William Evans Midwinter, nicknamed Billy, is best known for a shockingly comical incident in 1878 when he was got hijacked by WG Grace to play a county game for Gloucestershire when the former was all set to play for Australia in a First-class game against Middlesex. Billy was among the first players to represent both England and Australia, and it was a roller-coaster switch from one side to the other and then back as well. Having been born in Gloucestershire, England, he migrated to Australia and made his Test debut against his home nation. After having played three matches, he switched to England and represented his country of birth for four Tests before making the switch back to Aussie land for the remaining of his brief career. In the First-class circuit, Billy had impressive numbers but couldn’t quite replicate those in Test cricket. Post-retirement, life took a drastic fall for him as his personal and professional life crash-landed, causing severe mental pain and he spent his last days in an asylum.

Written by Hariprasad Sadanandan