Born on 7 December 1870 in Sutton-in-Ashfield, George Edward Wharmby played for Notts Colts XXII in 1891 and was subsequently selected for Notts Seconds v Surrey Seconds at the Oval. He made his First-Class debut at Lord’s v MCC on 1 June 1891, in a match completed in a single day! Notts 21 and 69, MCC 127; the unfortunate Wharmby bagged a pair. His second match was a two-day innings defeat to Gloucestershire at Trent Bridge, when he scored 0 and 1. Missing in 1892, Wharmby played two games in June 1893 v Somerset at Trent Bridge and Sussex at Hove. In four First-Class games for Notts he had scored 7 runs @1.00 and took 1 wicket for 89.
After being engaged with Lasswade CC in 1889 and Bedford School in 1890, Wharmby moved to Manchester CC, taking 95 wickets for 12 runs apiece which alerted Lancashire to his potential. His Lancashire First-Class debut was also v MCC at Lord’s, in 1894. After seven games that season, Wharmby played his last First-Class game against Notts at Trent Bridge. His First-Class career amounted to 11 games, scoring 36 runs @2.76 and taking 9 wickets @33.11.
A right-hand forcing bat and medium-pace bowler, Wharmby played 105 Minor Counties Championship games for Bedfordshire between 1902 and 1923, scoring 3,751 runs @24.35, with a top score of 163 not out v Cambridgeshire at Dunstable Grammar School in 1903, and taking 501 wickets @15.74 with best bowling figures of 8-32 v Durham at Bedford County School in 1906. He remains to this day, the leading wicket-taker for Bedfordshire in Minor Counties Championship Cricket. He also umpired in three Minor County games in 1900.
After starting off as a professional, he became an amateur for Bedfordshire from 1914 onwards. Wharmby also had engagements with Rishton (1893), Bury (1894), Coventry and North Warwick (1908-19; also groundsman), Bedford Victoria, Leighton Buzzard Town, Warwick Gents and Skegness. From 1925 to 1930 he was coach at Bedford School and afterwards at RAF Cranwell.
A paragraph in the College Journal from Autumn 1931 states: “The writer takes this opportunity of saying that any success that our team has achieved was due primarily to our captain, Ling, acting on the advice of Flg Off Huddleston and Mr Wharmby, whom we were lucky to get again as our cricket coach. We wish to thank him for his experienced advice and we hope he will be with us next season”.
Wharmby was, at various times, landlord of the Bull Inn in Sutton-in-Ashfield and the Old Bull’s Head in Coventry; later he resided in Leighton Buzzard. He died, aged 80 years, on 15 November 1951 in Rustington in Sussex.
June 2020
Nottinghamshire First-Class Number: 217