Schofield Haigh facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Schofield Haigh

Personal information
Full name	Schofield Haigh
Born	(1871-03-19)19 March 1871 Berry Brow, Yorkshire, England
Died	27 February 1921(1921-02-27) (aged 49) Huddersfield, England
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right arm fast-medium
International information
National side	England
Test debut (cap 113)	14 February 1899 v South Africa
Last Test	31 July 1912 v Australia
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1895–1913	Yorkshire
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class Matches 11 561 Runs scored 113 11,713 Batting average 7.53 18.65 100s/50s 0/0 4/47 Top score 25 159 Balls bowled 1,294 78,817 Wickets 24 2,012 Bowling average 25.91 15.94 5 wickets in innings 1 135 10 wickets in match 0 30 Best bowling 6/11 9/25 Catches/stumpings 8/– 299/–
Source: Cricinfo, 2 October 2009

Schofield Haigh (born March 19, 1871 – died February 27, 1921) was a famous English cricketer. He played for the Yorkshire County Cricket Club for 18 seasons. He also represented the England national team from 1898 to 1912. In 1901, he was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year, which is a big honor in cricket.

Schofield Haigh's Cricket Journey

Schofield Haigh was born in Berry Brow, a village in Yorkshire, England. He started playing club cricket for Keighley Cricket Club. In 1895, he joined the Yorkshire team, where he played until 1913. He also played for England in some matches between 1898 and 1912.

How He Bowled

Haigh was a right-arm bowler. He mainly bowled at a medium pace. However, he was clever and could change his speed. He could bowl slower or faster balls. When the cricket pitch helped him, he could make the ball spin sharply. This spin was called a "break-back." It made the ball change direction after hitting the ground. This skill was so good that most of his wickets were taken without help from fielders.

Batting and Fielding Skills

Even though he was a bowler, Haigh was also a good batsman. In 1904, he scored 1,000 runs in a season. This is a great achievement for any cricketer. In 1901, he even scored a "century" (100 runs) before lunch in a match! He was also a very good fielder, catching many balls.

Early Career Success

When Haigh first started with Yorkshire, he was known as a fast bowler. He had a tricky slower ball that surprised batsmen. In 1896, he took 84 wickets, which means he got 84 batsmen out. He also took 8 wickets for only 78 runs against the Australians. This showed how talented he was.

Playing in Different Conditions

Haigh was not a very big person. Because of this, he found it hard to bowl for very long periods. He was especially good when the pitch was "sticky." A sticky wicket is a damp and soft pitch that makes the ball behave unpredictably. On such pitches, he was almost impossible to play against. For example, in one match, he took 14 wickets for only 43 runs against Hampshire in just one day!

However, on dry, hard pitches, he was less effective against top batsmen. He was never chosen to play in Australia, where pitches are usually very hard. His performance in Test cricket (international matches) was not as strong as his performance in county games, except for one match in South Africa.

Later Years and Coaching

After 1913, Haigh stopped playing professional cricket. He became a coach at Winchester School. He helped many young cricketers, including Douglas Jardine, who later became a famous England captain. Haigh also worked as an umpire in some first-class matches after he retired.

Schofield Haigh passed away in 1921 in Huddersfield, England, after having a stroke. He is remembered as a skilled bowler and a determined player for Yorkshire and England.