George Louden
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George Marshall Louden (6 September 1885 – 28 December 1972) was an
Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
cricketer who was for a period after
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almost certainly the best hard-wicket bowler in England. He was very tall at around , and although not strongly enough framed to be ideal for long spells on hard wickets, his remarkably beautiful action compensated. Even on the exquisite Leyton pitches, he was able to pick up speed and lift the ball sharply, and it could be very challenging if there was a heavy dew or rain that softened the ground. However, owing to business commitments, most of Louden's cricket was played for the Ilford club. Typically he was able to play seven or eight county matches per season. Because the matches he did play were usually against the strongest batting sides like
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. ...
,
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 ...
,
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
and
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, Louden's career average of 22.35 does not look at all exceptional for an era of uncovered pitches. However, owing to the immense disparities in batting strength among the counties during the 1920s, Louden's average represents much better bowling than many bowlers with much lower averages against weak opposition. Business meant Louden never had the tiniest hope of going on a
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to
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 ...
, though he was doubtless much better suited to the cast-iron Australian pitches than any English professional bowler of the time. Louden first played for Essex in 1912 at a time when Essex bowling was very weak with Buckenham's and Mead's careers nearly over. Despite a couple of promising performances in 1913 and 1914, it was not until 1919 that Louden showed his true class with seven for 42 on an excellent pitch against Lancashire and eight for 122 on a similarly good wicket 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 ...
. His 66 wickets for 25 each looked nothing out of the common, but on featherbed Leyton pitches such figures constituted first-rate bowling, and he was picked for the Gentlemen at Lord's and The Oval but was overshadowed by his teammate
Johnny Douglas John William Henry Tyler Douglas (3 September 1882 – 19 December 1930) was an English cricketer who was active in the early decades of the twentieth century. Douglas was an all-rounder who played for Essex County Cricket Club from 1901 to 1 ...
, taking only one wicket in two games. In 1920 Louden was seen as disappointing with an average of over 27 (though this was largely due to the excellent pitches and only playing against strong counties), but in the following two years he performed so well on his limited appearances as to leave little doubt that he was the best bowler in England. His performance for the Gentlemen at Lord's in 1922 was the best bowling by an Englishman since
Sydney Barnes Sydney Francis Barnes (19 April 1873 – 26 December 1967) was an English professional cricketer who is regarded as one of the greatest bowlers of all time. He was right-handed and bowled at a pace that varied from medium to fast-medium with ...
was in his prime, whilst he was equally good against Surrey at The Oval in both 1922 and 1923 (with innings analyses of seven for 84 and six for 66 on perfect pitches). Despite this performance, he did not gain a ''
Wisden Cricketer 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 ...
'' nomination. Although Louden bowled against the Australians in 1921 and took thirteen wickets in two innings, he was not chosen for any Test match, yet most historians believe his omission for
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and
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was a major error. Australian batsman
Warren Bardsley Warren "Curly" Bardsley (6 December 1882 – 20 January 1954) was an Australian Test cricketer. An opening batsman, Bardsley played 41 Tests between 1909 and 1926 and over 200 first-class games for New South Wales. He was Wisden's Cricketer of ...
thought it ridiculous that, although the England selectors went through fourteen bowlers that series, they never once turned to the man the Australians regarded as the best in the country. "All we did was tell the truth," he said later. "We told everybody that Louden was England's best bowler. They thought we were leg-pulling and just didn't pick him!"Quoted in Fingleton, Jack: ''Masters of Cricket'' (Heinemann, 1958), p. 58. Bardsley and
Herbie Collins Herbert Leslie Collins (21 January 1888 – 28 May 1959) was an Australian cricketer who played 19 Test matches between 1921 and 1926. An all-rounder, he captained the Australian team in eleven Tests, winning five, losing two with another fo ...
were always at pains to give one another the strike when Louden was bowling. After 1922, Louden declined somewhat even though he could play a little more often than before. He still remained a formidable opponent, as shown against the South Africans in 1924 when he took ten wickets, and on a bad wicket at Lord's in 1925 with nine for 67. He played almost no cricket after 1925, but was fondly remembered by those who played with him as a bowler who deserved much higher honours than business permitted him to obtain.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Louden, George 1885 births 1972 deaths People from Forest Gate English cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Essex cricketers Gentlemen cricketers North v South cricketers English cricketers of 1919 to 1945