Ernest Halliwell was born on 7 September 1864 in
Ealing,
Middlesex, the son of
Richard Halliwell, who was a
wicket-keeper for
Middlesex County Cricket Club. Though he played cricket as a boy in England, He rose to prominence two years later, when a
South African team toured the British Isles. Halliwell's wicket-keeping was judged by his English peers as being among the best in the world, and he was compared in equal terms with
Jack Blackham and
Gregor MacGregor, the Australian and English Test wicket-keepers of the time. He captained the side once again in late 1902, against
Australia, and South Africa once again suffered a heavy defeat. Upon his return to England with another touring party in 1901, Halliwell garnered yet more praise, with some describing him as "the best wicket-keeper in the world." and according to
Wisden, he "was seen at quite his best". After the South African tour of 1904, Halliwell was named one of the
Wisden Cricketers of the Year. He did not appear again for South Africa after that 1904 tour, considered by some to be a "veteran who had had his day". Halliwell died at Johannesburg in October 1919 aged 55, after an operation for gangrene of the leg. ==References==