George Alexander (Australian cricketer)

George Alexander (22 April 1851 – 6 November 1930) was an Australian cricketer and team manager. He played for Victoria and for Australia. Alexander's place of birth is variously given as Britwell Salome, Oxfordshire, England or Fitzroy, Victoria; the latter appearing in Alexander's obituary in the 1931 edition of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.

George Alexander

Personal information
Born	22 April 1851 Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia
Died	6 November 1930 (aged 79) Richmond, Victoria, Australia
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm fast roundarm
International information
National side	Australia
Test debut (cap 18)	6 September 1880 v England
Last Test	12 December 1884 v England
Career statistics
Competition Tests First-class Matches 2 24 Runs scored 52 466 Batting average 13.00 15.53 100s/50s 0/0 0/2 Top score 33 75 Balls bowled 168 1754 Wickets 2 34 Bowling average 46.50 17.85 5 wickets in innings 0 1 10 wickets in match 0 0 Best bowling 2/69 6/57 Catches/stumpings 2/0 16/0
Source: [1]

Cricket career

Alexander was a forceful bat and a fast roundarm bowler, who also acted as the manager of the Australian teams that toured England under Billy Murdoch in 1880 and 1884. He also managed the England tour of 1882–83 under Ivo Bligh that went to Australia to retrieve The Ashes.

In 1880, in addition to his management duties, Alexander was one of the leading bowlers of the team that visited other colonies as well as England. On the tour as a whole, he took 109 wickets at an average of nine runs each. He played in the first Test match on English soil at The Oval, took two wickets and with Murdoch added 52 runs for the ninth wicket, which helped avoid an innings defeat. He played a second Test match four years later at the Adelaide Oval, but did not take a wicket.

Later years and death

According to the Preston Leader, Alexander was a keen lawn bowls player as captain of Northcote Bowling Club. In 1922, he had an unexpected reunion with a fellow member of Murdoch's touring team of 1884 in W. H. Cooper. The Victorian Bowling Association final was held at Alphington where Alexander was helping out. The pair had not seen each other for nearly 40 years, but were suddenly reunited when Cooper arrived as the scorer for Middle Park.

The Preston Leader (and Melbourne newspapers) noted the death in a private hospital in Richmond on November 6, 1930 at 78 years of age of George Alexander, describing him as "a resident of Northcote for over 60 years" and living at 'Terracedale', 3 McLachlan Street at the time of his demise. Outside of cricket, he had been co-proprietor of the Preston Abattoirs and before that, as a contractor, he was involved in construction of the cable tramway system along St Kilda Road. Alexander was interred in the Melbourne General Cemetery; Jack Blackham and W. H. Cooper were amongst the pallbearers.