George Henry Stevens Trott (5 August 1866 – 9 November 1917) was an Australian cricketer who played 24 Test matches as an all-rounder between 1888 and 1898. Although Trott was a versatile batsman, spin bowler and outstanding fielder, "it is as a captain that he is best remembered, an understanding judge of human nature". After a period of some instability and ill discipline in Australian cricket, he was the first in a succession of assertive Australian captains that included Joe Darling, Monty Noble and Clem Hill, who restored the prestige of the Test team. Respected by teammates and opponents alike for his cricketing judgement, Trott was quick to pick up a weakness in opponents. A right-handed batsman, he was known for his sound defence and vigorous hitting. His slow leg-spin bowling was often able to deceive batsmen through subtle variations of pace and flight, but allowed opposition batsmen to score quickly.
Trott made his Test debut in 1888, on a tour of England, and would tour England another three times (in 1890, 1893 and 1896), scoring more than 1000 runs on each occasion. For the 1896 tour, Trott was elected captain by his teammates. Despite England winning the series two Tests to one and retaining The Ashes, Trott's ability as a captain was highly regarded. In the return series in Australia during the 1897–98 season, Trott's team was more successful, winning the five-Test series 4–1 and regaining The Ashes. At a time when the federation of the Australian colonies was under discussion, the victory saw Trott praised as a "national institution" and his team as having "done more for the federation of Australian hearts than all the big delegates put together".
A severe mental illness abruptly ended Trott's Test career at the age of 31. After a series of seizures in 1898, he suffered from insomnia, apathy, and memory loss. Failing to recover lucidity, he was committed to a psychiatric hospital for over a year. After he was discharged, he eventually returned to cricket, and continued to play for his state, Victoria, and club, South Melbourne, into his forties. After his retirement, Trott served as a selector for Victoria for a number of years. Outside of cricket, he worked as a postman and mail sorter. He died of cancer in 1917, aged 51.
Born in Collingwood, an inner suburb of Melbourne, Trott was the third of eight children born to accountant Adolphus Trott and his wife Mary-Ann (née Stephens). His younger brother Albert also became a Test cricketer. The siblings played their junior cricket with the local Capulet club. Harry transferred to South Melbourne, which played in Melbourne's pennant competition, after scouts for the club noticed him playing park cricket. In his first season, the 18-year-old Trott recorded the best batting average and bowling average for the team.
Trott made his first-class debut for Victoria against an "Australian XI" on New Year's Day 1886, scoring four and 18 not out. Two months later, he played his first inter-colonial match, against South Australia at the Adelaide Oval. Batting, he scored 54 runs; his innings included a memorable hit over the leg side boundary from the bowling of leading Test all-rounder George Giffen, and he captured seven wickets for the match with his bowling. In 1886–87, Trott hit a double century for South Melbourne in a match against St Kilda and appeared for Victoria against Alfred Shaw's touring English team, claiming four wickets for 125 runs (4/125). During the next summer, he played for a non-representative "Australian XI" against Arthur Shrewsbury's XI and George Vernon's XI, two English teams touring Australia simultaneously. His chances for inclusion in the Australian squad for the forthcoming tour of England were enhanced when a number of leading players made themselves unavailable. However, Trott's batting credentials were modest: he had scored only one half-century in 29 first-class innings. At this point, Trott had enjoyed more success with his bowling. Prior to the Australian team departing for England, a change to the leg before wicket (LBW) law that would aid bowlers of Trott's style seemed imminent. The former Australian player Tom Horan wrote: "There is no bowler in England who has such a fast leg-break, and on a fine, firm pitch many a batsman has saved his wicket by his legs or body in opposing Trott's deliveries."
Included in the Australian squad to tour England in 1888, Trott was selected in the team for the First Test at Lord's. He had an inauspicious Test debut: he made a duck in the first innings and three runs in the second, and did not bowl. The Australians won the game by 62 runs, only their second Test match victory in England. However, England retained The Ashes by winning the remaining two Tests and Trott's influence on the series was negligible: he did not pass 20 in an innings, and he failed to take a wicket. Nevertheless, his performances in the other matches of the season prompted Wisden Cricketers' Almanack to write that he, "... fully justif[ied] his selection by scoring the highly creditable total of 1,212 runs, with an average of over 19 per innings", and that his fielding was "excellent at point". Wisden was less complimentary about his bowling: "We have no great opinion of Trott's leg break bowling, and think it probably too slow to be effectual against good batsmen." Trott's opportunities were limited as his teammates Charles Turner and John Ferris, "monopolised the bowling".
On his return to Australia, Trott's batting continued to improve. He scored 172 runs for an Australian XI against New South Wales, his maiden century in first-class cricket. The Sydney Morning Herald wrote that the innings "... stamped him as a batsman of the highest class". In first-class matches, Trott posted 507 runs (at 39.00 average) and claimed 25 wickets (at 17.44 average) for the summer, and hit a double century in a club match against Melbourne. Another good all-round season in 1889–90 ensured his place for the next trip to England.
The 1890 Australian team touring England was relatively inexperienced. The team missed the all-round ability of George Giffen who had refused to tour, thinking it unlikely the tour would be a sporting or financial success. The Australians won 13 matches on tour, losing 16 and drawing 9. Trott scored 1,211 first-class runs (at 20.87 average) with a highest score of 186 against Cambridge University Past and Present, and captured 20 wickets. Disappointed by Trott's performances, Wisden felt that he "... barely maintained the reputation he had so honestly gained during the tour of 1888 ... it cannot be said that he came up to expectations".
Australian revival and Wisden Cricketer of the Year
In 1891–92, Lord Sheffield's team (captained by W. G. Grace) toured Australia, the first English side to do so in four years. The presence of Grace contributed to a revival of interest in the game that had waned due to a surfeit of international tours and indifferent performances by the Australian team. The Australians won the series 2–1 to regain The Ashes. In the first Test at Melbourne, Trott scored three and 23, but had greater impact with the ball. Requiring 213 runs for victory, England's score reached 60 before their first two batsmen were dismissed. The Australian captain Jack Blackham then gambled by calling on Trott's often inaccurate bowling. Trott took two quick wickets and the English innings never recovered. In returning 3/52 for the innings, Wisden noted that Trott "bowled admirably". The remaining two Tests were less productive for Trott: he finished with 48 runs (at an average of 8.00) and 6 wickets (at an average of 35.00) for the series.
A reorganisation of Australian cricket took place in the wake of the tour. The first national body to control the game, the Australasian Cricket Council (ACC), was formed to co-ordinate the Australian Test team. Previously, private entrepreneurs and the players themselves organised international cricket. Lord Sheffield donated money to the ACC, which was used to purchase a trophy for the champion domestic team. Trott appeared in Victoria's inaugural Sheffield Shield match, against New South Wales in December 1892. He scored 63 and 70 not out in a winning effort. The ACC appointed Trott as one of the six players to select the touring team for England.