ONE of the region's greatest cricketers was honoured yesterday by the town in which he was born.
A blue plaque marking the birthplace of famous Yorkshire and England cricketer, George Gibson MacAulay, was unveiled at Town End, Thirsk.
The plaque, detailing the player's achievements, is on the side of the building next to the one in which he lived.
MacAuley, who was born in 1897 and died in 1940, played cricket for Yorkshire and England in the years between the wars.
An all-rounder, he played his first game for the county in 1920 and made eight Test appearances for his country.
During his career, he took 1,733 wickets for Yorkshire at an average cost of 17.08 runs and scored 5,759 runs.
The plaque is the latest in a series to be placed around Thirsk and Sowerby by the town council - 11 of the planned 19 are now in position.
Roy Wilkinson, the vice-president of Yorkshire Cricket Club and honorary statistician, joined the chairman of the Yorkshire board, Robin Smith, for the unveiling.
The ceremony was timed to take place at 11.30am - the time that First Class matches began when MacAuley was a player.
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