Charles Bannerman's Later Life — Player to Umpire, 1879-1930

Bannerman had reached the top in 1877 with the first Test century. By 1880 he was already in decline. The Australian cricket structure of the 19th century made no provision for retired professionals.

After the 1878 tour failed to repeat his 1877 form, Bannerman struggled. By 1881 he was no longer an automatic NSW selection.

Bannerman played three Tests in total — both 1877 Melbourne Tests and the 1879 Test at Melbourne. After the 1878 tour of England (where he failed to score a century in 28 first-class innings) his batting form collapsed. He continued to play for NSW until 1888 but never again approached his 1877 form. The official explanation for his retreat from Test cricket was ill-health; less officially, contemporary accounts pointed to gambling debts and heavy drinking. From the late 1880s he made his living as a coach in Melbourne, Sydney and at Lancaster Park in New Zealand. From 1887 to 1902 he stood as umpire in 12 Tests in Australia. By his retirement he was indigent. The Australian Cricket Board paid him a small pension in his last years. He died at Surry Hills, Sydney, on 20 August 1930, aged 79. His brother Alec — 'Little Alec' — outlived him by six years and remains one of the longest-serving Australian batsmen.

“He was the first hero of Australian cricket and one of the saddest of its old-age stories.”

Charles's brother Alec played 28 Tests for Australia between 1879 and 1893. The Bannerman family produced two of the founding figures of Australian Test cricket — Charles the dasher, Alec the stonewaller. The Bannermans' joint contribution to the first quarter-century of Australian cricket was substantial.