2018.Since then it has ...
'' and in the ''Sussex Daily News''; the latter publication noting that many had "anticipated or hoped that he would ultimately render good service to
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 ...
." He continued to play for Somerset in 1887, generally batting as part of the lower order. He collected ten wickets against the
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 ...
during this time. His work experience at the bank ended when an inspector noticed that the books were not balancing; which Woods was happy to explain was due to him taking a
sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...
from time to time to buy stamps. After losing this job, he paid a
surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...
to teach him the trade, but after an afternoon of the training, his teacher ran off with the money and soon committed suicide, bringing that to a halt.


Cambridge University


First year

Woods entered
Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...
in 1888 and soon became a vibrant part of the social community. He joined
port wine Port wine (also known as vinho do Porto, , or simply port) is a Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. It is typically a sweet red wine, often served with dessert, although it also comes in dry, semi- ...
and
oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not al ...
clubs, (known as Rhadegund and the Natives respectively) and played both cricket and rugby during his time at the university. He had also applied to
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 ...
, who had turned him down, not realising his sporting abilities. He made his debut for the university at
Fenner's Fenner's is Cambridge University Cricket Club's ground. History Cambridge University Cricket Club had previously played at two grounds in Cambridge, the University Ground and Parker's Piece. In 1846, Francis Fenner leased a former cherry orchard ...
in May 1888, claiming his first
five-wicket haul In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batsman. Takin ...
in first-class cricket when he
bowled In cricket, the term bowled has several meanings. First, is the act of propelling the ball towards the wicket defended by a batsman. Second, it is a method of dismissing a batsman, by hitting the wicket with a ball delivered by the bowler. (Th ...
four members of CI Thornton's XI, and had another one
caught Caught is a method of dismissing a batsman in cricket. A batsman is out caught if the batsman hits the ball, from a legitimate delivery, with the bat, and the ball is caught by the bowler or a fielder before it hits the ground. If the ball h ...
. Despite his wickets, he was relatively expensive, and the visiting side beat Cambridge easily. A week later, Woods improved on his performance against a 'Gentlemen of England' side which was also captained by Thornton, and claimed seven wickets in the first innings and another five in the second innings, top-scoring with the bat for Cambridge in-between, to help the university to a six wicket victory. This match also saw Woods take the only first-class
hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
of his career. He continued to bowl effectively for the university side, claiming another twelve wickets during a match against
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
, nine of the twelve being bowled. He topped both the batting and the bowling averages for Cambridge during his first year, and gained his
Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...
in cricket, claiming six wickets in
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 ...
's only innings of a match that was drawn, due to rain, with Cambridge the better of the two sides. In Geoffrey Bolton's ''History of the O.U.C.C.'', the author offers the opinion that the Cambridge side relied on the bowling of Woods, and although the rain initially softened the ground too much for his fast bowling, "when it had dried, he was irresistible." He also gained a Blue in rugby union, despite breaking his collarbone in an early game for the university. He also gained colours for Jesus College in both rugby and soccer. During his first year at Cambridge, Woods made his first appearances in the
Gentlemen v Players Gentlemen v Players was a long-running series of English first-class cricket matches. Two matches were played in 1806, but the fixture was not played again until 1819. It became an annual event, usually played at least twice each season, exc ...
fixture, representing the Gentlemen at both
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 ...
and
The 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 ...
in early July. In the first of the two matches, he claimed five wickets in each innings to help secure the Gentlemen a narrow five run victory. He collected another five wickets in the first innings of the match at The Oval, but could not prevent the Players achieving an innings victory, scoring a duck in the first innings and six runs in the second.


Test debut

During 1888, the sixth Australian team formed and travelled to England to contest three Tests and over 30 first-class matches. The squad was considered to be relatively weak, particularly in the batting, where only four players had any experience of English conditions. H.S Altham described them as leaving Australia "amid a chorus of gloomy prophecy". In his reminiscences,
W. G. 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 for a record-equal ...
expressed his disappointment at
George Giffen George Giffen (27 March 1859 – 29 November 1927) was a cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. An all-rounder who batted in the middle order and often opened the bowling with medium-paced off-spin, Giffen captained Australia ...
and Harry Moses, who he rated as Australia's best players, not travelling with the team, and also noted that they missed the bowling of
Fred Spofforth Frederick Robert Spofforth (9 September 1853 – 4 June 1926), also known as "The Demon Bowler", was arguably the Australian cricket team's finest pace bowler of the nineteenth century. He was the first bowler to take 50 Test wickets, and the fi ...
.Grace (1899), pp198–201.
Sammy Jones Samuel Percy Jones (1 August 1861 – 14 July 1951) was an Australian cricketer who played 12 Tests between 1882 and 1888. A solid right-handed batsman and a handy medium pace bowler, Jones excelled for New South Wales and later for Queensl ...
, an
all-rounder An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a handful of batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are consi ...
from Sydney, fell ill with
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
early during the tour, and due to the Australians only having a thirteen-man squad, Woods was invited into the tourists squad. His debut for Australia was made just two days after the conclusion of the second of his appearances for the Gentlemen, and was in the first Test of the series. Woods scored 18 and 3 batting from number six, and claimed one wicket during the first innings; the only wicket taken by Australia that did not fall to either Charlie Turner or John Ferris during the match. The match was notable for having the lowest aggregate number of runs scored in a Test match; Australia scored 116 and 60, while England made 53 and 62, totalling 291 runs. The record stood until 1932 when
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 ...
and Australia totalled less, but remains the second lowest aggregate. Woods appeared against the Australians shortly thereafter, playing for 'Cambridge University Past and Present', but rejoined them for matches against Yorkshire and
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, the latter of which drew his best performance for the Australians, when he claimed four wickets, over a third of his total for the side. He claimed two wickets in each of the other two Test matches, but failed to reach double figures when batting in any innings. Australia lost both matches, granting England a 2–1 series victory. Grace observed that "neither with bat nor ball did Mr. S. M. J. Woods give promise of the sterling qualities of which he proved himself the possessor as years went on. Woods, in his reminiscences, only provides a paragraph on his time playing for the Australians, and concentrates mainly on the first-ball duck he made in the match at
Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
,
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. These three Test appearances for Australia were the only he made for his native country; he was invited to play for them again when they toured England in 1890, but had to decline due to injury. In 1889, Woods was named by ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'' as one of the "Six Great Bowlers of the Year" due to his performances for Cambridge and Australia. His bowling is described in the piece as being "very fast right-hand, now and then sending in a good yorker."


Second year

In his second year at Cambridge, Woods continued his good bowling form from the previous season. He picked up five first innings wickets in his second match of the year, against the Marylebone Cricket Club, and in his next match a couple of day later, achieved his best bowling analysis in an innings to that point, claiming eight wickets against AJ Webbe's XI. He claimed another eleven wickets in the match against Yorkshire, taking five in the first innings and six in the second. Despite his wicket taking, Cambridge only won three of their seven first-class encounters in the run-up to facing Oxford, and the last of those came without Woods in the side. Nevertheless, they entered the fixture with better results than Oxford, who had lost six of their seven matches. Woods proved one of the deciding factors, claiming eleven wickets in the match, of which seven were bowled, and two were in combination with
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 ...
Gregor MacGregor General Gregor MacGregor (24 December 1786 – 4 December 1845) was a Scottish soldier, adventurer, and confidence trickster who attempted from 1821 to 1837 to draw British and French investors and settlers to "Poyais", a fictional Central Am ...
. Cambridge opening batsman Henry Mordaunt scored 127 in the match, and they secured an innings victory, requiring just two of the three allocated days. The partnership which MacGregor and Woods forged during their time at Cambridge was noted by Bolton, who commented that "the two most successful Cambridge bowlers,
Steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
and Woods, were partnered by their two greatest wicket-keepers,
Alfred Lyttelton Alfred Lyttelton KC (7 February 1857 – 5 July 1913) was a British politician and sportsman from the Lyttelton family who excelled at both football and cricket. During his time at university he participated in Varsity Matches in five sports ...
and MacGregor."Bolton (1962), p127. The pair shared a room together at Jesus College for two years, and on the field MacGregor proved himself capable of standing up to the wicket against Woods' bowling. Teammate
Digby Jephson Digby Loder Armroid Jephson (23 February 1871 – 19 January 1926) was a cricketer who played for Cambridge University and Surrey. Jephson was a right-handed middle order batsman. But his enduring fame rests on his reputation as one of the last ...
described their partnership as having "machine-like precision ... the faster Sam bowled, the nearer the sticks stood Mac." After the conclusion of the university term, Woods played five further five-class fixtures, as well as a number of matches for Somerset. He performed well, but without much note in the two Gentlemen v Players fixtures in London, claiming three wickets in an innings twice, but both games resulted in victories for the Players. Four appearances for Somerset in August brought him more wickets, although the cricket was not first-class; he took five wickets in an innings three times, and totalled 33 wickets in the matches. He continued this wicket-taking form into his next two matches, both first-class, taking seven wickets in the second innings against
I Zingari I Zingari (from dialectalized Italian , meaning "the Gypsies"; corresponding to standard Italian ') are English and Australian amateur cricket clubs, founded in 1845 and 1888 respectively. It is the oldest and perhaps the most famous of the 'wa ...
for the Gentlemen of England, aggregating eleven wickets in the match, and a few days later he claimed ten wickets in a match for the Marylebone Cricket Club against Yorkshire. He completed his second full season of first-class cricket with 74 wickets, at a
bowling average In cricket, a player's bowling average is the number of runs they have conceded per wicket taken. The lower the bowling average is, the better the bowler is performing. It is one of a number of statistics used to compare bowlers, commonly use ...
of 16.74, roughly equivalent to his figure from the previous season.


Third year

Woods took on the captaincy of the university side during his third year, a role he had taken up twice before in 1889. In the first match of the season, he put in the best bowling display of his career; in his third annual match against CI Thornton's XI, Woods took five wickets in the first innings, and after his teammates had built a 62 run lead, he then proceeded to claim all ten of the opposition's wickets in the second innings, bowling seven of them. His figures of ten wickets for 69 runs were his career best in an innings. Woods was troubled by strains throughout the summer of 1890, and so despite playing as many matches as the previous season, he bowled over 30% fewer deliveries. When he did bowl, he was still effective, claiming 59 wickets at an average of 13.13, his best during an English season. In the matches leading up to the fixture against Oxford, Woods' Cambridge side won three, loss three and drew one of their seven games, and were considered to be a stronger side than their rivals.Bolton (1962), pp133–135. Rain prevented any play on the first day, and the soft conditions did not favour Woods' bowling. He picked up four wickets in each innings, but more significantly, Oxford were restricted to 42 in their first innings. Cambridge did not manage to score any quicker in their reply, but did bat for longer open up a lead of 55 runs. An improved display from Oxford in the second innings left Cambridge requiring 54 runs to win, which they reached with an hour of the match remaining. During
1890 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Kingdom of Italy establishes Eritrea as its colony, in the Horn of Africa. ** In Michigan, the wooden steamer ''Mackinaw'' burns in a fire on the Black River. * January 2 ** The steamship ...
, Somerset played thirteen 'second-class' fixtures, and remained undefeated for the whole season. Woods, due to his commitments at Cambridge and his injuries, only appeared in three of these matches. In the matches in which he did play, Woods made a significant impact: he claimed seven wickets in the first innings against
Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
, and in total in the three matches for the county, he took 24 wickets. In late August, playing for the Gentlemen of England against
I Zingari I Zingari (from dialectalized Italian , meaning "the Gypsies"; corresponding to standard Italian ') are English and Australian amateur cricket clubs, founded in 1845 and 1888 respectively. It is the oldest and perhaps the most famous of the 'wa ...
at the
Scarborough Festival {{No footnotes, date=July 2011 The Scarborough Festival is an end of season series of cricket matches featuring Yorkshire County Cricket Club which has been held in Scarborough, on the east coast of Yorkshire, since 1876. The ground, at North Ma ...
, Woods claimed 12 wickets in the match, opening the bowling alongside W. G. Grace.


Fourth year

Woods and
Stanley Jackson Sir Francis Stanley Jackson Jackson's obituary in the 1948 ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack''. This gives his full name as ''Francis'' Stanley Jackson, whereas Cricinfo and CricketArchive both give his full name as ''Frank'' Stanley Jackson. This ...
took the majority of wickets for Cambridge during the year, with Woods at his deadliest against Surrey in a two-day match in the middle of June. Though he bowled typically expensively, he claimed seven wickets in each innings, bowling nine men, helping Cambridge to a 19 run victory. He also top-scored with the bat for Cambridge in their second innings, hitting 27 runs. According to Bolton, Cambridge once again had a superior side in the University Match, but despite this strength, they very nearly lost the contest.Bolton (1962), pp136–139. Their strong batting line-up reached 210, which Bolton claims "could not be called a formidable score." In Oxford's innings, Woods bowled at what is claimed to be the quickest of his career, collecting seven wickets. Oxford were all out for 108, and MacGregor, captaining Cambridge, enforced the
follow on In the game of cricket, a team who batted second and scored significantly fewer runs than the team who batted first may be forced to follow-on: to take their second innings immediately after their first. The follow-on can be enforced by the team ...
. Oxford batted better in their second innings, but Cambridge only required 90 runs to win to match. A combination of nerves and poor light resulted in Cambridge collapsing, and when MacGregor was dismissed, only two wickets remained with the scores level. Woods, who had not been ready to bat, ran to the wicket without pads or gloves, and hit the first ball he was delivered for a
boundary Boundary or Boundaries may refer to: * Border, in political geography Entertainment *Boundaries (2016 film), ''Boundaries'' (2016 film), a 2016 Canadian film *Boundaries (2018 film), ''Boundaries'' (2018 film), a 2018 American-Canadian road trip ...
to long-on.Jiggens (1997), p46–47. Woods led the Cambridge bowling averages in each of the four seasons that he played at the university, and in 28 first-class matches for the side he claimed 190 wickets at an average of 14.93, taking
five wickets in an innings In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batsman. Taki ...
on 19 occasions, and
ten wickets in a match In cricket, a ten-wicket haul occurs when a bowler takes ten wickets in either a single innings or across both innings of a two-innings match. The phrase ten wickets in a match is also used. Taking ten wickets in a match at Lord's earns the bowle ...
seven times. In contrast to his sporting excellence, he struggled academically, and left Cambridge without a
degree Degree may refer to: As a unit of measurement * Degree (angle), a unit of angle measurement ** Degree of geographical latitude ** Degree of geographical longitude * Degree symbol (°), a notation used in science, engineering, and mathematics ...
.


County cricket


Entry into County Championship

After Somerset's achievements in the previous season, they were granted first-class status and admission to the
County Championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...
in 1891. This resulted in Woods playing more first-class cricket than in any previous season. He continued to bowl well throughout the season, and finished as Somerset's leading wicket taker in the Championship in 1891, claiming 72 of his 134 wickets for the county. He took ten wickets, and scored a half-century in the match against Yorkshire at
Park Avenue Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenu ...
,
Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
, and in so doing reached 100 first-class wickets in a season for the first time. Later in the same month, Woods opened the Somerset bowling alongside
Ted Tyler Edwin ("Ted") James Tyler (13 October 1864 in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England – 25 January 1917 in North Town, Taunton, Somerset, England) was a cricketer who played first-class cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club between 1891 Eng ...
against Gloucestershire. The pair claimed five wickets each, bowling Somerset's local rivals out for 25 runs from just 14.2 overs. The total was the lowest score Gloucestershire had made in an innings to that point, and remains their third lowest total. Woods claimed a further three wickets in Gloucestershire's second innings, and Somerset completed an innings victory on day two of the match.
Lord Hawke Martin Bladen Hawke, 7th Baron Hawke (16 August 1860 – 10 October 1938), generally known as Lord Hawke, was an English amateur cricketer active from 1881 to 1911 who played for Yorkshire and England. He was born in Willingham by Stow, near G ...
led the first of his cricketing tours following the conclusion of the 1891 English cricket season, taking a small party of English amateurs to play eight matches in North America. The first match of the trip was a first-class contest against the
Gentlemen of Philadelphia The Philadelphian cricket team was a team that represented Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in first-class cricket between 1878 and 1913. Even with the United States having played the first ever international cricket match against Canada in 1844, t ...
, and the tourists lost by eight wickets. Woods blamed the defeat on being too soon after arriving, claiming the team "had hardly found our land-legs." The loss was considered something of an embarrassment to English cricket, and prompted a number of letters to be written to Lord Hawke expressing dismay at the result. ''Wisden'' primarily attributed the loss to the poor performance of Woods,Jiggens (1997), p57. whose four wickets came at an expense of 124. He fared significantly better in the second match, having apparently found his 'land-legs'. He collected 15 wickets for 86 runs against the same opponents, and the visitors won by four wickets. A third, deciding, match was proposed between the two sides, but could not be fit into the schedule. The remainder of the matches on the tour were not first-class, and were rarely eleven-a-side contests. Woods collected numerous wickets during these matches, and made significant totals with the bat on a couple of occasions, scoring 92 against 'All New York', and 54 in the last match, against 'Eastern Ontario'. * Leading wicket-taker in 1892


Captaincy

* Became captain in 1894 following resignation of Hewett. * Longest serving captain, staying in the role until 1906.


Tests for England in SA

* Three test appearances in 1896 for England during tour of SA.


Batting for Somerset

* Somerset's leading run-scorer in 1897 and 1899.


Playing style


Bowling

In an appreciation included as a
foreword A foreword is a (usually short) piece of writing, sometimes placed at the beginning of a book or other piece of literature. Typically written by someone other than the primary author of the work, it often tells of some interaction between the ...
to Woods' reminiscences,
Pelham Warner Sir Pelham Francis Warner, (2 October 1873 – 30 January 1963), affectionately and better known as Plum Warner or "the Grand Old Man" of English cricket, was a Test cricketer and cricket administrator. He was knighted for services to sport in ...
described Woods as being "at that time one of the great fast bowlers of the world."
Pelham Warner Sir Pelham Francis Warner, (2 October 1873 – 30 January 1963), affectionately and better known as Plum Warner or "the Grand Old Man" of English cricket, was a Test cricketer and cricket administrator. He was knighted for services to sport in ...
in Woods (1925), pp1–4.
Warner was referring to a match playing in 1890, when Woods was near the peak of his bowling. Warner was not the only one to rate Woods so highly, he was selected as one of the " Six Great Bowlers of the Year" by ''Wisden'' in 1889 for his performances in the previous season. He did not spend long at this peak though; he
averaged In mathematics and statistics, the arithmetic mean ( ) or arithmetic average, or just the ''mean'' or the ''average'' (when the context is clear), is the sum of a collection of numbers divided by the count of numbers in the collection. The colle ...
below twenty in each of his first five full seasons, from 1888 until 1892, but did not manage the feat again during an English season. When he was at his best,
C. B. Fry Charles Burgess Fry (25 April 1872 – 7 September 1956) was an English sportsman, teacher, writer, editor and publisher, who is best remembered for his career as a cricketer. John Arlott described him with the words: "Charles Fry could b ...
described Woods as "one of the best fast bowlers of all time". During his early years of first-class cricket, Woods focussed on bowling as quickly as possible, often sacrificing accuracy to achieve this. He soon developed into a more accurate and tactical bowler, including variety intentionally.Jiggens (1997), pp36–37. The slower ball that Woods developed after watching
George Lohmann George Alfred Lohmann (2 June 1865 – 1 December 1901) was an English cricketer, regarded as one of the greatest bowlers of all time. Statistically, he holds the lowest lifetime Test bowling average among bowlers with more than fifteen wicke ...
became a vital part of his attack, and Warner believed it was this ball, and his ability to disguise it, that was "what made him a really great bowler". ''Wisden'' praised his
yorker In cricket, a yorker is a ball bowled (a delivery) which hits the cricket pitch around the batsman's feet. When a batsman assumes a normal stance, this generally means that the cricket ball bounces on the cricket pitch on or near the batsman's ...
, while he was also known to bowl occasional
bouncers A bouncer (also known as a doorman or door supervisor) is a type of security guard, employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs, cabaret clubs, stripclubs, casinos, hotels, billiard halls, restaurants, sporting events, schools, concerts, ...
, and even a beamer, and though some claimed these were intentional, Warner insisted otherwise. Woods was described by Grace as having "a high action".Grace (1899), p397. During the mid-1890s, Woods lost some of his pace, most likely burnt out from bowling long spells at his quickest during his years at Cambridge University.


Rugby career

When Woods moved to
Bridgwater Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...
in 1886 after completing his time at
Brighton College Brighton College is an independent, co-educational boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in Brighton, England. The school has three sites: Brighton College (the senior school, ages 11 to 18); Brighton College Preparatory Sc ...
, he almost immediately began playing for the town's rugby team. He described his first two seasons with the club as being wonderful, especially 1887, in which Bridgwater only lost one match, the last of the season against
Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
.Woods (1925), pp24–29. He began his time at the club as a three-quarters back, and was soon called into the Somerset side for their first tour of the north of England.Jiggens (1997), pp26–27. He recounts that during their match against Lancashire, he started at fullback, but after making a number of mistakes, moved to three-quarters. From this position he scored a
dropped goal A drop goal, field goal, or dropped goal is a method of scoring points in rugby union and rugby league and also, rarely, in American football and Canadian football. A drop goal is scored by drop kicking the ball (dropping the ball and then kicki ...
which helped to turn the match around, and thanks to two tries from his teammates, Somerset won. He selected to play for the South in 1888, and although England did not compete internationally that year due to disputes between the national boards, Woods was disappointed not to be chosen as part of the "imaginary XV". At Cambridge, he gained his
Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...
, competing in
the Varsity Match The Varsity Match is an annual rugby union fixture played between the universities of Oxford University RFC, Oxford and Cambridge University R.U.F.C., Cambridge in England. The event began in 1872 with the first men's match, with interruptions ...
in each of 1888, 1889 and 1900. Woods played over 30 times for Somerset, and captained the county between 1893 and 1896. Woods was often a guest of the Hancock family, and appeared a number of times for Wiveliscombe, for whom seven of the ten Hancock brothers also appeared. One of these brothers,
Froude Hancock Philip Froude Hancock universally known as Froude Hancock (29 August 1865 – 16 October 1933) was an English rugby union forward who played international rugby for the British Isles XV on two tours, the 1891 and 1896 tour of South Africa ...
, played for
Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...
, travelling up to London and back each weekend to appear for them. Woods joined him on occasion, and soon became an irregular player, appearing for the side throughout the early 1890s. Around the same time, Woods became one of the founding members of the
Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...
, and served on the club's committee for some time.Jiggens (1997), pp64–65. His England debut came in 1890, appearing 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 ...
at
Dewsbury Dewsbury is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Hudder ...
. Woods was one of eight England debutants in the match, in which he played as a forward. Wales won the match by a single try. He played in both of England's other two
1890 Home Nations Championship The 1890 Home Nations Championship was the eighth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 1 February and 15 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Table Results ...
matches, both of which were won by England, who shared the championship with Scotland. He played all three matches again in 1891. He captained England for the first time in 1892, leading his adopted country to a 7–0 victory over
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 ...
, kicking a
goal A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...
. He captained them again in 1893, but took on the captaincy on a more permanent basis in 1895, taking charge of the team for all three Home Nations matches. He scored his only international try in England's opening match of the 1895 competition, during a 14–6 victory over Wales. England won the second match, against Ireland at
Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium ( ga, Bóthar Lansdún, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for ...
, but lost the final match of the tournament against
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
 – England's only loss with Woods as captain.


Style of play

Playing as either a back or a forward, Woods was praised primarily for his
dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. A ...
, part of the game which he felt should be utilised more often, especially by the pack during a ruck, or following a
scrum Scrum may refer to: Sport * Scrum (rugby), a method of restarting play in rugby union and rugby league ** Scrum (rugby union), scrum in rugby union * Scrum, an offensive melee formation in Japanese game Bo-taoshi Media and popular culture * M ...
.Jiggens (1997), pp66–67. Woods was described by
W. G. 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 for a record-equal ...
as being "not a good scrimmager", but the England pack during his captaincy was considered one of the country's greatest for decades after. He was known for his strong
tackling Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking up ...
, described by an 1892 publication, ''Football, the Rugby Union Game'', as "exceedingly severe", while
Gilbert Jessop Gilbert Laird Jessop (19 May 1874 – 11 May 1955) was an English cricket player, often reckoned to have been the fastest run-scorer cricket has ever known. He was Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1898. Career Jessop was born in Cheltenham, ...
joked that an opponent may prefer to be hit by a motor-car than tackled by Woods in a close match.


World War I

Woods served initially as a temporary lieutenant in the
Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a c ...
before transferring to the Devon Regiment in 1916. In 1917 he was transferred to the Labour Corps. He was forced to resign his commission on 14 March 1919 due to ill-health and was given the substantive rank of captain.


Later life

He remained a very popular and well-known figure in Somerset even after his cricket-playing days were long over. When he died,
Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...
was in a state of mourning.
R. C. Robertson-Glasgow Raymond Charles "Crusoe" Robertson-Glasgow (15 July 1901 – 4 March 1965) was a Scottish cricketer and cricket writer. Life and career Robertson-Glasgow was born in Edinburgh and educated at Charterhouse School and Corpus Christi College, O ...
wrote of him: "If you wanted to know Taunton, you walked round it with Sam Woods on a summer morning before the match. Sam was Somerset's godfather."


See also

*
List of cricketers who have played for more than one international team As of January 2023, fifteen male players have played Test cricket for two nations, sixteen have played One Day International (ODI) cricket for two teams, and sixteen have played Twenty20 International (T20I) matches for two teams, and four have ...


Notes

:a. Woods played three Tests for Australia and three for England. His best batting and bowling figures were both for England. :b. For individual match scorecards of Woods' appearances for Somerset in August 1889 see


References


Bibliography

* * * * * *


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Woods, Sammy 1867 births 1931 deaths Military personnel from New South Wales Australia Test cricketers Cambridge University cricketers England Test cricketers English cricketers Somerset cricket captains Wisden Cricketers of the Year Dual international cricketers English rugby union players England international rugby union players Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players Barbarian F.C. players Blackheath F.C. players Cricketers from Sydney Rugby union players from Sydney People educated at Brighton College British Army personnel of World War I Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers officers Devonshire Regiment officers Royal Pioneer Corps officers Somerset Light Infantry soldiers Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge People educated at Sydney Grammar School Gentlemen of the South cricketers Gentlemen cricketers North v South cricketers West of England cricketers Cricketers who have taken ten wickets in an innings Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers A. Priestley's XI cricketers C. I. Thornton's XI cricketers Over 30s v Under 30s cricketers A. J. Webbe's XI cricketers Lord Hawke's XI cricketers Lord Londesborough's XI cricketers Rugby union forwards