Hugh Trumble

Hugh Trumble

Trumble in around 1893
Personal information
Full name	Hugh Trumble
Born	(1867-05-19)19 May 1867 Collingwood, Colony of Victoria
Died	14 August 1938(1938-08-14) (aged 71) Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia
Height	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm off-spin
Role	All-rounder
Relations	Billy Trumble (brother)
International information
National side	Australia
Test debut (cap 59)	21 July 1890 v England
Last Test	8 March 1904 v England
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1887–1904	Victoria
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class Matches 32 213 Runs scored 851 5,395 Batting average 19.79 19.47 100s/50s 0/4 3/20 Top score 70 107 Balls bowled 8,099 44,060 Wickets 141 929 Bowling average 21.78 18.46 5 wickets in innings 9 69 10 wickets in match 3 25 Best bowling 8/65 9/39 Catches/stumpings 45/0 329/0
Source: Cricinfo, 9 February 2008

Hugh Trumble (19 May 1867 – 14 August 1938)^[1] was an Australian cricketer who played 32 Test matches as a bowling all-rounder between 1890 and 1904. He captained the Australian team in two Tests, winning both. Trumble took 141 wickets in Test cricket—a world record at the time of his retirement—at an average of 21.78 runs per wicket. He is one of only four bowlers to twice take a hat-trick in Test cricket. Observers in Trumble's day, including the authoritative Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, regarded him as ranking among the great Australian bowlers of the Golden Age of cricket. He was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1897 and the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame, established in 1996, inducted him in 2004.

A tall and thin off spinner, Trumble delivered the ball at a quicker pace than most spin bowlers, using his height and uncommonly long fingers to his greatest advantage. He was at his best on the softer pitches of England, but his accuracy and variations in pace enabled him to take wickets on the harder pitches of Australia as well. He was a dependable lower order batsman and a fine fielder in the slips. He was recognised as a shrewd thinker about the game and was popular with team-mates and opponents, with a penchant for practical jokes.

Trumble made his Test debut during the Australian cricket team's tour of England in 1890, but was unable to secure a permanent place in the Australian side until the 1896 tour of England. When the Australian team next toured England in 1899, Trumble scored 1,183 runs and took 142 wickets; only George Giffen before him had achieved the "double" of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets as part of a touring team in England. He was appointed captain of Australia in 1901–02, when Joe Darling was unavailable due to farming commitments. He retired after the 1902 Australian tour of England but was coaxed back in 1903–04. In his last Test match, against England, Trumble took a hat-trick, his second, in front of his home town supporters in Melbourne.

Off the field, Trumble worked for the National Bank of Australasia, rising to the position of manager of a local branch despite his cricket commitments interrupting his banking career. In 1911, he was appointed secretary of the Melbourne Cricket Club, overseeing the development of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) into a stadium capable of holding over 70,000 spectators. He held this post until his death in 1938 from a heart attack, aged 71.