Quiet, gentle and dignified, Turner stood just under 5 ft 9 ins (175 cm) and was sturdily built. His appearance, demeanour and action belied his nickname; 'with a sudden swing around', wrote the English captain (name removed) 'he would come tripping up to the wicket in the most cheery and at the same time graceful manner imaginable'. He stood squarer to the batsman at the moment of delivery than most classical bowlers, relying on accuracy and change of pace.
His stock ball was a medium-paced sharply turning off-break which he mixed with yorkers, leg-cutters and top-spinners; his lift and pace from the pitch were renowned. A courageous and tireless mainstay of the Australian attack at a time when the batting was weak, he was the first of the great modern medium-pacers, and one of the best bowlers of all time on helpful wickets. In 17 Test matches against England he took 101 wickets at 16, including 5 or more wickets in an innings 11 times; in all first-class matches he took 992 wickets at 14. His average of 7.68 in 1886-87 and aggregate of 106 in 1887-88 are Australian records that have seldom been approached. A free-hitting batsman, he scored a century against Surrey in 1888 that lived in the memory of Ranjitsinhji, and twice opened the innings in the 1890 Tests.
http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/turner-charles-thomas-biass-4759
