Billy Midwinter on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
William Evans Midwinter (19 June 1851 – 3 December 1890) was a
Midwinter made his Test debut in the first ever Test match in 1877, playing for Australia, where he had emigrated aged nine, against the country of his birth. He took five wickets in the first innings against England in Melbourne.
Midwinter played in the 2nd test of the 1876–1877 Series on 31 March 1877. Australia won the toss and elected to bat. He played at No: 6 and came out when Australia were 60 for 4 to join debut man Thomas Kelly. He batted with two other Test debutants, Frederick Spofforth and Billy Murdoch, scored a personal best 31 and became the third batsman with 53 runs in a Test career.
Later that year Midwinter returned to England, playing for WG Grace's
The Midwinter file
Graham Parker, Wisden 1971
{{DEFAULTSORT:Midwinter, Billy 1851 births 1890 deaths Australia Test cricketers Dual international cricketers England Test cricketers English cricketers Gloucestershire cricketers Victoria cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers United South of England Eleven cricketers People from St Briavels Melbourne Cricket Club cricketers Australian cricketers Cricketers who have taken five wickets on Test debut Players cricketers North v South cricketers Burials at Melbourne General Cemetery Cricketers from Gloucestershire
cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
er who played four Test matches for England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, sandwiched between eight for Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. He was the only cricketer to have played for Australia and England in Test matches against each other.
Professional career
Midwinter made his Test debut in the first ever Test match in 1877, playing for Australia, where he had emigrated aged nine, against the country of his birth. He took five wickets in the first innings against England in Melbourne.
Midwinter played in the 2nd test of the 1876–1877 Series on 31 March 1877. Australia won the toss and elected to bat. He played at No: 6 and came out when Australia were 60 for 4 to join debut man Thomas Kelly. He batted with two other Test debutants, Frederick Spofforth and Billy Murdoch, scored a personal best 31 and became the third batsman with 53 runs in a Test career.
Later that year Midwinter returned to England, playing for WG Grace's Gloucestershire County Cricket Club
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, founded in 1870, is one of 18 first-class cricket, first-class county cricket, county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the Historic counties of England, hist ...
. He was included in the Australian team to tour England in 1878, and played some matches for them, before, about to take the field at Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...
he was virtually kidnapped by Grace, who took him to the Oval
The Oval, currently named 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 sinc ...
to play for Gloucestershire in their game against Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
. He did not return to the tour, instead remaining with Gloucestershire until the 1882 season.
Midwinter was selected to tour with the England team visiting Australia in 1881/2, playing four Tests, then in 1882/3 returned to Australia, joining Victoria. He was selected for Australia to play the one-off Test after England had won the first Ashes series in 1883/4, and then for the Australian tour of England in 1884. This makes him the only man to play Test cricket for one international side, then another, and then return to his original international team.
By 1889, Midwinter's wife and two of his children had died, his businesses failed or failing. He became hopelessly insane and confined to Bendigo Hospital in 1890, before transferring to the Kew Asylum
Kew Lunatic Asylum is a decommissioned heritage-listed psychiatric hospital located between Princess Street and Yarra Boulevard in Kew, Victoria, Kew, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Operational from 1871 to 1988, Kew Asylum was one of the lar ...
, where he died later that year. His body is buried in the Melbourne General Cemetery
The Melbourne General Cemetery is a large (43 hectare) necropolis located north of the city of Melbourne in the suburb of Carlton North.
The cemetery is notably the resting place of five Prime Ministers of Australia, more than any other ...
.
See also
* List of cricketers who have played for two international teamsReferences
External links
* *The Midwinter file
Graham Parker, Wisden 1971
{{DEFAULTSORT:Midwinter, Billy 1851 births 1890 deaths Australia Test cricketers Dual international cricketers England Test cricketers English cricketers Gloucestershire cricketers Victoria cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers United South of England Eleven cricketers People from St Briavels Melbourne Cricket Club cricketers Australian cricketers Cricketers who have taken five wickets on Test debut Players cricketers North v South cricketers Burials at Melbourne General Cemetery Cricketers from Gloucestershire