From 1921 onward, the Sydney crowds called Charlie Macartney 'The Governor-General' for the way he batted as if owning the ground. The nickname stuck across cricket and was the source of dozens of contemporary one-liners — including his much-quoted aside to a slip fielder before destroying him for six.
Macartney was born in 1886 and made his Test debut in 1907. By the 1920s he was the most experienced Australian batsman in the side. His left-arm orthodox bowling and his off-side strokeplay were both world-class, but it was his manner that defined him.
Macartney's batting style — open stance, wristy pulls and cuts, and an air of complete disdain for the bowler — earned him the Sydney crowd's nickname 'The Governor-General' from his Trent Bridge 345 of 1921 onward. The nickname survived him into multiple cricket histories. The most-quoted of his on-field remarks came in the Headingley Test of July 1926. Walking in at 1 for 1, he was dropped second ball at slip off Maurice Tate by Arthur Carr.
The story, related by Tate himself in a 1934 magazine piece, was that Macartney turned to Carr and said something like, 'That's torn it.' Tate's version of the rest is well-known: Macartney scored 100 before lunch, finishing with 151 in 172 minutes. Whether or not the exact phrase was used, the substance — that Macartney took the dropped catch as a personal insult and proceeded to demolish the bowling — is supported by every contemporary account.
Macartney's persona was as much part of his cricketing reputation as his batting average. Wisden, in his Five Cricketer obituary in 1958, said: 'He was the most arrogant batsman of the inter-war period, and his arrogance was justified.' Charlie Walters, his 1920s Sydney club teammate, said: 'When he had bat in hand he honestly believed he was the best in the world. And when he had bat in hand, he generally was.'
1921 Trent Bridge: 345 in 232 minutes; nickname 'Governor-General' takes hold
1926 Headingley: 'That's torn it' to Carr after the dropped catch
100 before lunch on day 1 at Headingley
Series of three centuries in three Tests, 1926
Final Test 1926; retires aged 40
1907
Macartney's Test debut
1921
Trent Bridge 345; 'Governor-General' nickname coined
1926
Three centuries in three Tests; 100 before lunch at Headingley
1926
Final Test; retires aged 40
“He was the most arrogant batsman of the inter-war period, and his arrogance was justified.”
“That's torn it.”
Macartney retired after 1926 and worked as a cricket writer and broadcaster in Australia until his death in 1958. His seven Test centuries are spread across 35 Tests; his Test average of 41.78 is good but not exceptional, but his impact on the bowlers of his era was beyond statistics.
'The Governor-General' is the most evocative cricket nickname of the 1920s and the perfect summary of a batsman whose self-assurance at the crease was the single most distinctive feature of his game.
'The Governor-General' is the only nickname from the 1920s that survives in regular cricket commentary. Macartney himself was named one of Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Century in their 2000 retrospective.
Zimbabwe vs England
1996-12-22
The first Test between Zimbabwe and England at Bulawayo in December 1996 ended in a draw with the scores level — the first ever in Test history. Coach David 'Bumble' Lloyd, frustrated by Zimbabwe's defensive tactics, told a press conference 'we flippin' murdered em'. He was reprimanded by the ECB.
England vs Australia
4 August 1975
On 4 August 1975, during the second Ashes Test at Lord's, a 24-year-old merchant seaman from Liverpool named Michael Angelow leapt the boundary fence wearing only socks and trainers, hurdled both sets of stumps to the amusement of the players, and was wrestled to the ground by police. He had taken a £20 bet from his shipmates. He was fined £20 in court the next morning, and the BBC commentary by John Arlott — "we have got a freaker, not very shapely, and it is masculine — and I would think it has seen the last of its cricket for the day" — became one of the most replayed pieces of cricket commentary of the decade.
Australia
1981-12-12
Australian captain Greg Chappell, the most prolific batsman in the country, made four ducks in a row across Tests and ODIs during the 1981-82 home summer — and seven ducks across the season — earning the temporary nickname 'Chappello'.