Alick Bannerman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Alick Bannerman

Personal information
Full name	Alexander Chalmers Bannerman
Born	(1854-03-21)21 March 1854 Paddington, New South Wales
Died	19 September 1924(1924-09-19) (aged 70) Paddington, New South Wales
Nickname	Little Alec
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm medium roundarm
Role	Batsman
Relations	Charles Bannerman (brother)
International information
National side	Australia
Test debut (cap 16)	2 January 1879 v England
Last Test	24 August 1893 v England
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1876/77–1893/94	New South Wales
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class Matches 28 219 Runs scored 1,108 7,816 Batting average 23.08 22.14 100s/50s 0/8 5/30 Top score 94 134 Balls bowled 292 1,295 Wickets 4 22 Bowling average 40.75 29.81 5 wickets in innings 0 0 10 wickets in match 0 0 Best bowling 3/111 3/12 Catches/stumpings 21/– 154/–
Source: Cricinfo, 20 November 2016

Alexander Chalmers Bannerman (born March 21, 1854 – died September 19, 1924), known as "Alick" or "Alec," was an Australian cricketer. He played in 28 Test matches for Australia between 1879 and 1893.

Alick was famous for his very careful batting style. He was often called "Barn Door" because he was so hard to get out. This was very different from his brother, Charles Bannerman, who was known for hitting the ball hard and scoring quickly.

Alick made his first Test match appearance in 1879 in Melbourne. He joined his older brother Charles on the Australian team. In his very first Test, Alick scored 73 runs, which was the highest score for his team in that innings.

A Unique Batting Style

Alick Bannerman was known for his incredibly patient batting. He would often take a long time to score runs. This style was sometimes called "stone-walling" because he was so difficult for bowlers to get past.

• One famous cricket writer, A.G. Moyes, said that watching Alick bat could be "wearisome."
• Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, a famous cricket book, called him "the most famous of all stone-walling batsmen." They said his patience was endless.

Even though his batting was slow, it was often very important for his team. He would stay at the crease for a long time, wearing out the opposing bowlers.

Playing for Australia

Alick Bannerman played in 28 Test matches for Australia. He scored 1,108 runs in total. He never scored a century (100 runs or more) in a Test match, but he did score 50 runs or more eight times. His highest score in a Test match was 94 runs.

He often batted with aggressive players like Hugh Massie or George Bonnor. Alick's slow, steady play balanced their fast scoring.

The Famous Slow Innings

In a Test match in Sydney during the 1891/92 Ashes series, Alick played a very important, but very slow, innings. Australia was behind in the game. Alick and his batting partner, J.J. Lyons, stayed at the crease for 7 and a half hours! Alick scored 91 runs during this time.

His innings lasted for three days. He scored only about twelve runs every hour. The crowd sometimes got frustrated and would cheer him on with friendly teasing. One poet even wrote a funny poem about his slow scoring:

O Bannerman, O Bannerman,

We wish you'd change your manner, man;

We pay our humble tanner, man,

To see a bit of fun.

You're a beggar though to stick it,

But it ain't our sort of cricket;

They haven't hit your wicket,

Yet, you haven't got a run.

Alick didn't mind the teasing. He just focused on playing his best for the team.

Fielding Skills

Alick Bannerman was also a fantastic fielder. He was very good at catching the ball, especially at a position called "mid-off." People said he was fast, sure, and never got tired.

His fielding skills were so good that he was chosen for tours to England in 1878 and 1880 partly because of them.

Important Matches

Alick played in some very important cricket matches during his career:

• In 1878, he played in a match where the Australians beat the M.C.C. (a famous English team) in less than a day.
• He played in the first-ever Test match held in England in 1880. In this game, he scored the first Test run ever made on British soil.
• He was also part of the famous 1882 Ashes match at The Oval. This game was so exciting that it led to the creation of the "Ashes" trophy.

Life After Playing

After he stopped playing cricket, Alick Bannerman became a coach and an umpire. He was very traditional and took cricket very seriously.

• Once, he told a teammate who was singing funny songs while fielding: "If you want to play cricket, play it; if you want to sing, go and sing; but, for Heaven's sake, don't sing comic songs in the slips!"

He spent many years coaching at the Sydney Cricket Ground (S.C.G.). He always paid close attention to new players he was helping. He also cared a lot about how players looked. He would tell young players, "Son, if you are not a cricketer, you can at least look like one."

Alick Bannerman passed away on September 19, 1924, when he was 70 years old. People remember him as a unique and important part of cricket history.