Syd Gregory facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Syd Gregory

Gregory in 1896
Personal information
Full name	Sydney Edward Gregory
Born	(1870-04-14)14 April 1870 Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
Died	1 August 1929(1929-08-01) (aged 59) Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
Nickname	Little Tich
Height	1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)
Batting	Right-handed
Role	Batsman
International information
National side	Australia
Test debut (cap 58)	21 July 1890 v England
Last Test	19 August 1912 v England
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1889/1900–1911/12	New South Wales
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class Matches 58 369 Runs scored 2,282 15,188 Batting average 24.53 28.54 100s/50s 4/8 25/65 Top score 201 201 Balls bowled 30 599 Wickets 0 2 Bowling average – 195.00 5 wickets in innings – 0 10 wickets in match – 0 Best bowling – 1/8 Catches/stumpings 25/– 174/–
Source: CricketArchive, 8 May 2012

Sydney Edward Gregory (born April 14, 1870 – died August 1, 1929) was a famous cricketer. He played for the New South Wales and the Australian national team. When he retired, he had played a world-record 58 Test matches. His career lasted from 1890 to 1912. Syd Gregory was a right-handed batsman. He was also known as a great fielder, especially at cover point.

Who Was Syd Gregory?

Syd Gregory was born in Moore Park, New South Wales. This place is close to where the Sydney Cricket Ground is today. He went to Sydney Boys High School.

A Cricket Family

The Gregory family was Australia's first big cricket family. Syd's father, Ned Gregory, was one of the first eleven Australians to play in a Test match. This match was against England in 1877 at the MCG. Ned Gregory also worked as the person who looked after the Sydney Cricket Ground. He was in this job when Syd was born.

Syd Gregory's uncle, Dave, was Australia's first ever Test cricket captain. His nephew, Jack, was a very fast bowler in the 1920s.

Syd's Cricket Journey

Syd Gregory started playing first-class cricket for New South Wales in the 1889–90 season. Six months later, he was chosen to travel to England with the Australian team.

He toured England seven more times: in 1893, 1896, 1899, 1902, 1905, 1909, and 1912. He also toured South Africa once in 1902. Syd Gregory is one of only three cricketers who have batted in every single position in the batting order (from number one to eleven) in their Test career.

A Record-Breaking Score

In 1894–95, Syd Gregory scored Australia's first ever double century in a Test match played in Australia. He scored 201 runs. However, his amazing score was not enough to save his team from a surprising loss.

His team made England bat again after scoring 586 runs. But England then scored 437 runs and bowled Australia out for only 166 runs. England won by just 10 runs! This was the first time a Test match was won after a team had to bat again. It remained the only time until the famous Headingley Test in 1981.

Captaincy Challenges

In 1912, six of Australia's best cricketers, including the captain Clem Hill, refused to tour England. This was for the first Triangular Test series. A new team, mostly made of less experienced players, was chosen instead. Syd Gregory was made the captain.

Australia only lost one of its six Test matches. However, the cricket was overshadowed by some challenges with the team's behavior off the field. Gregory faced criticism for not being able to manage these issues well.

Life Outside Cricket

Away from cricket, Syd Gregory first worked for the postal service. In the mid-1890s, he opened a "men's shop" in Sydney's King Street. This shop had a tobacconist, a barber, and a sporting goods store. In 1896, he married Maria Sullivan. When his business did not do well in 1902, Gregory had to take a clerical job at the Water Board.

Syd Gregory also played a season of lacrosse for North Sydney in 1901. He played it as a winter sport. However, he did not continue the next season because of the Australian cricket team's tour to England.

Syd Gregory passed away on August 1, 1929, in Randwick, a suburb of Sydney. He was 59 years old.

Syd's Top Achievements

• First Test Match: He played against England at Lord's, London, from July 21 to 23, 1890.
• Last Test Match: He played against England at The Oval, London, from August 19 to 22, 1912.
• Highest Test Score: He scored 201 runs against England at the Sydney Cricket Ground. This happened from December 14 to 20, 1894. It was the first time anyone scored a double-century in a Test match in Australia.
• Captaincy Record: Gregory was captain for Australia six times. His team won two matches, lost one, and three matches were drawn.
• He was named one of Wisden's five Cricketers of the Year in 1897.
• He played the most Test matches at Lord's by a player who was not from England.
• He is one of only three players (the others are Wilfred Rhodes and Vinoo Mankad) to have batted in every position in the batting order in Test cricket.

A Fielding Legend

In 1948, a New Zealander named Dan Reese described Syd Gregory's amazing fielding skills at cover-point:

England has had many great cover-points, but none were as good as Australia's Syd Gregory. A wonderful story told by Vernon Ransford shows how quick and accurate little Syd was. In a match at Lord's, an English player hit the ball strongly. He called, "Come one – perhaps two," but Syd Gregory threw him out before even one run could be scored! This shows how fast Syd was.

See also

• List of Test or One-day International cricket families
• List of New South Wales representative cricketers

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