Sydney Barnes

Sydney Barnes

Barnes in 1910
Personal information
Full name	Sydney Francis Barnes
Born	(1873-04-19)19 April 1873 Smethwick, Staffordshire, England
Died	26 December 1967(1967-12-26) (aged 94) Chadsmoor, Staffordshire, England
Nickname	Barney
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm fast-medium Right-arm leg spin
Role	Bowler
International information
National side	England
Test debut (cap 129)	13 December 1901 v Australia
Last Test	18 February 1914 v South Africa
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1894–1896	Warwickshire
1899–1903	Lancashire
1904–1914, 1924–1935	Staffordshire
1927–1930	Wales
1929	Minor Counties
Career statistics
Competition Tests First-class Matches 27 133 Runs scored 242 1,573 Batting average 8.06 12.78 100s/50s 0/0 0/2 Top score 38* 93 Balls bowled 7,873 31,430 Wickets 189 719 Bowling average 16.43 17.09 5 wickets in innings 24 68 10 wickets in match 7 18 Best bowling 9/103 9/103 Catches/stumpings 12/– 72/–
Source: CricketArchive, 12 June 2011

Sydney Francis Barnes (19 April 1873 – 26 December 1967) was an English professional cricketer who is regarded as one of the greatest bowlers of all time. He was right-handed and bowled at a pace that varied from medium to fast-medium with the ability to make the ball both swing and break from off or leg. In Test cricket, Barnes played for England in 27 matches from 1901 to 1914, taking 189 wickets at 16.43, one of the lowest Test bowling averages ever achieved. In 1911–12, he helped England to win the Ashes when he took 34 wickets in the series against Australia. In 1913–14, his final Test series, he took a world record 49 wickets in a Test series, against South Africa.

Barnes was unusual in that, despite a very long career as a top-class player, he spent little more than two seasons in first-class cricket, briefly representing Warwickshire (1894 to 1896) and Lancashire (1899 to 1903). Instead, he preferred league and minor counties cricket for mostly professional reasons. He had two phases playing for his native Staffordshire in the Minor Counties Championship from 1904 to 1914 and from 1924 to 1935. He played exclusively for Saltaire Cricket Club in the Bradford League from 1915 to 1923. In his wider career from 1895 to 1934, he variously represented several clubs in each of the Bradford, Central Lancashire, Lancashire and North Staffordshire leagues.