5 Ashes heroes who committed suicide in later life

When Sylvia Plath took her own life in 1963, her friend Al Alvarez was deeply moved. It influenced Alvarez's later life, much of which he spent in studying the human behaviours which play a role in suicides. His research bore fruit when he wrote a superbly researched book on the topic: " The Savage God: A Study of Suicide". Alvarez did try to find a correlation between famous people and suicides. He thought they were more prone to taking their own lives. The likes of Virginia Woolf, Ernest Hemingway among others, were case in point.

In cricket, David Frith has done the equivalent. In 1990, he wrote ' By His Own Hand: A Study of Cricket's Suicides'. In 2001, he updated the book and called it 'Silence of the Hearts'.

A few weeks ago, Jonny Bairstow's autobiography was published and much of it concentrated on his father David's torrid life and eventual suicide. To put it simply, there has been too many cricketers who perished in this manner.

Alcoholism and problems in relationships were the primary causes, as must be the case if we generalise this to the whole human race. But for sportspersons, especially cricketers, it has often been found that they were unable to adapt to the ordinary, mundane life they are often forced to lead post retirement. Money has been another problem for many of them. They get so used to the limelight and the affluent lifestyle that follow it that they often fail to accept mediocrity once it is all gone.

We will briefly look at the lives of five cricketers who enjoyed successes in Ashes Tests but later in life they all succumbed to mental illness.

Andrew Stoddart

The 23-year old danced and played poker before taking a swim in the pool followed by a healthy breakfast. Then he went out to bat later that morning. He batted brilliantly. Scored 485 runs- then the highest score in any level of cricket.He came back from the ground, played tennis, went out to the theater, then to a party before retiring to his bed at around 3 am in the morning. A perfectly fine young man who knew how to cherish the successes in life.

A year and a half later, he made his Test debut in Sydney. Four years later, he went back to Australia, this time as a member of W.G. Grace's touring team. He scored a fine 134 in Adelaide and came back with much reputation as a potential star.

A year later when W.G. was not fit to play a Test at Lord's, Stoddart was asked to lead the side. He entered the history books by becoming the first captain to declare an innings in a Test match.

In 1894, he was asked to assemble a team to tour Australia for the Ashes. Stoddart's team played some very impressive cricket in that Australian summer and became the first team to win a Test match after being asked to follow-on. The Ashes was born in 1882 but this was the series that really got the rivalry going.

Stoddart led another MCC team to Australia in 1897. It was a forgettable tour. He was unwell for weeks and then, as soon as he recovered, his belongings were stolen and then a cable telling him about his mother's death put the last nail in the coffin. Stoddy made little impact in that tour. He still created headlines but unfortunately most of them were not due to his cricket. There was a buzz about him searching for a wife. The banter often ended with '"Whose wife?"

He came back from that tour an unhappy man. He never played another Test match.

In 1906 he married a girl ( already married) whom he had met in Australia in 1887. In the first decade of the 20th century, he started gaining weight and alcohol became a constant companion. He used to sit by the window of his room and gaze towards the empty street.

1914 proved to be a terrible year. His brother had died in America. Some of his best friends from the cricketing circuit too died in that very year. Moreover, Stoddy had no money. The marriage too was not working well and added to his problems.

On the evening of April 3rd 1915, he told his wife that it was over for him and took out a pistol from his pocket to end his rather miserable life. His wife managed to take the pistol away from him and, thinking that she only had access to the box of cartridges, she tried to pacify her husband for the night. She promised that they would get in touch with friends the following morning. She retired to her room after seeing her husband calm down.

At midnight she went into her husband's room. As soon as she switced the light on, she saw bloock trickling down his cheek. There was a revolver in his right hand. A different box of cartridge was found nearby.

The man who led England to victory in the first great Ashes series had committed suicide.

Recommended reading: My Dear Victorious Stod by David Frith

Arthur Shrewsbury

Arthur Shrewsbury was the best batsman in the world for a decade

When W.G. Grace was asked who he would want first in his team, he famously answered, "Give me Arthur". Arthur Shrewsbury was the mainstay of the Nottinghamshire batting line-up for over two decades and the best batsman in England throughout the 1880s. He scored three Test centuries, all against the old enemy and two of them at Lord's.

He was an accumulator of runs and was extremely difficult to dislodge.

He was instrumental in the success his sports goods business ( in partnership with fellow cricketer Alfred Shaw) tasted in the late 19th century. Moreover, to his credit, he, along with Shaw and Lillywhite Junior, organised some of the early tours to Australia.

But Shrewsbury had certian peculiarirties, which often forced him to fight with demons created by himself. He always appeared in a cap as he was not comfortable with premature balding. He used to travel long distances daily to reach the grounds because he preferred to sleep at his home in Nottingham. In fact, from 1869 to 1902, his 'home in Nottingham' was Queen's Hotel on Arkwright Street.

As he neared the end of his illustrious career, he began to suffer from hypochondria. Some years later it took a serious turn when he started feeling some discomfort around his kindeys and got himself admitted to a nursing-home in London. Nothing alarming was found but he was too weak, at least mentally, to carry on as a cricketer.

On May 12th 1903, he purchased a revolver but the bullets he purchased along with it were the wrong ones. He had to return once again to the shop on May 19th, to rectify the mistake. That evening, having requested his girfriend to make some cocoa for him, he retired to his room. A few minutes later, his girlfriend heard a rather strange noise coming from Arthur's room upstairs. She asked what was it about. "Nothing.', replied Arthur. He had shot himself in the left side of his chest. He was not sure if that was enough and hence he drew the trigger once again, this time placing the pistol to his right temple.

That was the sad end of one of England's finest batsmen.

Recommended reading: Give me Arthur by Peter Wynne-Thomas

Albert Trott

Albert Trott, a brilliant all-rounder during his heyday

One of those quiz questions which bamboozles even seasoned cricket quizzers: which Australian batsman holds the record for the highest batting average against England in Test matches?

The answer is NOT Sir Donald Bradman. It is Albert Trott, the only man known to have cleared the Lord's pavilion. Or, if you follow cricket historian David Frith, 'Albatrott'. He averaged 102.5 for Australia against England. It was boosted by the fact that he was unbeaten in both innings in his first Test match and scored 110 runs. In that very Test match, he took 8-43 in England's second innings- still the best bowling figures in an innings on debut. Arguably, Trott's is the best debut in Test cricket's rich history.

Trott was a brilliant fielder as well. He was always prepared to dive around in the outfield, almost 100 years before Jonty Rhodes and co. made it famous.

After appearing in three Test matches for Australia in the famous 1894-95 Ashes series, he moved out of Australia and settled in England. He even represented England in Test matches and served Middlesex with distinction.

In 1899 and 1900 he was easily the best all-round cricketer in the world .In both seasons he took over 200 wickets and scored over 1000 runs. But he could not repeat such successes in the seasons that followed and the weight of expectations proved to be too heavy for him. He struggled for a few seasons and played his final first-class match in 1910.

His life became quite miserable after he had left playing the game. The limelight he enjoyed was gone too soon and all at once. Trott started suffering from depression (not the only Trott to have that misfortune). The death of his father back in Australia in late 1913 added to the agony.

In 1914 he was in and out of hospital with a heart condition and nephralgia. In late July that year, unable to bear the depression and sleeplessness, he requested his landlady to bring him a sleeping draught. The chemist didn't allow it, and upon hearing that from the landlady, Trott screamed out: " Oh dear, I can never go through another night."

At 2'o clock that afternoon, he pulled the trigger and shot himself through the head. Thus ended the tragic life of one of the finest pre-World War I allrounders.

Recommended reading: Over and Out: Albert Trott: The Man who Cleared the Lord's Pavilion by Steve Neal

Jack Iverson

Jack Iverson showing his unique grip

These days, every year or two we see new mystery spinners being introduced to the highest level of cricket. This breed was not that common in the olden days. There were a few in the 1950s and 1960s but most of them didn't do enough to be a part of cricket's history. There were exceptions, though. One of them created mayhem in the Ashes series of 1950-51.

Jack Iverson was a 2nd XI fast bowler during his college days. Once those days were over, he concentrated on managing his father's business. Then war intervened, and he was sent to the Middle East.

He feigned illness, took leave and came back home, only to be sent to Queensland for more war duties. There, during idle hours, he used to flick the ping-pong ball with his long middle-finger.

He carried out the same experiment with a tennis ball and both results were amazing. He got the ball turning and, more importantly, lifting viciously from a length. But when he tried doing the same with a cricket ball it didn't work out well. The war ended and he once again went back to managing his father's business.

One fine day he and his wife were strolling through the park where they found some blind cricketers playing the game. That changed Iverson- he was startled by the dedication of those blind men. It made him take cricket seriously once again. He went back to subdistrict cricket and experiemented with the 'flick of the finger' deliveries. They worked brilliantly and, in the next few months, his rise as a 31-year old cricketer was meteoric.

He was called to play for Australia in the 1950-51 Ashes. He bamboozled all English batsmen and single-handedly made the series Australia's.

He faded away soon, though. His bag of tricks didn't work for too long and he didn't have the confidence to work on his bowling any further. Moreover, age was not on his side either as he was approaching his forties. The rise and fall both were spectacular- two long tails with a high peak in middle is what the Iverson cricket career-graph looks like.

Iverson initially led a peaceful life after moving away from cricket but work pressure got the better of him in the 1960s. He suffered from a mild stroke and needed psychiatric help. Post that difficult period, he was recovering well, but the death of his parents pushed him back to dark days once again. He never recovered.

On an afternoon in October 1973, his wife was vacuuming the house while Jack strolled to the garden. He had already downed quite a few glasses of alcohol and didn't waste any time in killing himself with a Remington .22 rifle.

A strange life in many ways. Cricket will always remember him for his bowling grip and his exploits in the one Ashes series he played in.

Recommended reading: Mystery Spinner: The Story of Jack Iverson by Gideon Haigh

Sid Barnes

Sid Barnes ( right) with Arthur Morris

Sid Barnes was an enigma.

He was a fine batsman who scored plenty of runs in Ashes contests against England, at a very impressive average. At one point, he was considered as one of the best in the world. Many have been known as "one of the best" but here we are talking about Sid Barnes; the tale cannot be that commonplace.

When it's Barnes, one is never away from the eccentricities that were associated with him. He was desperate to score a century at Lord's in 1948 after the MCC did not allow him to use the nets for practice in the previous year.

He had even put 8 GBP on stake for his century and got fifteen times the money when he reached that coveted milestone. A year earlier, he had shared a monumental partnership of 405 runs with Bradman at Sydney.

The Don was dismissed on his personal best score of 234 and it is said that Barnes too gave away his wicket when on that score, to remain 'associated' with the Don forever.

Despite all his on-field triumphs, rather unfortunately, it was his off-field activities which often hogged the headlines.

He had the audacity to capture films at Lord's, not travelling with the team, going to play tennis while a Test match was in progress, carrying cigarettes and a deodorant spray to the ground while serving as a twelfth man etc etc.

Outrageous.

He was heavily reprimanded by the cricket board for each of these incidents. Barnes hardly cared, though. If he cared fro such 'trivialities', he would never had fielded at short leg with one foot on the pitch.

Barnes gave up cricket at his peak. Rather, it was cricket which gave him up at that stage. Post the sacking, Barnes wrote Ashes tour books and in them he didn't miss any opportunity of criticising the cricketers and the cricket board.

Barnes was watching matches and writitng reports even in the early 1970s but he knew that he was nearing the end as he was depressed with his life.

In December 1973, he went to visit his mother who was concerned with her's son's health. He came back after meeting his mother and committed suicide. The reason given was 'an overdose of barbiturates'.

Sid Barnes remains the favourite of many who were fortunate to watch him play. Not entirely because of his often impressive batting. But also because of the kind of person he was.

Recommended reading: Cricket's Enigma: The Sid Barnes Story by Rick Smith