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George Brann

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George Brann
Personal information
Full name George Brann
Date of birth (1865-04-23)23 April 1865
Place of birth Eastbourne, England
Date of death 14 June 1954(1954-06-14) (aged 89)
Place of death Surbiton, England
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
Ardingly College
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Swifts/Slough
1885–1893 Corinthian 0 (0)
International career
1886–1891 England 3 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

George Brann (23 April 1865 – 14 June 1954) was an English amateur cricketer and footballer who had a long career with Sussex County Cricket Club at the end of the 19th century, and played three matches for the England national football team.

Education

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Ardingly College

Brann was born in Eastbourne, East Sussex and was educated at Ardingly College, near Haywards Heath, West Sussex, where he spent ten years and represented the school at football.[1]

Football career

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After leaving school he joined the Swifts based in Slough, who in 1890 merged with Slough Albion and Young Men's Friendly Society to form a new club, Slough F.C., who later became Slough Town.

Being an amateur, Brann was free to play for more than one club, and he joined the famous amateur club Corinthian in 1885. He made his first appearance for them in a 3–1 defeat against Preston North End on 28 November 1885. In the 1885–86 season he played eight times for Corinthian, in all five forward positions, scoring three goals.[2]

In the 1885–86 FA Cup tournament, Brann was part of the Swifts team, together with Charlie & Arthur Bambridge who reached the sixth round stage, where they were eliminated by the Cup holders Blackburn Rovers.

His first England appearance came at Cathkin Park, Glasgow in a 1–1 draw against Scotland on 27 March 1886[3] in the British Home Championship. England's goal was scored by fellow Corinthian Tinsley Lindley. Brann was retained for the next match against Wales two days later, and scored in a 3–1 victory.[4]

His Corinthian appearances over the next few seasons were fairly infrequent, and he ended his career in 1893, having made 32 appearances, with eight goals.[5]

He made his third, and final, England appearance against Wales on 7 March 1891 when he played on the right wing alongside professionals including Johnny Goodall, Jack Southworth, Alf Milward and Edgar Chadwick. England were too strong for the Welsh and won 4–1, with each of the other forwards scoring.[6]

Cricket career

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Cricket information
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm fast
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 291
Runs scored 11,205
Batting average 25.69
100s/50s 25/43
Top score 161
Balls bowled 5,857
Wickets 69
Bowling average 44.31
5 wickets in innings 1
10 wickets in match 0
Best bowling 5/73
Catches/stumpings 145/2
Source: CricketArchive, 10 April 2023

He made his debut for Sussex against Hampshire in May 1883 although he made little impact scoring a duck as Sussex won by an innings and 42 runs[7] but his career really began in 1885.

His highest first-class score was 161 against Cambridge University at Hove in 1899,[8] although he did score 219 against Hampshire in a non-first-class match in June 1886.[9] In 1899 he and C. B. Fry opened the two Sussex innings against Middlesex at Lord's with partnerships of 135 and 148.[10]

In 1892 he enjoyed what was then the rare distinction of scoring two centuries in a match – 105 and 101 against Kent.[11] This had only been achieved previously by W. G. Grace (three times) and William Lambert, also of Sussex.[12]

Brann went to Australia in 1887–88 as a member of Arthur Shrewsbury's Team,[13] visited South Africa under Walter Read in 1891–92[14] and America in 1899 when K. S. Ranjitsinhji was captain.[15]

According to his obituary in Wisden, he was "originally a very free batsman and powerful hitter, [but] forsook his dashing methods during his last few years of county cricket, [and] although becoming a far more watchful type of batsman he continued to make many runs".[12]

His last significant season was 1904, although his final first-class match for Sussex was against Cambridge University in June 1905.[16] In his first-class career, he scored a total of 11,205 runs at an average of 25.69, including twenty-five centuries for Sussex. Standing nearly six feet tall, he was also a fine fielder taking 145 catches during his career; as a fast bowler he claimed 69 wickets at an average of 44.31.

Life outside sport

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After retiring from cricket he became a good golfer and was secretary to the Home Park Golf Club in Surbiton for twenty years.

He was a career schoolteacher, teaching at his former school, Ardingly College.[1]

He died at his home at Surbiton, Surrey, on 14 June 1954, aged 89.

References

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  1. ^ a b Graham Betts (2006). England: Player by player. Green Umbrella Publishing. p. 45. ISBN 1-905009-63-1.
  2. ^ Rob Cavallini (2007). Play Up Corinth: A History of the Corinthian Football Club. Tempus Publishing. pp. 230–231. ISBN 978-0-7524-4479-6.
  3. ^ Scotland 1 – England 1; 27 March 1886 (Match summary). Englandstats.com. Retrieved on 2018-05-03.
  4. ^ Wales 1 – England 3; 29 March 1886 (Match summary). Englandstats.com. Retrieved on 2018-05-03.
  5. ^ Cavallini. Play Up Corinth – A History of the Corinthian Football Club. p. 274.
  6. ^ England 4 – Wales 1; 7 March 1891 (Match summary). Englandstats.com. Retrieved on 2018-05-03.
  7. ^ Sussex v Hampshire; May 1883 (Match summary). Cricketarchive.com. Retrieved on 2018-05-03.
  8. ^ Sussex v Cambridge University; June 1899 (Match summary). Cricketarchive.com. Retrieved on 2018-05-03.
  9. ^ Sussex v Hampshire; June 1886 (Match summary). Cricketarchive.com. Retrieved on 2018-05-03.
  10. ^ Middlesex v Sussex; June 1899 (Match summary). Cricketarchive.com. Retrieved on 2018-05-03.
  11. ^ Sussex v Kent; August 1892 (Match summary). Cricketarchive.com. Retrieved on 2018-05-03.
  12. ^ a b Obituaries in 1954. Espncricinfo
  13. ^ A Shrewsbury's XI in New Zealand 1887/88. cricketarchive.com
  14. ^ WW Read's XI in South Africa 1891/92. cricketarchive.com
  15. ^ KS Ranjitsinhji's XI in North America 1899. cricketarchive.com
  16. ^ Sussex v Cambridge University; June 1905 (Match summary). Cricketarchive.com. Retrieved on 2018-05-03.
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