Born in New South Wales, the short-frame Alec Bannerman was part of the first ever Test series - Australia's tour of England in 1878. In terms of batting style, he was among the first of the ultra defensive brand of batsmen to grace the game. He didn't always have the range of shots but made up for it - courtesy unsurmountable levels of patience that could grind the opposition to dust. The skills didn't always translate into numbers and it was surprising to many that he couldn't register a single Test hundred during his career. He did have a famous knock of 91 though, that took almost three days to produce and in the end, left the opposition players in tatters. They were prepared to unsettle him on the field but ended up being victims of his high-defensive attack. Bannerman was a serious persona who hated players having fun on the field. One example is when he went fuming at a teammate who was singing songs in the slip cordon. Bannerman also was a style-conscious person who focused a lot on his dressing as well. He passed away at the age of 70 in 1924.

By Hariprasad Sadanandan