| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | George Tierney Mirehouse | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1863-05-11)11 May 1863 Easton-in-Gordano,Somerset, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 5 March 1923(1923-03-05) (aged 59) Turramurra, Sydney, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-armmedium-fast | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1884–1886 | Cambridge University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1884–1885 | Somerset | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1887–1896 | Marylebone Cricket Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First-class debut | 2 June 1884 Cambridge University v Gentlemen of England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last First-class | 4 June 1896 Marylebone Cricket Club v Oxford University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source:ESPNcricinfo,16 August 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
George Tierney Mirehouse (11 May 1863 – 5 March 1923) was an Englishgentleman andamateur cricketer who appeared in 13first-class cricket matches forCambridge University,Somerset and theMarylebone Cricket Club in the 1880s. Primarily a right-armmedium-fast bowler, Mirehouse took 22 first-class wickets at an average of 27.54. Some sources give his middle name as Tiernay.
George Tierney Mirehouse was born inEaston in Gordano,Somerset, on 11 May 1863. He was the second son of Henry John Mirehouse and his wife Anne Roche; and his maternal grandfather was George Tierney Roche.[1] He came from aclerical family; his father was therector ofSt George's Church in the village,[2] and both his grandfathers had been vicars; on the paternal side, of St George's also, and on the maternal side, ofStradbally, County Waterford near the southern coast ofIreland.[1] He attendedWestminster School, where he played for the school's cricket team, appearing for the side against both theMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC) andCharterhouse School in 1880.[3] He then went up toJesus College,Cambridge University in 1882.[4]
He was not invited to play in the freshmen's trial match during his first year at Cambridge,[5] but did feature in the senior's trial match the following season, 1884, in which he took one wicket.[6] He was low in the pecking order to play for Cambridge that year; in another trial match between the "First Twelve" and the "Next Sixteen", Mirehouse appeared for the latter, again taking one wicket in the match.[7] Despite this, Mirehouse made hisfirst-class debut for the University a couple of weeks later, playing against theGentlemen of England; a collection of the bestamateur players in the country. Mirehouse was used as the second-change bowler for Cambridge, and took one wicket, that ofSandford Schultz.[8] He featured again the following week, against aMarylebone Cricket Club and Ground side rated as relatively weak byCricket magazine. On a pitch ruined by rain, he bowled 24 overs without taking a wicket during a heavy defeat for Cambridge.[9] He did not play again for Cambridge that year, but did go on to make his first appearances incounty cricket forSomerset County Cricket Club.[10]
On his county debut, againstHampshire, Mirehouse took three wickets in the first innings and another in the second;[11] his first innings record of three wickets for 33 runs was his best in first-class matches for Somerset.[12] Mirehouse opened the bowling alongsideE. W. Bastard againstKent, but bowled 28 overs in the match without taking a wicket,[13] while againstLancashire, he took two wickets on a pitch described as "dead from recent rains and in favour of the bowlers."[14] Mirehouse had some appearances of note for theLansdown Cricket Club during 1884, taking four wickets against the touringGentlemen of Philadelphia in July,[15] and taking seven wickets against theIncogniti in August.[16]
After again featuring in the senior's trial match in 1885, in which he took four wickets,[17] Mirehouse was highlighted byCricket magazine as having "a good length ball" and was toted as a possibility for making it into the first team.[18] He began the season as part of Cambridge's team, taking five wickets for the "First Twelve" against the "Next Sixteen" in the final trial match,[19] and then took six wickets in a match against a representative England side described as weak byCricket.[20] In three further matches for Cambridge that season, Mirehouse did not have as much success, and by the time of theVarsity Match, in which he did not play,[10] was considered a fringe player for the team.[21] After the conclusion of the university term, Mirehouse made his fourth and final appearance for Somerset in first-class cricket, taking two wickets in a heavy loss toGloucestershire.[22]
He played seven first-class matches for the university,[23] but did not appear in theVarsity Match againstOxford University. Mirehouse achieved his best performance in first-class cricket for Cambridge, claiming four wickets in the second innings for the university againstCI Thornton's XI.[24] He also appeared a number of times for bothSomerset and theMarylebone Cricket Club.[10]
Mirehouse emigrated toTurramurra,Sydney where he ran asugar refinery. He suffered from ill-health, including anulcer which affected him for some time, but this was later cured.[25] In an effort to improve his health, he took a six-week break on the south coast of Australia.[26] On his return, he voiced concerns about business matters, and a few days later on 5 March 1923, hanged himself from his bed with asash cord.[27] A letter Mirehouse started writing to a friend in Bristol lamented: "My sufferings the past six months have been beyond all expression."[26] Mirehouse had £4,300 of stocks and £165 cash invested with theBank of Australasia.[26]
Mirehouse had never married, and his estate was left to his cousin, and brother-in-law,Egerton Bagot Byrd Levett-Scrivener.[2]