In the history of cricket, many records are fascinating to know. There was a Test cricketer, who not only played but also umpired in a test match within one month of the two matches. It is amazing but there really has been such a Test cricketer in Australia George Coulthard was on the staff of the Melbourne CC and accompanied Lord Harris’s in 1878-79. England’s side as an umpire even though he was only 22 years old. He stood in the first of his two tests as an umpire at Melbourne, in January 1879.
So, Harris was very satisfied with Coulthard’s umpiring and invited him to accompany the team and stand in as umpire for the remainder of the tour. He was a right-hand batsman and right arm medium blower, who was born on August 1, 1856, in Boroondara and played first-class cricket for Victoria. He was a very brave sportsman, when in 1879; he captured a notorious criminal and handed it over to police who had eluded detection for five years. Furthermore, he was a medium-fast, versatile, and highly skilled cricketer.
In February 1882, George Coulthard made his only Test appearance as a player for Australia, making 6 at No 11 and not bowling. This was the second Test of the 1881-82 series against England at Sydney. The next month March he stood as umpire again in the fourth and final Test match of the same series at Melbourne. Coulthard died on October 22, 1883, of consumption that is another name for tuberculosis (TB). He was only 27 years 82 days old.
George Coulthard beyond cricket and football excelled in other sports, and he was remembered in Australian history as one of the best all-around sportsmen of all time. Off the field, Coulthard ran a tobacco and sports goods shop in Carlton and won an extra reputation for surviving a shark attack near Shark Island.
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