Billy Bates
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Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Willie Bates | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Huddersfield,England | 19 November 1855|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 8 January 1900 Lepton, Yorkshire,England | (aged 44)|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bowling | Right armoff break | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Role | All rounder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National side | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Test debut (cap30) | 31 December 1881 vAustralia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Last Test | 1 March 1887 vAustralia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1877–1887 | Yorkshire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:Cricinfo,2 October 2009 |
Willie Bates(19 November 1855 – 8 January 1900),[1]known asBilly Bates,was an Englishcricketer.Skilled with both bat and ball, Bates scored over 10,000first-classruns, took more than 870 wickets and was always reliable in the field. A snappy dresser, Bates was also known as "The Duke".
Life and career
[edit]Born to a humble family in Lascelles Hall,Huddersfield,Yorkshire, Bates became aprofessional cricketerfor Rochdale in 1873 and made his first-class debut forYorkshirefour years later, taking four for 69 inMiddlesex's firstinningsto begin a ten-year career in the first-class game. He played fifteenTest matchesforEnglandbetween 1881–82 and 1886–87, all of them in Australia.
At theMelbourne Cricket Groundin 1882/83, Bates excelled by scoring 55 in England's only innings before taking 7 for 28 (including ahat-trick) to forceAustraliatofollow on.He then claimed 7 for 74 in the second innings to help his team to the first-everinnings victoryin Test cricket.[2]Bates set several individual records in this game as his hat-trick was the first for England in Test cricket, and his return of 7 for 28, and his match tally of 14 wickets, were then the best-ever by a Test match bowler. In addition, no Test bowler had previously taken 10 or more wickets and scored a half-century in the same match.
In domestic cricket, Bates topped 100 first-class wickets only once, when he took 121 in 1881, but he passed 80 on another 4 occasions. His best bowling of 8 for 21 was achieved in 1879 for Yorkshire againstSurreyatThe Oval.[3]As a batsman he passed 1,000 runs in 5 seasons and scored 10 centuries, including 3 in 1884. He made his highest first-class score of 144 not out in 1882 for Under 30 against Over 30 atLord's,where he also returned an economical second-inningsanalysisof 22–15–17–3.[4]
The end of Bates' career came suddenly. On a tour of Australia withG.F. Vernon's XIin 1887–88, he was bowling in the nets in Melbourne when he was hit in the eye by a ball struck by a teammate.[5]His eyesight was sufficiently impaired that he was never able to play first-class cricket again, although he did appear inclub cricketin the early 1890s and was still able to coach.
His enforced retirement caused him great depression, and on the voyage home from Australia he attempted suicide. At the end of December 1899 he caught a chill whilst attending the funeral of fellow Yorkshire playerJohn Thewlis.His condition quickly deteriorated and he died a few days later in Huddersfield, aged just 44.[6]
An interesting feature of Bates' Test career was that all 15 of his matches were played outside England, which is still the Test record for most matches in a complete career without ever playing at home.[7]
His sonWilliam Bateshad a long first-class career with Yorkshire andGlamorgan.
References
[edit]- ^Warner, David (2011).The Yorkshire County Cricket Club: 2011 Yearbook(113th ed.). Ilkley, Yorkshire: Great Northern Books. p. 363.ISBN978-1-905080-85-4.
- ^"1st Test, Melbourne, Jan 19 – 22 1883, England [IFW Bligh's XI] tour of Australia".ESPNcricinfo.Retrieved28 February2022.
- ^"Surrey v Yorkshire 1879".CricketArchive.Retrieved28 February2022.
- ^"Over 30 v Under 30, 1882".CricketArchive.Retrieved28 February2022.
- ^"Cricket".Evening Journal:4. 24 December 1887.
- ^"Obituaries".The Times.11 January 1900.
- ^Walmsley, Keith (2003).Mosts Without in Test Cricket.Reading, England: Keith Walmsley Publishing Pty Ltd. p. 457.ISBN0947540067..
External links
[edit]Media related toBilly Batesat Wikimedia Commons
- 1855 births
- 1900 deaths
- England Test cricketers
- English cricketers
- Players cricketers
- Players of the North cricketers
- Cricketers from Huddersfield
- Test cricket hat-trick takers
- United North of England Eleven cricketers
- Yorkshire cricketers
- C. I. Thornton's XI cricketers
- North v South cricketers
- Over 30s v Under 30s cricketers
- Lord Londesborough's XI cricketers
- R. Daft's XI cricketers