have written a good many words concerning great cricketers who appear on cigarette cards but even the greats have had their bad days (rather embarrassingly some had more than one).
Before we go any further for all you non cricketers a duck is a term used for a batsman being bowled out before scoring a run. To happen at all is a nightmare but to happen to a recognised batsman is total shame (unless it is an opposition batsman in which case it is time for polite applause and barely surpressed glee.)
A batsman that has been bowled for a duck in the first innings gets a chance to make amends in the second and final innings (lets forget the one-day match which must be the cricketing equivalent to five-a-side football). To be bowled out in the second innings without scoring a run is basically total humiliation.
It happens and I have limited my range to England-Australia International cricket matches in which a player fails to make a single run in either innings. This gives as set of 28 individuals who played at international level (for either England or Australia) who were bowled out for nought in both innings and get their faces on cricket cigarette cards. On a lot of the players I have not included the sets from which they come. This is partly because they appear on multiple sets and it is partly because it does not actually illustrate much to do so. However rest assured they all do appear.
So without further explanation lets begin this hall of shame.
R Peel.
This unfortunate man has to head this particular list. A Yorkshireman he was described as an all-rounder (although his strength was bowling) he managed the double zero on no fewer than three occasions. His highest test innings is stated as 73. Ogdens Tabs 'A' Series has ensured his face will never be forgotten. All-rounder perhaps but with a weakness in batting it seems.
Is it me, or do cricketers have some very imaginative names?
Now I want to move swiftly onto the Australian failures.
Montagu Alfred Noble. (1873-1940)
As a recognised batsman he has no excuse for the 0-0 (which perhaps R. Peel could claim as an all-rounder). In the first innings he was unfortunate to be run-out and perhaps that does go in his favour. The measure of the man's success at cricket though is demonstrated by the fact that he appears in at least 10 sets of cards.
He actually played 39 matches against England (1897-1909) scoring 1905 runs and taking 115 wickets. On his first visited to England he batted for 8 hours.
SE Gregory.
Another recognised Australian batsman his 0-0 is interesting because he was caught of the same bowler (JT Hearne) in both cases. Also made all the more noteworthy (for England) because his 0-0 happened in the same match as M.A Noble's.
C.McLeod.
This gentleman was a middle order batsman but still has his place in this hall of infamy. This 0-0 is historic in the sense that it was the first to occur in the 20 century (Sydney, Dec, 1901). He played in seventeen tests and appears in six sets of cricketing cards. In those days international tests were a bit of a long winded affair because playing Australia meant one team had to get from A to B (or B to A) and this meant a rather slow boat trip, agonisingly slow boat trip.
J. Darling.
He accumulated (if that is the right word) the 0-0 in 1902 during Australia's overseas tour of England. Of interest to all you coincidence hunters out there he was caught Braund bowled Barnes in both innings. He was also the Australian captain which made his dismissal all the more glorious. England still managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory however, losing that particular match by over 100 runs. Perhaps the English should have suggested the Australians play with one arm behind their backs to give us a chance.
H Trumble.
Basically a bowler he does have an excuse for the 0-0. AA Lilley, the wicket-keeper, was to prove a safe pair of hands in both innings. It is interesting to note how a lot of the people that appear on this list has a nemesis.
V. Trumper. (1877-1915)
This gentleman was a really first rate batsman but is on this list just to prove how fate can stick the knife into anyone. Melbourne, 1908 was to be the scene for his failure. JW Crawford did for him both times, once caught, once bowled.
Trumper was to play in 48 tests. Indeed in the very next match he tried to make amends by scoring 166 but success is not what this article is about. He appears in no less than 16 sets.
Is it me, or do cricketers have some very imaginative names?
JV Saunders.
Primarily a bowler he had rotten luck to be caught twice for 0 by RA Young (wicket-keeper). It was to be his last test appearance and happened to be the same match as Trumper was scoring 166. Fickle is the finger of fate.
Back to the English players (reluctantly)
EG Arnold.
Australia 1904. In fact it was the same game as Trumbles failure (see above) and as Trumble was bowled out by Arnold on both occasions then it was fitting that Arnold got a bit of his own medicine in this obviously high scoring game a gives a certain completeness.
Arnold appears Wills, Cricketers [1908] and strangely on two Australian sets. Maybe for services to the Australian cricketing side(?) I am being slightly unkind as he was described as one of the best all-rounders in the English game at the time. Four time taking over 100 wickets in a season and twice hitting 1000 runs which was not bad as they also described him as excellent in the field.
AE Knight.
This was to his final test appearance (he had had two previously) and it occurred in the match following Arnolds disaster. Knight has the honour of appearing on the Taddy cards none-the-less.
H. Strudwick.
Surrey wicket-keeper (so really has no reason to be wielding a bat in the first place) failed to trouble the scorer in 1921. He gets something of his likeness taken in the unusual Players, Cricket Caricatures by 'Rip' but did appear much earlier in a 1908 series by Wills.
Happily I am now heading back to Australia for the next batch of failures. In fact two of the next four were opening batsman. That has to be the worst of the worst, the blow being than a little soften for an Englishman by the fact they were playing us at the time.
CV Grimmett.
A spin bowler who forgot to score any runs in Nottingham 1930. He appears in over twenty different sets (which must be some sort of record in itself.) Players decided to pop him into Cricketers, 1930 perfect timing there then.
J. Fingleton.
This gentleman debut was during the infamous bodyline series so had something of a trial by fire. It was not in this game though that he failed to score (he actually made 83.) The next game was to be his downfall though. Illustrated on Ogdens, Prominent Cricketers 1938 [1938] playing a grand stroke.
VY Richardson.
He was caught twice off Larwood, a man very closely associated with the bodyline style of bowling, and for all you coincidence collectors out there he had scored 83 in the previous match. He appears on Phillips' Test Cricketers 1932-3. as well as 5 other series.
CL Badcock.
He had the sort of series that you really would like to forget about in 1938. In the tour of England he managed only 32 runs in eight innings (the highest score being 9.) He managed the 0-0 at Leeds. Rather amusingly this was the year he was to appear on cigarette cards Players, Cricketers, 1938 perhaps a complier with a sense of humour.
IW Johnson.
Later to become the Australian captain he managed to score nothing in 1947, Australia. One of the no shows was a run out. He gets his likeness shown in Kane's, 1956 Test Cricketers.
Back to some unfortunate Brits who failed to introduce themselves to the score cards.
JT Iken.
A Lancashire all-rounder (nice to balance the Yorkshireman detailed first of all.) it was during his fifth test appearance that he forgot to use his bat at the crease. He appears on Turf, Famous Cricketers.
AV Bedser.
A bowler (who became Chairman of the Selection Committee.) was on the receiving end of some pretty stiff bowling when he was clean bowled twice at the Oval in 1948.
1956 was something of a year for failing to score.
JH Wardle, L.Maddocks, RN Harvey and K MacKay (the last two in the same match. This was also the match that Laker collected 19 of the 20 Australian wickets to fall.) were all to stroll back to the pavilion without getting a closer look at the bails at the opposite end.
Back to the Aussies.
J Moroney.
Brisbane 1958 was to be his last appearance against England. He faced eleven balls and failed to score. As an opening batsman something of an embarrassing tally. Something of a secret weapon for the English.
RA Benaud
RA Benaud failed to score at Headingly 1961. He was Australia's captain at the time (makes a good few Australian captains scoring the 0-0.) It is nice to observe he was clean bowled twice by our next 0-0 victim. Yes, this is the Ritchie Benaud that does all the cricket commentary for the BBC so plenty of mileage left in this particular record.
MS Trueman.
An English bowler of some note he was caught twice by the wicket-keeper.
That completes my listing of the unfortunates. There were one or two others I have not included I have left them for you to find (or for me to complete at a future date.)
All of the individuals were good enough to play for their respective countries at test level as well as appearing on cigarette cards. It just goes to show just how fickle the game of cricket can be and just why the game is forever interesting.
![Players, Cricketers [1930] CV Grimmett](cric7.jpg)
