George Parr — captain of Nottinghamshire from 1856 to 1870 and of the All-England Eleven over the same period — was the dominant figure in English professional cricket between William Clarke's death and W.G. Grace's emergence. Tour captain in North America in 1859 and Australasia in 1863-64, he scored 6,626 first-class runs at 20.20 in conditions that were brutal to batters, and ran the AEE through the great rivalry years against the United All-England Eleven from 1857 to 1866.
Parr was born at Radcliffe-on-Trent on 22 May 1826, the son of a small farmer. He made his first-class debut in 1845 at age 18 and was an established Notts professional by the time William Clarke recruited him into the All-England Eleven. By 1856 he was the most accomplished batter in the country.
Clarke's death in August 1856 left a vacuum at the head of the AEE. Parr's appointment was uncontested. The 1857 fixture against the rival United All-England Eleven was the immediate test of his authority and he won it convincingly.
Parr inherited the captaincy of the All-England Eleven on William Clarke's death in August 1856. He was 30 years old, the leading professional batsman in England (his 130 against Surrey at the Oval in 1859 was the highest individual score by a Notts batsman to that date), and immediately settled the long-running internal disputes of the Eleven by accepting an annual fixture against the breakaway United All-England Eleven. The first AEE v UEE match was at Lord's on 1 June 1857 and the AEE won by five wickets; the rivalry continued every summer through 1866 and was, alongside Gentlemen v Players, the showpiece of English professional cricket. Parr captained the first English overseas tour, to North America in 1859 with John Wisden in his side, and the second tour to Australia and New Zealand in 1863-64. He was an autocratic captain — popularly known as 'the Lion of the North' — and his Notts side dominated unofficial county cricket throughout the decade. By the late 1860s, however, the AEE was in decline. The legalisation of overarm in 1864, the rise of formal county fixtures, and W.G. Grace's emergence undermined the touring-eleven model. After 1864 the AEE 'were seen very little in the south'. Parr retired from playing in 1870, the year W.G. Grace's Gloucestershire CCC played its first first-class match. He died of rheumatic gout in 1891 and was buried beneath an elm tree at Radcliffe-on-Trent that became known as 'Parr's Tree'.
Aug 1856: Parr inherits AEE captaincy on Clarke's death
1 Jun 1857: First AEE v UEE match at Lord's, AEE win
1859: Captains first English tour, to North America
1859: 130 v Surrey at the Oval, his career-best
1863-64: Captains second tour, to Australia and NZ
1865: Notts unofficial county champions under Parr
1866: Last great AEE v UEE match
1870: Parr retires from playing
22 May 1826
Born at Radcliffe-on-Trent
1845
First-class debut for Notts
Aug 1856
Becomes AEE captain on Clarke's death
1859
Captains first English overseas tour, to North America
1863-64
Captains second overseas tour, to Australia and NZ
1870
Retires from playing
23 Jun 1891
Dies of rheumatic gout
Without Parr the AEE faded rapidly. The county clubs, with their fixed fixture lists and overseas tour ambitions, supplanted the itinerant elevens by the mid-1870s. Parr remained an unofficial elder statesman of Notts cricket until his death.
The dominant figure in English professional cricket between William Clarke and W.G. Grace — the pivot on which the touring-eleven model lived and died.
Parr is remembered as the bridge between William Clarke's pioneering 1846 AEE and W.G. Grace's modern era. The 'Parr's Tree' at Radcliffe-on-Trent — a cutting from which has been planted at Trent Bridge — is one of the few physical memorials to a 19th-century professional cricketer. His 6,626 first-class runs were the highest career aggregate by any cricketer at the time of his retirement.
Yorkshire v Essex
1932-06-16
On 15-16 June 1932 Herbert Sutcliffe (313) and Percy Holmes (224*) put on 555 for the first wicket against Essex at Leyton, breaking the world first-class record for any wicket and adding a layer of folklore — including a scoreboard that read 554 for several minutes and a hastily reversed declaration — that has clung to the partnership ever since.
Australia v England
1933-02-14
With the fate of the Bodyline series in the balance and England 216 for 6 chasing 340, Eddie Paynter checked himself out of a Brisbane hospital where he was being treated for acute tonsillitis, taxied to the Gabba in pyjamas and a dressing gown, and batted for nearly four hours to score 83. England drew level on first innings, won the Test by six wickets and the series 4-1.
Australia
1934-09-25
Days after the 1934 Oval Test, Bradman fell seriously ill with appendicitis that progressed to peritonitis. With antibiotics not yet available, he was given little chance of survival; his wife Jessie left Adelaide on a sea voyage to England prepared for the worst. He recovered after weeks of intensive nursing in a London nursing home and returned to first-class cricket the following Australian summer.