Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 13, 2012



Bernard Bosanquet (1877–1936) was an English cricketer best known for inventing the googly, a delivery designed to deceive the batsman. He played first-class cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club and appeared in seven Test matches for England as an all-rounder. While playing a tabletop game, Bosanquet devised a new technique for delivering a ball, later named the "googly", which he practised while attending Oriel College, Oxford. He first used it in cricket matches around 1900, but it was not until 1903, when he had a successful season as a bowler, that his new delivery began to attract attention. He was selected in 1903–04 to tour Australia with England and made his Test debut. Although his batting was unsuccessful, he performed well as a bowler and troubled all the opposing batsmen. His career with the ball peaked when he bowled England to victory in the first Test against Australia in 1905, but he remained an inconsistent performer. In subsequent years, he bowled infrequently and played little first-class cricket. (more...)

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