Maurice Tate was the first bowler to capture Don Bradman's wicket in Tests (lbw b 18 - Brisbane in 1928-29). He was the son of an infamous father, Fred Tate - a Sussex cricketer who, in his only Test match at Old Trafford, dropped a vital catch and then being the last player dismissed with his side needing four runs for a win and was blamed for single handedly losing the 1902 Ashes. Fred always said his son would "make it up for me...."
Maurice Tate's story is one of triumph and fame, controversy and tragedy. In the 1920s and 1930s, the all-rounder was the world's most popular cricketer, the Ian Botham or Freddie Flintoff of his day. He was famed for his brilliant bowling and broad smile - unlike his infamous cricketing father, whose costly Test match error he more than repaid...
On his Test debut vs South Africa at Edgbaston, Birmingham in June 1924, he had dismissed Fred Susskind with his first ball. Later on, with 38 wickets (ave.23.18) in the 1924-25 series against Australia, he had obliterated an Ashes record. Australia's Arthur Mailey had captured 36 wickets at 26.27 runs apiece in five Tests in the 1920-21 Ashes series.
In his introductory chapter, Justin Parkinson, remarked: "It all changed so suddenly. Maurice Tate rose, within two-and-a-half years, from being an obscure county spin bowler to being universally recognised as the best pace bowler in the world. Even the shrewdest observers instantly ranked him among the most magnificent performers in the history of cricket - an innovator, an accelerator of the game's evolution."
After a bitter sacking by Sussex, Tate became a publican and died in near poverty. Although he was recently voted Sussex's greatest ever player, Tate doesn't figure in any more widespread Hall of Fame. It's time to remember this forgotten great of England cricket, whose triumphs and personality were matched only by the scale of his personal disasters.
His career statistics, featuring Tests and first-class, have been meticulously compiled in the book. In 679 first-class matches during his glorious 27-year career, he amassed 21717 runs at an average of 25.04, including 23 centuries and 93 fifties. As a bowler, he had captured 2784 wickets at 18.16 runs apiece with 195 five-wicket hauls and 44 instances of ten wickets in a match at an outstanding economy rate of 2.01, making him one of the top all-rounders of his generation.