Sidney F Barnes was born at Smethwick, on April 19th, 1876. Few bowlers have sprung into fame more suddenly. He played in two matches for Lancashire in 1899 without attracting much notice, and the general public knew nothing about him when at the end of the season of 1901 he re-appeared in the Lancashire eleven and took in Leicestershire’s first innings six wickets for 70 runs.
Sydney Barnes, misspelt Sidney by Wisden, is considered by some judges to be the greatest bowler of all time. He was named a Cricketer of the Year in the 1910 Wisden Almanack.
This performance would not in itself have aroused much attention, but just afterwards the announcement was made that Mr A.C. MacLaren, unable to secure Hirst or Rhodes, had engaged Barnes for the team he had arranged to take to Australia. The selections caused a great deal of surprise, but MacLaren knew perfectly well what he was doing. He had found a first-rate bowler and was not in the least afraid to trust his own judgement.
“Certainly he is the best bowler in England today, and I can quite understand the wonderful analyses he obtains in the Minor Championship. There can be little doubt that Barnes profits by playing comparatively little cricket, which enables him to keep fresh, and to come to each match full of energy and life, but for all that it is a pity he is not more often seen in first-class cricket.”
Sydney Barnes continued to have a troubled relationship with the cricket establishment and played in just 27 Test matches. In those he took 189 wickets at 16.43.
