George Macaulay (1897–1940) played first-class cricket professionally for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1920 and 1935. He played in eight Test matches for England from 1923 to 1933, achieving the rare feat of taking a wicket with his first ball in Test cricket. One of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1924, he took 1,838 first-class wickets at an average of 17.64, including four hat-tricks. He was a leading member of his successful Yorkshire team and a volatile character who played aggressively. He left a job at a bank to become a professional cricketer, making his first-class debut aged 23 as a fast bowler, but he had more success after altering his style to include off spin. He played fewer Test matches after an unsuccessful match in the 1926 Ashes series. His form slumped following injuries in the late 1920s, but a recovery in the early 1930s led to a recall by England. His first-class career ended in 1935, although he continued playing club cricket until the Second World War. A pilot officer in the Royal Air Force, he died of illness on active service.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Macaulay
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1815:
Michel Ney, Marshal of France, was executed by a firing squad near Paris' Jardin du Luxembourg for supporting Napoleon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Ney
1869:
American outlaw Jesse James committed his first confirmed bank robbery in Gallatin, Missouri. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_James
1941:
World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy made a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, intending to neutralize the United States Pacific Fleet from influencing the war Japan was planning to wage in Southeast Asia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor
1975:
The Indonesian military invaded East Timor under the pretext of anti-colonialism and began a 25-year occupation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_occupation_of_East_Timor
2005:
Spanish authorities captured Croatian Army general Ante Gotovina, who was wanted for war crimes committed during the Croatian War of Independence; he was eventually cleared of all charges. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ante_Gotovina
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
abreast: 1. Side by side and facing forward. 2. (figuratively) Alongside; parallel to. 3. Informed, well-informed, familiar, acquainted. 4. Followed by of or with: up to a certain level or line; equally advanced. 5. (nautical) Side by side; also, opposite; over against; on a line with the vessel's beam. 6. (obsolete) At the same time; simultaneously. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/abreast
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
We live in an age that makes truth pass for treason, and as I dare not say anything against it, so the ears of those that are about me will probably be found too tender to hear it. This my trial and condemnation do sufficiently evidence. --Algernon Sydney https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Algernon_Sydney