Michael John Ellison played one match for his native county, against Surrey at The Oval in 1852.
He was born in Worksop in 1817, but his selection for Nottinghamshire was purely an emergency. He had been in London appearing for the Gentlemen of the North v Gentlemen of the South at Lord’s, when William Selby, who had been picked to appear for Notts at The Oval, was taken ill, and Ellison was drafted into the county side. He had in fact already played for Yorkshire in 1849, since he resided in Sheffield from 1836.
Ellison was employed by the Duke of Norfolk, Ellison’s father being the Duke’s factor, to oversee his considerable land-holdings in Sheffield and its immediate surroundings and in this position he was the prime mover in the creation of the Bramall Lane Cricket Ground.
Ellison formed a Committee from the cricket clubs playing in Sheffield and raised money to launch the new ground under the umbrella of Sheffield United CC. The first game was played there in 1855.
In 1866 Ellison was elected as President of Yorkshire CCC, whose headquarters were effectively at Bramall Lane. He remained Yorkshire President until his death in 1898.
It is rather ironic that as President he keenly supported the Yorkshire policy of playing only Yorkshire-born cricketers - a policy he adopted from the Notts Committee policy of the day.
December 2020
Nottinghamshire First-Class Number: 76