George Lohmann

George Lohmann (born June 2, 1865; died December 1, 1901) is regarded as one the greatest bowlers of all time. Statistically, he holds the lowest lifetime test bowling average among bowlers with more than ten wickets.

Illness and Comeback

After the 1892 season had ended, a dreadful shock came when it was announced that Lohmann had contracted tuberculosis. In an effort to improve his health, Lohmann sailed during the 1892/1893 winter to Cape Town, but his health did not at first improve and he could not play at all for Surrey in 1893 or 1894; indeed he could play no cricket until the 1894/1895 Currie Cup final where he turned out for Western Province.

Related Topics:
Tuberculosis - Cape Town - Western Province

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By July 1895 his health had recovered sufficiently for him to play again for Surrey. Fortuitously, Lohmann's return coincided with a return to extremely treacherous wickets after a long spell of very dry weather and much better pitches than Lohmann had ever bowled on before. Though completely overshadowed by the equally amazing Tom Richardson, the mere fact of missing the good wickets in May and June caused Lohmann to actually beat Richardson in the averages, though his batting (seen as an important part of his county cricket up to 1892) was completely insignificant.

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