Arthur Edward Robert Gilligan (23 December 1894 – 5 September 1976) was an English first-class cricketer who captained the England cricket team nine times in 1924 and 1925, winning four Test matches, losing four and drawing one. In first-class cricket, he played as an amateur, mainly for Cambridge University and Sussex, and captained the latter team between 1922 and 1929. A fast bowler and hard-hitting lower order batsman, Gilligan completed the double in 1923 and was one of Wisden's Cricketers of the Year for 1924. When his playing career ended, he held several important positions in cricket, including that of England selector and president of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). A popular figure within cricket, he was widely regarded as sporting and friendly.
Gilligan played cricket for Dulwich College before the First World War, then for Cambridge, twice winning his blue. He briefly played county cricket for Surrey but moved to Sussex in 1920. Following a slow start to his county career, he rapidly improved and in partnership with Maurice Tate established a formidable bowling reputation. First playing for England in 1922, he was appointed Test captain in 1924. In the latter year, Gilligan was at the height of his form when he suffered a blow to his heart while batting. The strain affected his bowling, which was never again as effective, but he still captained England in Australia during the 1924–25 season. The series was lost, but both he and his team were popular and respected. In following years, he played less frequently; he resigned as Sussex captain in 1929 and retired three years later. He subsequently became a writer, journalist and cricket commentator while maintaining his connections with Sussex.
As a captain, Gilligan was well-liked by players and commentators, although many did not believe he was an effective tactician. Nevertheless, under his leadership, Sussex became an attractive, competitive team. He encouraged the search for young talent, and the players consequently discovered became the backbone of the club into the 1930s. As a fielder, he inspired his teams to become good fielding sides. In addition, as MCC captain of a team which toured India in 1926–27, he encouraged Indians to take responsibility for their own cricket board instead of allowing white Englishmen to run Indian cricket, and lobbied the MCC to bestow Test match status on the Indian team. As MCC president, he played a part in the D'Oliveira affair in 1968.
During his playing days, Gilligan was a member of the British Fascists. He came to the notice of the Australian secret service during the 1924–25 MCC (England) tour, and it is possible he helped to establish small fascist groups in Australia. It is unknown how long he remained a member, but the organisation practically ceased to exist by 1926. Gilligan died in 1976, aged 81.
Early life Gilligan was born in Denmark Hill, an area of Camberwell in London. He was the second of four children born to Willie Austin Gilligan (1864–1940),Halifax Evening Courier, Tuesday 2 January 1940, p. 2 a manager for Liebig's Extract of Meat Company, and Alice Eliza, née Kimpton; his brothers Frank and Harold also played high-level cricket. The family had a strong connection with Sussex; Gilligan followed Sussex County Cricket Club as a child, and later played club cricket there. After attending Fairfield School, he was educated at Dulwich College from 1906 until 1914 where he established a sporting reputation in athletics and cricket. In the latter sport, he played in the school first eleven, as did his brothers; in 1913, all three boys played in the team. Gilligan played in the eleven between 1911 and 1914 and captained the side in his final two years. In 1914, he topped the school's batting and bowling averages. Selected to play representative schools cricket at Lord's Cricket Ground in 1914, he took ten wickets in total and scored one fifty in the two matches. By the standards of school cricket, his pace was impressive, and Surrey invited him to play for their second eleven during the school holidays of 1913 and 1914; his father was a member of that county's committee, and Gilligan qualified to play through his London birth.Lee, p. 147.
In 1914, Gilligan entered Pembroke College, Cambridge, but his life at the university was interrupted by the First World War. He fought in France with the Lancashire Fusiliers from 1915, serving as Captain in the 11th battalion. When the war ended, Gilligan returned to Pembroke and resumed his cricket career.
Cricket at Cambridge Following the war, Cambridge University suffered from a lack of quality bowling at the start of the 1919 cricket season. Consequently, Gilligan faced little competition for his place in the team and took 32 wickets at an average of under 27 in Cambridge matches, which critics considered a poor return. He made a bigger impression when, batting at number eleven in the order, he scored 101 against Sussex and shared a last-wicket partnership of 177 in 65 minutes with John Naumann. A few days later, Gilligan won his blue—the awarding of the Cambridge "colours" to sportsmen—by appearing in the University Match against Oxford. On the last day of the three-day match, he took five wickets for 16 runs in 57 deliveries to finish with bowling figures of six for 52 (six wickets taken for 52 runs conceded). According to Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, this was the best bowling performance in the University Match for many years, although Cambridge lost the match. Towards the end of the season, Gilligan played three first-class matches for Surrey and made a further appearance in a festival game, although he accomplished little with bat or ball. In all first-class games in 1919, he scored 231 runs at a batting average of 17.76 and took 35 wickets at 31.57. At the end of the season, he changed counties; his family connections in the area, and the presence of his brother Harold in the team, led him to register with Sussex.Lee, pp. 147–48.
Gilligan retained his position in the Cambridge team in 1920 and once more played against Oxford. In the University Match, he was ineffective with the ball as the damp conditions did not suit his style of bowling. At the end of the Cambridge term, Gilligan, playing as an amateur, made his Sussex debut. The Times later commented that in 1920, Gilligan was "known as a fast but unreliable bowler, a dashing and vulnerable batsman and a mid-off without his equal in England". Wisden commented on his 1920 performance: "[He] remained stationary, doing nothing out of the common either as bowler or batsman for Cambridge, and proving a decidedly expensive bowler for Sussex". In all first-class cricket, he scored 624 runs at an average of 17.33 and took 81 wickets at 23.55. Subsequently, Gilligan left Cambridge and joined Gilbert Kimpton & Co., a general produce merchant in London in which his father was a senior partner.
Sussex cricketer Gilligan played for Sussex throughout the 1921 season and according to Wisden "made a distinct advance". His batting record was similar to the previous season, although he increased his number of wickets in the season to 90 at an average of 30.64. Wisden notes that his bowling was not statistically good, but that his biggest impact came in fielding, which was "brilliant in the extreme. He was described on all hands as the best mid-off in England." In 1922, Gilligan assumed the Sussex captaincy from Herbert Wilson. The team's results were not impressive, but Wisden said that the team were attractive to watch and excelled in fielding, in which Gilligan led by example. Gilligan later recalled that he received great support from George Cox, the senior professional in the team.Marshall, p. 73. Personally, Gilligan had his best season to date with bat and ball; he scored 916 runs and took 135 wickets at an average of 18.75. Based on his good form, he was selected in the prestigious Gentlemen v Players match at Lord's. Appearing for the Gentlemen, a team of amateurs, his fielding in particular impressed commentators. He was selected in a further representative match, when he played for the "Rest of England" against Yorkshire, the County Champions. In the latter game, he took eight wickets in total. At the end of the season, Gilligan was included in the MCC team to tour South Africa and play a Test series.
On the tour of South Africa, MCC were led by Frank Mann. Gilligan was appointed as vice-captain in preference to Percy Fender, who was much admired as a captain but not popular with the cricket authorities.Marshall, pp. 104–05. Gilligan played in two of the five Tests, the first and last. His Test debut came on 23 December 1922 in a match which England lost. The team were more successful during his second appearance; he took six wickets in the match, and his batting at a crucial stage of the match—he scored 39 not out in the second innings—was vital in a victory which gave the series to England 2–1. In total, Gilligan took nine Test wickets at 22.37, and in all first-class games, captured 26 wickets at an average of 22.03.
During 1923, after returning to England, Gilligan had his best season in county cricket. He took 163 wickets at 17.50 and scored 1,183 runs at an average of 21.12 to complete the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in a season for the only time in his career. With Maurice Tate, whose emergence as a pace bowler was encouraged by Gilligan,Lee, p. 150. he established a bowling partnership which proved effective over the following two seasons. Gilligan scored two centuries and nine times took five or more wickets in an innings. As a result of his performances, he was named as one of Wisden's Cricketers of the Year. The citation noted that he was now "among the leading amateur cricketers of the day", and was likely to play for England again. It concluded: "It is not claimed for Arthur Gilligan, by even his warmest admirers, that he can be classed among great fast bowlers, but he is a very good one, combining with the right temperament and tireless energy just the extra bit of pace that to many batsmen is so distasteful."
England captain