On the 21 August, 1878, English cricketer,Ted Pooley [1842-1907] made his 8th stumping in a match against Kent at The Oval, a record in first-class cricket at the time.

He played cricket for Surrey and Middlesex [1861-1883], and his wicket-keeping was fundamental to the success of spin bowlers following the legalisation of over-arm bowling in 1864. Including catches made when not keeping wicket, he finished with 854 dismissals in first-class matches.

Ted Pooley’s greatest claim to fame is that he should have been England’s first Test match wicket-keeper. The story is a good one, but it overshadows the fact that he was held in the highest regard for his cricketing ability, if not for his personal behaviour.

In 1877 in a representative England side touring New Zealand and then Australia, every match was an occasion for gambling by supporters of both sides. In a match in Christchurch, New Zealand, Pooley put a shilling on guessing the exact score of a batsman at odds of 20 to 1. An England XI played 22 from Christchurch. Pooley, who umpired the match, bet on every batsman making a duck. 

After the match, which featured 11 scores of 0, Pooley claimed £9 15s . Pooley’s was arrested for alleged assault after the bet was not honoured. He was sent for trial before the England team left for Australia, to play what would subsequently be recognised as the first Test match. He was eventually found not guilty, and it is said the people of Christchurch subscribed to buy him a pocket watch.

Pooley was known as a drinker and a gambler, and in 1873 was suspended by Surrey for taking a bet on a match he was playing in.

All this detracts from his long and successful career as a professional cricketer. As with so many of his contemporary cricketers, after his cricket career, he struggled financially and his gambling and drinking eventually led him to the Lambeth workhouse. Pooley lived until 1907, dying in poverty, while his team mates from the 1877 tour were lauded as the first Test cricketers.

21 August, 2019