Dave Gregory (cricketer) facts for kids
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name |
David William Gregory
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 15 April 1845 Fairy Meadow, New South Wales, Australia |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 4 August 1919 (aged 74) Turramurra, New South Wales, Australia |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm fast | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Batsman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relations |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Test debut (cap 5) | 15 March 1877 v England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 2 January 1879 v England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1866/67–1882/83 | New South Wales | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Source: CricketArchive, 21 February 2009
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
David William Gregory (born April 15, 1845 – died August 4, 1919) was an Australian cricket player. He was a right-handed batsman. Dave Gregory holds a special place in cricket history. He was the very first captain of the Australian national cricket team.
He led Australia in the first three official Test matches. These games were played against England in 1877 and 1879. Gregory also captained the New South Wales team. He was famously involved in the Sydney Riot of 1879. This happened when he disagreed with an umpire's decision during a game against England.
Dave Gregory came from a big family of cricketers. His father, Edward William Gregory, was a good player. Five of his eight sons played for New South Wales. Overall, twenty of his family members played cricket or other sports for New South Wales. People said Dave Gregory looked like an "Old Testament prophet".
Contents
Early Life and Career
David William Gregory was born on April 15, 1845. His birthplace was Fairy Meadow, near Wollongong, Australia. His father, Edward William Gregory, was a bootmaker. His mother was Mary Anne Smith. He went to school at St James Model School in Sydney.
In 1861, he started working for the government in New South Wales. He worked in the Auditor-General's Department. Later, he became an inspector of public accounts in 1883. He then served as the paymaster of the Treasury for nine years before he retired.
Cricket Journey
Dave Gregory's family had many talented cricketers. His brothers Ned, Charles, and Arthur were also first-class players. His nephews Syd, Charles William, and Jack also played. Ned Gregory later became a groundskeeper at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Dave Gregory first played for New South Wales in 1866. He played 38 matches for them until he retired in 1883. He scored an average of 14.57 runs with the bat. In his first match, he got a duck, meaning he was out without scoring any runs.
However, he did score five half-centuries (over 50 runs). These included strong scores of 85 and 74. People said his 85-run innings was "a marvel of patience". It then turned into "a grand display of good, punishing power". This score was a record for New South Wales at the time. Even with a low average, he often scored double figures when others struggled. He also took 29 wickets (getting 29 batters out) at an average of 19.24 runs per wicket. This included one great performance where he took 5 wickets for 55 runs.
Leading the Australian Test Team
Dave Gregory's international career with the bat and ball was not his strongest. However, he led his team to victory in two of the three Test matches he captained. He was the captain for all three of his Test appearances. This makes him the only Australian player to have always been captain in international matches.
First Ever Test Match
Dave Gregory made his Test debut batting at number 4 for Australia. Australia was 40 runs for 2 wickets. He joined Charles Bannerman, who was on 26 runs not out. They formed the world's first ever Test 3rd wicket partnership. Dave Gregory was 31 years and 334 days old. This made him the youngest Test captain at that time.
In the first ever Test match played in Melbourne, he won the coin toss and chose for his team to bat first. His team won the match. However, he only scored 4 runs in his two turns at batting. He did better on his home grounds. He scored his highest Test score of 43 runs in the second Test against England in March 1877.
Touring England in 1878
In 1878, Gregory captained the Australian team on their first tour of England. He found it tough on the wet English pitches. He averaged only 11 runs with the bat in several matches. These games were often against teams of 18 or 22 players. At Lord's, he scored 42 runs in each innings against Middlesex. His other good score was 57 runs against the Players team.
He led his team to a big win against the MCC. This match finished in less than a day. This win showed England that Australian teams should always be taken seriously. Off the field, Gregory was involved in an event with Billy Midwinter. Midwinter was an Australian all-rounder. He tried to play for both Australia and his English team, Gloucestershire, on the same day.
Final Test Match
Gregory led Australia against England in Melbourne in January 1879. He scored 12 runs in his only turn at bat. His overall Test statistics were not outstanding. He averaged 20.00 runs across his three Test matches. He only scored double figures twice. He also did not take any wickets from the five overs he bowled. After this match, Billy Murdoch took over as captain.
The Sydney Riot of 1879
After his last Test match, Gregory captained New South Wales against the touring English team. This match was played at the SCG in February. On the second day, 10,000 fans watched England struggle. When New South Wales batted, Billy Murdoch was called run out. But no new batsman came out to bat.
The English players were sent to the pavilion. It became clear that Gregory was demanding the match stop until a new umpire was found. The argument that followed became known as the Sydney Riot of 1879. Some people thought there might have been cheating involved. Many spectators started to walk onto the field. Players had to use cricket stumps to keep them away for over thirty minutes.
The English team and Gregory's Australian side were stuck. Then, Edmund Barton, who was the other umpire, managed to calm Gregory down. Play was about to start again, but more fans invaded the field, stopping the game.
How He Played
Dave Gregory had a very determined and tough way of batting. Wisden, a famous cricket book, described his batting style. They said he "had no grace of style to recommend him". But his defense was "stubborn". He also had "pluck" (courage) and "patience". Wisden believed his lower scores were due to the difficult pitches, not his talent.
After Cricket
After he stopped playing, Dave Gregory became the honorary secretary of the New South Wales Cricket Association. He also worked as a umpire for one first-class match on January 27, 1892. He passed away in Turramurra, Sydney, in 1919. He was buried in the Gore Hill Cemetery.
