Bardsley (blue)
Born in 1882, Warren Bardsley was a famous cricketer and son of Forest Lodge School's longest serving principal, William Bardsley, the younger Bardsley inheriting his father's passion for cricket. A left-handed opening batsman, ‘Curly' Bardsley played 41 Tests between 1909 and 1926 and more than 200 first-class games for NSW. A strong 1908/09 domestic season led to Bardsley's inclusion in the 1909 Australian squad to tour England for the Ashes.
After a slow start, Bardsley found his form in the Fifth Test becoming the first Test cricketer to score a century in both innings of a single Test match. The 1910/11 series against South Africa in Australia was Bardsley's strongest – 573 runs at 63.67 in nine innings.
By the time Test cricket resumed after WWI in 1920 Bardsley was in his mid-30s and had difficulty maintaining his position in the Australian side. Despite his Test woes, domestically Bardsley continued to average in the high 30s to low 40s for NSW throughout the early 1920s. Bardsley was 43 when he made his final Test tour of England. His undefeated innings of 193 at Lord's in the Second Test would be his highest Test score. After his retirement from Test and first-class cricket, Bardsley served as a national selector and continued to play club cricket for Glebe into his 50s. In 1945, aged 62, Bardsley married 45-year-old Gertrude Cope, his wife until his death in 1954.