Harry Graham
Harry Graham, born at Carlton, Melbourne, November 29th, 1870, died at Dunedin, New Zealand, February 7th, 1911. Graham did many brilliant things as a batsman but scarcely gave himself a fair Chance. Had he ordered his life more carefully he might have had a much longer and more successful career in first-class cricket. His natural powers were great. He did not play with quite a straight bat but he was a splendid hitter with any amount of dash and vigour. When he came to England for the first time in 1893 he was at his best, playing the innings of his life against England at Lord's. No one who saw the match will forget the way in which he and Gregory knocked off the England bowling after Australia had lost five wickets for 75. Graham was very successful all through the tour and headed the averages in all matches, just beating Lyons. However, he was not the same man in 1896 and had to be left out of many matches. He recovered his batting form at home and for a couple of seasons was almost as good as ever, playing two innings of over a hundred for Victoria against South Australia. Taking his career as a whole he was a player of immense possibilities only half fulfilled.
Graham's performances in first-class cricket:--
| Inns. | Times not out. | Most in an inns. | Total runs. | Average. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In Australia, 1892-3 | 7 | 2 | 86* | 262 | 52.40 |
| In England, 1893 | 53 | 3 | 219 | 1,435 | 28.70 |
| In America, 1893 | 4 | 0 | 25 | 30 | 7.50 |
| In Australia, 1893-4 to 1895-6 | 25 | 0 | 105 | 691 | 27.64 |
| In England, 1896 | 32 | 2 | 96 | 547 | 18.23 |
| In America, 1896 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 1.66 |
| In Australia, 1896-7 to 1899-1900 | 38 | 1 | 124 | 1,081 | 29.21 |
| In New Zealand, 1899-1900 | 6 | 0 | 169 | 373 | 62.16 |
| In Australia, 1900-1 to 1902-3 | 23 | 1 | 120 | 842 | 38.27 |
| In New Zealand, 1903-4 to 1906-7 | 29 | 0 | 86 | 688 | 23.72 |
| Total | 220 | 9 | 219 | 5,954 | 28.21 |
| * Signifies not out. | |||||
Graham's hundreds in important cricket:--
| Runs. | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| 219 | Eighth Australian Team v. Derbyshire, at Derby | 1893 |
| 169 | Melbourne C.C. Team v. Canterbury, at Christchurch | 1899-1900 |
| 124 | Victoria v. New South Wales, at Sydney | 1898-9 |
| 120 | Victoria v. South Australia, at Melbourne | 1900-1 |
| 118 | Victoria v. South Australia, at Adelaide | 1899-1900 |
| 107 | Australia v. England, at Lord's | 1893 |
| 105 | Australia v. England, at Sydney | 1894-5 |
| 103 | Victoria v. New South Wales, at Melbourne | 1895-6 |
| 101 | Victoria v. Queensland, at Brisbane | 1902-3 |
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