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English cricketer
the English classical scholar

George Gibson Macaulay (7 December 1897 – 13 December 1940) was a professional English cricketer who played first class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1920 and 1935. He played in eight Test matches for England from 1923 to 1933, achieving the rare feat of taking a wicket with his first ball in Test cricket. One of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1924, he took 1,838 first class wickets at an average of 17.64 including four hat tricks. A leading member of the Yorkshire team which achieved a high level of success in the time he played, Macaulay was a volatile character who played aggressively. He left a job at a bank to become a professional cricketer, making his first class debut aged 23 as a fast bowler. Meeting limited success, he altered style to deliver off spin in addition to his pace bowling. This proved so effective that he was chosen to play for England in Test matches. However, his perceived poor attitude towards the game, and an unsuccessful match in the 1926 Ashes probably prevented him playing more Tests. His form slumped following injuries in the late 1920s, but a recovery in the early 1930s led to a recall by England, although he broke down in his second match back. Another injury in 1934 made cricket difficult for him and his first class career ended in 1935, although he continued playing club cricket until the Second World War. A pilot officer in the Royal Air Force, he died of pneumonia on active service in the Second World War.

Macaulay was born in Thirsk on 7 December 1897. His father was a well known local cricketer, as were his uncles. Upon leaving school, he worked as a bank clerk in Wakefield; there, and in nearby Ossett, he played cricket and football. In the First World War, Macaulay served with the Royal Field Artillery; Macaulay had been spotted playing club cricket by Sir Stanley Christopherson, a former Kent player. This was good enough to earn a first class debut on 15 May 1920 against Derbyshire in the County Championship, although he only took one wicket. In ten first class matches, he had taken 24 wickets at an average of 24.35, and managed a top score of just 15 with the bat. Wisden said he "had neither the pace nor the stamina required", With the bat, he scored 457 runs at an average of 22.59, surprising commentators with his ability. His overall success in the season meant that his place in the team was secure. Macaulay finished second to Rhodes in the team's bowling averages. The first two matches of the season brought Macaulay figures of six for eight and five for 23 in a ten wicket win over Northamptonshire and six for 12 out of an opposition total of 78 in an innings win over Glamorgan. While he took only one wicket in the second innings, his first three innings had given him 17 wickets for 43 runs.|group=notes These performances earned his selection for the MCC tour to South Africa that winter, although there were concerns his fitness was insufficient. He took the wicket of George Hearne with his first ball. He was the fourth player to take a wicket with his maiden delivery in Test cricket. In total, he took two for 19 in the first innings. In the second innings, South Africa were comfortably placed with a score of 157 for one, but four wickets fell to Macaulay while 13 runs were scored. Macaulay ended the innings with five wickets for 64. He played in the remaining three Tests, finishing with 16 wickets at an average of 20.37. England won the series 2–1, but the Wisden correspondent for the tour was not impressed by the English performances, noting that no really effective bowlers had emerged. With his health improved by the tour, Wisden reported that Macaulay was in excellent form for the whole of the 1923 season. His best performance came in the first match of the season, when he took seven wickets for 13 against Glamorgan as they were dismissed for 63. With the bat, Macaulay scored 463 runs at an average of 18.52. His batting declined as he scored 395 runs at an average of 11.96. In a match against Middlesex in 1924 at Sheffield, the hostility of the crowd provoked an MCC inquiry which found that Yorkshire bowler Abe Waddington had incited the spectators. Further incidents followed against Surrey. The editor of Wisden blamed Yorkshire's poor discipline on a small group of approximately four players. Without naming Macaulay as one of them, he noted that Lord Hawke, the Yorkshire president, believed Macaulay should have been in the team to Australia, and that "it was entirely his own fault he was not chosen". It is also possible that during a match at this time, Macaulay openly criticised the captaincy and bowling of Arthur Gilligan, the England captain. Since 1923, Macaulay had run a cricket outfitters in Leeds and Wakefield with his Yorkshire team mate Herbert Sutcliffe, borrowing £250 from his mother to help establish the business. During the winter of 1924–25, the shop became a limited company and Macaulay one of its directors. Macaulay received £900 from the outfitters upon his resignation. Exactly 200 of his wickets were taken for Yorkshire—only Wilfred Rhodes and George Hirst had previously reached 200 wickets for Yorkshire, and only Bob Appleyard has done so since, as of 2013. He then delivered a spell of five wickets for eight runs in 33 balls to bowl out his opponents and finish with figures of seven for 67. He then left the field exhausted. The cricket historian Mick Pope describes the match as a "lasting testimony to [Macaulay's] belief that no cause was ever lost". Macaulay was again selected for the Players against the Gentlemen at Lord's, and took five wickets in the match. Macaulay bowled fewer overs and took fewer wickets at a higher bowling average; his 134 wickets, at an average of 17.78, placed him second in the Yorkshire averages. Selected for a Test trial, he failed to take a wicket. Wisden described his performance as "lifeless", while cricket writer Neville Cardus noted that he had "yet again  fallen below his best away from the Yorkshire XI". He was not chosen for the Gentlemen v Players match, never representing the Players again. When Macaulay came into bat from number ten in the batting order, England were 182 for eight wickets and facing defeat. He played an attacking innings of 76, hitting ten fours, in a partnership of 108 with George Geary. This began an England recovery which helped the team to escape with a draw. Nevertheless, Macaulay did not play in the final two Tests of the series. The team displayed an unaccustomed weakness in bowling, particularly after the death of Roy Kilner in 1928. The effectiveness of the main bowlers was reduced by age and injury; only Macaulay remained at something approaching his bowling peak. However, his performances worsened each year. His bowling figures in the 1927 season were similar to his achievements in 1926, showing only a slight decline, but his total of wickets fell each season until 1930. His wicket tally fell to 120 and his average climbed to 24.37. However, in 1930 he dropped to sixth.|group=notes In these seasons, he was only selected for one representative match, a Test trial in 1928 in which he failed to take a wicket. That season, Macaulay was awarded a benefit match against Surrey which raised £1,633, worth approximately £82,700 in 2008. At the time, this was considered a poor reward for a Yorkshire cricketer. He achieved his best bowling figures in first class cricket when he took eight for 21 against the Indian touring side. The 1933 season signalled a return to form for Macaulay. Wisden judged that he "recovered fully his length, spin and command over variations in pace". Against Northamptonshire, he took seven for nine as the team was bowled out for 27. He finished the match with thirteen for 34. he also took twelve wickets against Leicestershire. Macaulay took one wicket in the first innings but had figures of four for 57 in the second innings to earn approval from Wisden. He did not play in the third Test but was selected in festival game at Scarborough for the team selected from the MCC party which toured Australia in the previous winter. He played instead of an injured player, even though he did not take part in the tour. Macaulay ended second in the Yorkshire bowling averages. In its review of the season, Wisden stated that his form in the early part of the season would have placed his among the best cricketers in the world. In the 1934 season, while trying to take a catch, he injured the finger he used to spin the ball. but went on to take 55 wickets at an average of 23.43. Macaulay ended his career with 1,837 first class wickets at an average of 17.65. In eight Test matches, he took 24 of those wickets at an average of 27.58. In addition, he scored 6,055 runs at an average of 18.07 and held 373 catches. He took 100 wickets in a season ten times, a record only surpassed by four others for Yorkshire, while only three other Yorkshire bowlers have taken 200 wickets in a season. He also took four hat tricks.

Following his retirement, Macaulay initially attempted to market a patented rheumatic medicine, but the business quickly failed. He then established an athletic outfitting shop in Leeds. This business also was unsuccessful; Macaulay accused Yorkshire of worsening his situation by withholding most of his benefit money—of the total raised, he received only £530. He believed that he was owed the balance, and continued his business under that assumption, but Yorkshire had invested the amount and he only received the interest. The matter arose in court, and when asked why he thought the money would be paid to him, Macaulay answered: "Because I had earned it". He also rejected the accusation that he spent his time drinking in public houses, and in 1938 and 1939, he played in the Lancashire League as the professional for Todmorden, for whom he took nine wickets for 10 runs against Ramsbottom in the Worsley Cup final. Ramsbottom were bowled out for 47 to give Macaulay's team a 26 run win. When the Second World War began, Macaulay joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) Volunteer Reserve in 1940 as a Pilot Officer, and was stationed at Church Fenton, close to Barkston Ash where he lived with his wife Edith. Later in the year, he was stationed in the Shetland Islands, where he was bothered by the cold. Six days after his 43rd birthday,

As a batsman, Macaulay was reasonably good and possibly better than his statistics would suggest. He was capable of batting well in a crisis but may have been prevented from honing his batting skills by the Yorkshire leadership who wished him to focus on bowling. Macaulay's fielding was also very effective. He was excellent at close range to the batsmen, Macaulay could vary his pace from medium to fast depending on the needs of the match situation and the type of pitch. When the pitch was suitable for spinning the ball, he bowled medium paced off breaks. Macaulay's bowling action was relaxed and effortless, being admired by his contemporaries. Kilburn observed that "should the batsman survive he would be rewarded with a glare of concentrated venom calculated to stagger any but the stoutest heart  Every scrap of his heart and soul went into every ball he bowled. He never gave up and his persistence was invariably triumphant sooner or later". Macaulay displayed a temper when matters went against him. He would make sharp or biting comments, particularly if a fielder made a mistake when he was bowling and although often amusing, it could at times hurt the recipients, and his anger made his team mates wary of him. Yet, he could also express appreciation when a skillful batsmen hit a good shot from his bowling; the result was that his colleagues were never sure what to expect from him, even after playing with him for years. Herbert Sutcliffe said he could be charming when not playing, but his wit could be sharp. Robertson Glasgow nevertheless described him as "a glorious opponent; a great cricketer; and a companion in a thousand".