George Ayling

George Ayling
Personal information
Born(1919-11-14)14 November 1919
Northfleet, Kent, England
Died9 October 1964(1964-10-09) (aged 44)
Eton College, Buckinghamshire, England
Umpiring information
Tests umpired1 (1956)
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 1 July 2013

George Ayling MBE (14 November 1919 – 9 October 1964) was an English soldier and cricket umpire in India. He stood in one Test match between India and Australia in November 1956.[1]

Born in Kent, Ayling was a regimental sergeant-major in the Grenadier Guards. He was on loan to the Government of India, stationed at the National Defence Academy in Khadakwasla, Pune, when he took up cricket umpiring.[2] He progressed from services matches to Ranji Trophy matches in the 1954–55 season, and officiated in the Third Test of India's series against Australia in November 1956.[3][4] In all, he umpired eight first-class matches in India between February 1955 and February 1957.[3] He was appointed MBE in the 1955 Birthday Honours.

Ayling intended to retire from military service and return to England to become a professional umpire.[2] Back in England, he took up the position of regimental sergeant-major at Eton College, but died there suddenly of illness, aged 44.[5]

  1. ^ "George Ayling". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  2. ^ a b Sujit Mukherjee, Autobiography of an Unknown Cricketer, Ravi Dayal, Delhi, 1996, p. 102.
  3. ^ a b "George Ayling as Umpire in First-Class Matches". CricketArchive. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  4. ^ "3rd Test, Kolkata, Nov 2 – 6 1956, Australia tour of India". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  5. ^ "George Ayling". CricketArchive. Retrieved 26 February 2021.