Famous Cricketers No 80 - E.G.Wynyard

towards his friends and always the leader in any group to which he belonged. He was, in fact, a good friend but an awesome enemy. Can it be wondered that he inspired admiration, respect and often affection among some and criticism and even hostility among others?” In conclusion, Masterman asks what Wynyard would have thought of the cricket of 1974. “He would have been keenly appreciative of the skills of some of the masters, but I tremble to think what he would have thought and said of some of the innovations of recent years. What, for example, would have been his attitude if the spectators had invaded the sacred ground to shake his hand on reaching a century? I cannot tell, but I can guess with some confidence. Without a doubt murder would have been done, and it would not have been Major E.G.Wynyard, DSO, who was the corpse.” Wynyard was captain of Hampshire in the seasons 1896 to 1899 inclusive and, off the field, he was chosen as President of Hampshire at the annual meeting on 6th December 1894 when he was 33, then re-elected at the meeting on 4th December 1895, thus holding this position during the seasons of 1895 and 1896. It will be seen therefore that in 1896 he combined the presidency with the captaincy. He also represented the South African Cricket Association in England in 1908, was President of the Old Carthusians Cricket and Football Club 1913-19 and served on the MCC committee 1920-24. He was in addition a member of three leading clubs, I Zingari, Free Foresters and Incogniti. He took part in eight overseas tours, all after reaching the age of 43 following his retirement from the Army: Lord Brackley’s Team to the West Indies 1904/05; MCC to South Africa 1905/06 and 1909/10; MCC to New Zealand 1906/07 as captain; MCC to North America 1907; MCC to Egypt 1909; Incogniti to North America 1920; and Free Foresters to North America 1923 as captain when he played in only two matches but headed the bowling averages at the age of 62 with his underarm lobs! If we include his Army cricket in India in the 1880s, Australia was the only important cricketing country in which he did not play. Finally, almost a century before pinch hitters were thought of, Wynyard appears to be advocating their use in an article in The Idler in 1899 when he suggests considering whether “two or three stout hitters in a team, who are prepared to take all risks for the purpose of forcing the game and ‘putting off’ the deadly bowlers, would not be of infinitely more value to the side than correct players”, adding that the cricket-loving public “delight in seeing ‘merry, lively’ cricket and, better than that, are exhilarated to boiling point by a daring, dashing, slashing smiter.” 9