George Alexander

George Alexander, who was born at Britwell Salome, Oxfordshire, England, on April 22, 1851, died in Melbourne on November 6. He was a hard-hitting batsman, a good change fast bowler, a smart field and a sure catch. He will perhaps be better remembered as the Manager of the Australian teams which visited us under the captaincy of W. L. Murdoch in 1880 and 1884. He was further identified with English cricket when he acted in the same capacity for the Hon. Ivo Bligh's side which went out to Australia in our winter of 1882-3.

He took part in two Test matches, at the Oval in 1880 and at Adelaide in December, 1884. In the great contest at the Oval in 1880--the first real Test match--he joined Murdoch on the third day when Australia, with eight men out, required 84 runs to avoid a single innings defeat. Previously in eleven-a-side games in this country he had scored only 10 runs in four innings but on this all-important occasion he made 33 and shared in a stand of 52.

W. H. Moule, who up to then had taken part in no eleven-a-side match at all in England, afterwards helped Murdoch to add 88 and England, so far from winning in an innings, had 57 to get to win and lost half their wickets for 30.

For Victoria v. New South Wales at Melbourne in 1879-80 he made 75, the highest score for either side, besides taking five wickets for 64 runs. For the Australian team of 1880 during their whole tour, in England and the Colonies, he obtained 109 wickets for exactly nine runs each. In the match with 22 of Southland, at Invercargill, he took eleven in an innings for 45. Later, at Melbourne in 1883-4, he played an innings of 50 for the Australian team against The Rest.