Template:Today's featured article/March 25, 2012



Charlie Macartney (1886–1958) was an Australian cricketer who played in 35 Tests between 1907 and 1926. He was known as The Governor-General in reference to his authoritative batting style and his flamboyant strokeplay, which drew comparisons with his close friend and role model Victor Trumper. Making his Test debut in 1907, his most noteworthy Test contribution in his early career was a match-winning ten wicket haul at Headingley in 1909. It was around this time that Macartney befriended Trumper and began to transform himself into an audacious attacking batsman. The First World War stopped all first-class cricket and Macartney enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force. Upon the resumption of cricket, Macartney stamped himself as one of the leading batsmen in the world with his performances during the 1921 Ashes tour. Macartney produced an Australian record score in England of 345 against Nottinghamshire, which led to him being named one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1922. After missing the 1924–25 series due to mental illness or a recurrence of war injuries, Macartney departed international cricket on the 1926 tour of England. Macartney was posthumously inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2007. (more...)

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