William Pickering

William Pickering's first-class record is hardly outstanding but he was regarded for a time as one of the greatest cover points in the game in, as Wisden noted, "the days when fielding was considered of as much importance as batting and bowling". Nicknamed Bull, to distinguish him at Eton from his older brother, he played for Cambridge and was one of the founding members of I Zingari and Surrey. In 1852 he emigrated to Canada where he continued playing for Montreal and was instrumental in arranging the first major tour by an international team when George Parr led a side of 12 English professionals to North America in 1859. Pickering returned to England for a time, serving on the MCC committee, before moving back to Canada.
Martin Williamson