Warren Bardsley

Who was Warren Bardsley?

Warren "Curly" Bardsley was an Australian Test cricketer. An opening batsman, Bardsley played 41 Tests between 1909 and 1926 and over 200 first-class games for New South Wales. He was Wisden's Cricketer of the Year in 1910.

A strong domestic season in 1908–09 – 748 runs from 9 innings at an average of 83.11 – led to Bardsley's inclusion in the 1909 Australian squad to tour England for the Ashes. After making his debut at Edgbaston, in the city of Birmingham, Bardsley struggled for runs in the Test arena, returning scores of 2, 6, 46, 0, 30, 2, 9 and 35 in his first eight innings. In the Fifth Test, at The Oval, London, however, Bardsley became the first Test cricketer to score a century – 100 runs or more – in both innings of a single Test match.

The 1910–11 series against South Africa in Australia was Bardsley's strongest Test series – 573 runs at 63.67 in nine innings. The following year, against England, he struggled somewhat and was replaced by the ageing Syd Gregory for the Fifth Test. Bardsley returned to Test form in the inaugural Triangular Test series ending the series as the leading run-scorer.