page_title: Charlie Macartney
section_title: Wisden Cricketer of the Year
hierarchical_section_title: Charlie Macartney / Wisden Cricketer of the Year
caption_attribution_description: English: Image of 1920 Australian cricket team Back row: Warren Bardsley, Jack Ryder, Stork Hendry, Jack Gregory, Edgar Mayne, Tommy Andrews, Sydney Smith (manager) Sitting: Arthur Mailey, Edward McDonald, Herbie Collins, Warwick Armstrong (captain), Charlie Macartney, Hanson 'Sammy' Carter, Johnny Taylor. Front: Clarence Pellew and Bill Oldfield
context_page_description: Charles George "Charlie" Macartney was an Australian cricketer who played in 35 Test matches 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, regarded as one of the most elegant batsmen in cricketing history. Sir Donald Bradman—generally regarded as the greatest batsman in history—cited Macartney's dynamic batting as an inspiration in his cricket career.
  He started his career as a bowling all-rounder. He made his Test debut in 1907, primarily as a left arm orthodox spinner who was considered to be a useful lower-middle order right-hand batsman. As Macartney was initially selected for his flexibility, his position in the batting order was frequently shuffled and he was largely ineffective. His most noteworthy Test contribution in his early career was a match-winning ten wicket haul at Headingley in 1909, before being dropped in the 1910–11 Australian season.
context_section_description: On the 1921 Ashes tour, Macartney—who needed a special medical clearance before being selected— had a chance to rectify his poor batting performances of his pre-war tours of England. In his first match, against Leicestershire, he started strongly with 177. his fast scoring helped Australia complete an innings victory in just over half the allotted playing time. He scored 87 against Surrey, 51 against Combined Services and 77 against Oxford University in the next seven matches leading up to the start of the Tests, with a total of 539 runs at 53.90 under his belt.
  Macartney made 20 in the first innings and was unbeaten on 22, playing as an opener, as Australia completed a ten-wicket win in the First Test. It was Australia's sixth consecutive Test win over England. He failed to pass 20 in the next two county matches, but did take 2/19 against Middlesex, his first wickets on tour. This came in his 11th match on tour and was a reflection of his role as a specialist batsman in the post-war years. The next game against Gloucestershire heralded the start of a rich vein of run-scoring during the remainder of June. Macartney scored 149, in an Australian innings noted for elegant strokeplay and big hitting, after managing only 31 and eight in the eight-wicket win in the Second Test, hit three consecutive centuries.
  Macartney hit 105 as Australia amassed 7/708 declared against Hampshire and then made 193 as Australia compiled 621 and defeated Northamptonshire by an innings and 484 runs. The two matches were separated by a match against Surrey, which Macartney missed due to injury. In the latter match, Macartney came in at first drop after the hosts took a wicket from the first ball of the match, and he scored 193 of the 318 runs scored while he was in the middle. Macartney took only 135 minutes and hit 31 fours as Australia added more than 300 in just over two hours of batting. Such was the dominance of Macartney and the rest of Armstrong's men that they disposed of Northamptonshire in less than two days. However, his most famed innings was yet to come.
  In the next match, Macartney scored 345 against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in 232 minutes, with 47 fours and four sixes. Macartney had an inauspicious start to the day, coming to the crease after the dismissal of Warren Bardsley with only one run scored. He attacked immediately and was dropped in the slips when on nine runs. The missed chance further emboldened Macartney, who had a philosophy that being dropped was a signal that it was his day to shine. He proceeded to exhibit his full repertoire of strokes. After reaching his double century in only 150 minutes, Macartney signalled to the pavilion. When Nottinghamshire captain Arthur Carr asked him if he was seeking a drink, Macartney said that he wanted a heavier bat and indicated that he was going to attack. Macartney kept his promise, adding his next 100 runs in only 48 minutes to reach 300 in 198 minutes. At the time, it was the fastest triple century in first-class cricket in terms of minutes. It still stands as the highest innings by an Australian in England, and at the time was the most runs scored by any batsman in one day. During the innings, Macartney partnered Nip Pellew in a partnership of 291. Australia went on to score 675 and won by an innings and 517 runs, in only two days, the largest winning margin achieved by Australia in a first-class match. The cricket writer Sumner Reid described Macartney's innings as:
  the most destructive innings I ever saw in England or Australia. Not Trumper at his brilliant best, nor even Bradman in his calculated genius, ever performed with more unadulterated, murderous power and masterful technique.
  In the space of four days, Macartney had scored 538 runs, and for the month of June, he had totalled 913 runs at 91.30. He carried this form into the next Test.
  In the Third Test at Headingley, he made his first Test century on foreign soil, striking 115 in the first innings. It was a relatively sedate innings for his standards, but helped Australia to victory by 191 runs and an unassaila
caption: The successful 1921 Australian team. Macartney is third from the right in the middle row
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