One must have heard commentators say “Nelson” on commentary whenever the score is 111. The term “Nelson” is to highlight a team score or an individual score of 111. A score of 111 is associated with bad luck in cricket. Commentators say “Nelson strikes” whenever a team loses a wicket at a score of 111.
The story of Nelson began in 1758 with the birth of Horatio Nelson who was a British Flag officer in the Royal Navy during the period of 1771 and 1805. He was also the duke of England and his brilliant leadership and bravery made British highly successful during several Napoleanic wars. Nelson was subject to several injuries throughout his career. In 1774, he lost one eye during a battle and was forced to retire. However, he made a strong comeback. In 1787, during another battle, he was subject to another injury. This time, he lost an arm. He finally died in 1805 when he was shot in the heart and as he died, people called him “one eye, one arm and one leg”, as he lost one body part of each type. However, both his legs were still intact.
Since Nelson was a brave soldier, his death left a big hole in British circles. 111 which is anonymous to “one leg, one eye, and one arm” became associated with deadly items and made its presence in cricket too. Bill Frindall, a renowned cricket historian was one of the first people to use Nelson in cricket. He called it “one eye, one arm and one etcetera” and etcetera referred to some other part he lost as his legs were intact. Bill was a scorer too and he was known to use Nelson to record a score of 111.
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The actual entry of Nelson in cricket could be dated back to 1874 when a first-class team named Nelson entered the domestic cricket structure of New Zealand. The team was bowled out for 111 in its very first innings and since then, a score of 111 is often associated with Nelson.
In fact, David Shepherd, one of the greatest cricket umpires of all time was known to hop on one leg and wave one arm whenever the score was 111. It was meant to shoo away the bad luck.
Therefore, the story of Nelson is one of the most interesting cricketing stories. The score of 111 is still considered a bit of bad luck and this is the case primarily in Britain cricketing nations.
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