Wisden
1959

Obituaries in 1958

ALLEN, MR. CHARLES, who died at Cirencester in May, was in the Cranleigh XI of 1894. He had a reputation as a forcing batsman in club cricket and appeared in two County Championship games for Gloucestershire in 1910, his highest score being 35 against Northamptonshire at Gloucester.

BARTLETT, REV. GILBERT HARRISON, who died in a Norwich nursing home on October 10, aged 76, invented the cradle universally used for fielding practice. When at Cambridge he represented Corpus Christi at rowing and lawn-tennis. He was Rector of Fulmodeston, Norfolk, and had been Rector of Cley-next-the-Sea.

BOLES, LIEUT.-COLONEL DENNIS COLERIDGE, who died on April 25, aged 72, played the highest individual innings of all time in the series of matches between Eton and Harrow. This was in 1904, when he hit 183 and headed the Eton averages. So careful was he at first that 50 occupied him two hours and forty minutes; but he attacked the bowling freely afterwards, adding 133 runs in one and three-quarter hours. Boles also played against Harrow the previous year. In later years he appeared for Devon. After long service in the Army, he was Member of Parliament for the Wells Division of Somerset from 1939 to 1951.

BOWDEN, JOHN, who died at Glossop on March 1, aged 73, played for Derbyshire between 1909 and 1930, obtaining 7,615 runs, including four centuries, average 20.74, and holding 73 catches. He shared with H. Storer in a record Derbyshire opening stand of 322 v. Essex at Derby in 1929, beating the previous best in which he and W. W. Hill-Wood hit 206 from the Somerset bowling at Bath six years earlier. He also appeared for Glossop and for twenty years was a leading if careful batsman in the Central Lancashire League.

BRADBEER, MR. ALFRED NORRIS, who was killed in a motor-car accident on January 25, aged 29, played as a hard-hitting batsman for Hertfordshire from 1952 to 1957. His best season was that of 1955, when he scored 267 runs, average 29.66. Standing 6 ft. 3 in., he achieved success as a fast-medium bowler in club cricket and once, for North Mymms against the county club, dismissed eight batsmen for one run.

BRINDLEY, MR. W. T., who died at Weybridge in October, aged 61, formerly played for Buckinghamshire. He was second in both batting and bowling figures in 1925, scoring 320 runs, average 35.55, and taking 32 wickets, average 10.31. He joined the Ceylon Police Force, rising to be Deputy Inspector-General. He played for Ceylon against M.C.C. and Australian touring teams and led the Police side to several Government Services Cricket Championships.

BYASS, MR. ROBERT WILLIAM, who died at his home in London on August 22, aged 97, had been a member of M.C.C. since 1881. An enterprising batsman and useful medium-pace bowler, he was in the Eton XI in 1878 and 1879, but failed to gain a Blue at Oxford. He played in some matches for Free Foresters. He became head of the wine-shipping firm of Gonzalez, Byass and Co., who in 1954 dedicated a cask of sherry, believed to be the oldest in the world, to Sir Winston Churchill to mark his 80th birthday.

CLAY, MR. IVOR, who died in Melbourne after a long illness on August 12, aged 43, played as a right-arm fast-medium bowler in five matches for Tasmania between 1948 and 1951.

CONGDON, LIEUT.-COLONEL CHARLES HECTOR, R.M., who died in January, aged 67, played as a batsman for the Royal Navy between 1921 and 1933. At Lord's in 1929, he hit 128 out of 204 against the Army.

COOPER, MR. FREDERICK JOSEPH, who died at York on June 27, aged 70, played in a few matches for Essex from 1921 to 1923. He repesented Shropshire at cricket and golf and played Association football for Bradford.

COWAN, CAPTAIN CHARLES FREDERICK ROY, who died on March 22, aged 74, was honorary treasurer of Warwickshire C.C.C. from 1942 until two months before his death. When serving with the Royal Navy he made occasional appearances for the county between 1909 and 1921, scoring 846 runs, average 16.92. His highest innings was 78 against Hampshire at Portsmouth in 1920. He took part in five matches in 1911 when Warwickshire won the County Championship for the first time. In the early 1930's he captained the second eleven.

DENCH, CHARLES EDWARD, who died at Nottingham on June 30, aged 84, played as an all-rounder for Nottinghamshire from 1897 to 1910. In that time he scored 2,660 runs, average 21.80, and with medium-paced bowling took 77 wickets, average 28.46. A steady batsman he hit 150 for Nottinghamshire Colts against Yorkshire Colts in 1897 and in the same season took nine M.C.C. wickets for 50 runs at Lord's. His highest innings in first-class cricket was 88 against Yorkshire at Bradford in 1899, in which year he also performed the hat-trick against Gloucestershire at Bristol. In 1901 he was a member of the Nottinghamshire side dismissed by the Yorkshire bowlers, Rhodes (six for four runs) and Haigh (four for eight) on a sticky pitch at Trent Bridge for 13, at that time the lowest total in county cricket history. Dench was one of four batsmen who failed to score. For a time after retiring from county cricket, he was coach to Dublin University and also stood as a first-class umpire, officiating in a Test match.

DARTMOUTH, THE SEVENTH EARL OF (The Rt. Hon. Sir William Legge), who died at his seat, Patshull House, Wolverhampton, on February 28, aged 77, was President of M.C.C. in 1932-33. During this time the trouble arose in Australia over the body-line bowling exploited by D. R. Jardine's M.C.C. side. At the time of his death he was President of West Bromwich Albion F.C. From 1928 to 1936 he held the office of Lord Great Chamberlain.

DAVIES, MR. HARRY DONALD, who was killed in the Munich air crash on February 6, aged 65, when returning from a football match in Belgrade with the Manchester United team, played in eleven games for Lancashire in 1924 and 1925. His best score was 46 against Kent in the first match. After the war he became a member of the Lancashire County Committee and also a Vice-President. He played football for Bolton Wanderers and gained an Amateur International cap for England. For nearly thirty years he wrote for the Manchester Guardian under the nom de plume of Old International.

DOUGLAS, MR. JAMES, who died at Cheltenham on February 8, aged 88, played for Cambridge in the University matches of 1892 and the two following years. As a capital right-handed batsman and left-arm slow bowler, he was in the Dulwich XI for five years from 1885. In 1889, when captain, he hit 166 against Brighton College, finishing the season with a batting average of 58.66. He became a master at Dulwich College and later had his own school at Godalming, Surrey. From 1893 till 1913 he assisted Middlesex during the school summer holidays. As opening batsman he proved of immense value to the county, first as partner to A. E. Stoddart and later to P. F. Warner. In 1896 he and Stoddart shared in three three-figure opening stands in a fortnight--178 v. Yorkshire at Bradford, 158 v. Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge, and 166 v. Kent at Lord's. His highest innings for Middlesex was 204 against Gloucestershire at Bristol in 1903. Four years later at Taunton, when scoring 180 from the Somerset bowling, he helped in three big partnerships--110 in fifty minutes with Warner for the first wicket, 103 in fifty-five minutes with H. A. Milton for the second, and 155 in sixty-five minutes with F. A. Tarrant for the third. He was a member of the Gentlemen's team who beat the Players at Lord's by an innings and 39 runs in 1894, when F. S. Jackson and S. M. J. Woods, bowling unchanged in both innings, gained match-figures of twelve for 77 and six for 124 respectively. In all first-class cricket, Douglas scored 9,099 runs, average 29.67.

EARDLEY-SIMPSON, MAJOR LLEWELLYN EARDLEY, who died suddenly on March 4, aged 78, had been honorary secretary and honorary treasurer to Derbyshire C.C.C., with which he was connected for close upon fifty years.

ELLWOOD, MR. RICHARD SIDNEY, who died on November 3, aged 44, was an all-rounder of Australian birth who captained Cumberland from 1955 till ill-health forced him to give up last season. For Kendal against Ulverston in 1951 he took seven wickets without conceding a run.

EMMETT, MR. HERBERT, who died in February, aged 76, played for East Lancashire C.C. for nearly twenty years. During his thirteen years' captaincy, East Lancashire in 1919 won the Lancashire League Championship for the first time.

FOSTER, MR. FRANK ROWBOTHAM, who died at Northampton on May 3, aged 69, was one of the most prominent all-rounders of his day--a fine left-arm fast-medium bowler and a forcing right-hand batsman. His career in first-class cricket was brilliant but all too brief, for it began in 1908 and terminated with the outbreak of war in 1914.

Nothing was known of him outside local cricket until 1908, when he played in five matches for Warwickshire, but his natural aptitude for the game was such that he at once jumped into front rank and two years later figured in Gentlemen v. Players matches at Lord's, The Oval and Scarborough. In all three games he showed such ability that several famous cricketers unhesitatingly described him as obviously a man who would play for England. Indeed, J. T. Tyldesley, after batting against him the previous year, expressed the view that a new left-arm bowler of exceptional ability had been discovered. In 1910, Foster made nearly 600 runs and took 91 wickets for his county, but up to that time he was regarded as little more than a bowler.

The summer of 1911, however, found him by general consent the best all-rounder of the year. Soon after being elected captain of Warwickshire, he announced his impending retirement, but he was induced to reconsider his decision. Such wonderful cricket did he play, making 1,383 runs, average 44, and taking 116 wickets for just over 19 runs apiece, that his individual efforts constituted the chief factor in gaining the County Championship for Warwickshire for the first time in their history. The magnitude of this achievement may be understood when it is mentioned that 1911 was the only year since 1872 that the title had not been carried off by one of the Big Six-- Yorkshire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Surrey, Kent and Middlesex. Heading the batting and bowling figures and setting a fine example in the field, Foster, as a match-winner, stood out as the best young captain seen since W. G. Grace in the early days of Gloucestershire. During that memorable season, Foster played a three-figure innings in each match with Yorkshire and one of 200 against Surrey at Edgbaston.

The following winter he formed one of the team to Australia taken out by P. F. Warner but, owing to the captain's illness, led on the field by J. W. H. T. Douglas. England lost the First Test Match, but won the other four largely owing to the splendid bowling of Sidney Barnes and Foster. In the series, Foster obtained 32 wickets for less than 22 runs each.

Returning home, Foster appeared for England in the ill-starred Triangular Tournament, but, except in the first engagement with South Africa, when he took eight wickets for 60 runs, accomplished little worthy of his reputation, all the bowling honours going to Barnes. During that very wet summer Foster scarcely maintained his form--possibly three strenuous seasons in the course of sixteen months were too much for a man of 23. Early in 1913, when he seemed to have lost much of his fire and spin, he had to take a rest and although he obtained 91 wickets, these cost 24 runs each. Yet he was quite himself again in 1914, making 1,396 runs, average nearly 35, with a highest innings of 305 not out--scored in four hours twenty minutes--against Worcestershire at Dudley, and dismissing 117 batsmen, average just over 18. Then came the First World War, during which he met with a motor-cycle accident that left him lame and destroyed any possibility of him ever again being an effective bowler.

Distinctive and individual in bowling method, Foster possessed an easy, natural action, commanded considerable swerve and imparted so much spin to the ball that he generally gathered pace from the pitch. He was one of the originators of leg-theory and often employed only three men on the off-side. As a batsman he was brilliant as well as confident and if he did not play with quite a straight bat and took many risks, he was the personification of youthful energy and so a most attractive figure on the field. In the course of his first-class career, he took 721 wickets for a little over 20 runs each and scored 6,510 runs, average 26.

FOSTER, MAJOR WILFRED LIONEL, who died on March 22, aged 83, was the second of seven brothers who all played for Worcestershire. After being in the Malvern XI for three years from 1890, he represented the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, in 1893 and 1894, heading the batting averages in both seasons. Only in 1899 was he able regularly to assist Worcestershire, and then he finished at the top of the batting figures with an average of 42.57. His aggregate of 894 runs included 140 and 172 not out against Hampshire at Worcester. In the same match his younger brother, R. E., hit 134 and 101 not out. Major Foster was a member of the Corinthian F.C. from 1892 to 1898. He and H. K. Foster won the Public Schools Rackets Cup in 1892 and the Amateur Rackets Doubles Championship in 1898, and in 1907 he and B. S. Foster carried off the latter title. Major Foster served in the Boer War and in the First World War won the D.S.O.

GOATLY, EDWARD GARNET, who died at his home at Brighton on February 12, aged 75, played for Surrey from 1901 to 1914. A very sound if unattractive batsman, he was too slow in the field to command a regular place in the county side. Altogether he obtained 4,400 runs, average 25.08, his best season being that of 1913, when he scored 884 runs, average 23.26. His highest innings was 147 not out against Derbyshire at The Oval in 1905, when he batted brilliantly for two hours fifty minutes. Between the First and Second World Wars, he was dressing-room attendant at The Oval.

GREIG, CANON JOHN GLENNIE, who died at Milford-on-Sea on May 24, aged 86, served Hampshire as player, secretary and President. He first appeared for them in 1901 when a captain home on Army leave from India. In that season he scored 1,125 runs, including five centuries, average 41.66. Opening the innings at Worcester four years later, he took 115 and 130 from the Worcestershire bowling and in the return match at Bournemouth hit 187 before retiring hurt. Altogether he scored 4,375 runs for the county, average 34.17. His three-figure innings numbered ten, the highest being 249 not out against Lancashire at Liverpool in 1901.

Though of slight physique, he possessed strong wrists which enabled him to employ a variety of attractive strokes, with the cut predominant. He played his last game in 1921, when he became secretary, a position he held till 1930. He was President in 1945 and 1946. In 1935 he was ordained a Catholic priest in Rome and twelve years later was made an honorary Canon of the Diocese of Portsmouth.

GUNN, GEORGE, who died in his sleep at Tylers Green, Sussex, on June 28, aged 79, was probably the greatest batsman who played for Nottinghamshire. Had he possessed a different temperament he would doubtless have improved upon his splendid records, for his skill and judgement were such that he made batting successfully against first-class bowlers appear the easiest thing imaginable. Not only did he show complete mastery in the art of back-play, but he frequently got right in front of his wicket and walked down the pitch to meet the ball no matter what type of bowler he was facing. Rarely when he left his ground in this way did his skill betray him and yet, though obviously so completely at home that he could have done almost anything with the ball, he would make a stroke which sent it tamely to the bowler, to mid-off or to mid-on. In match after match this practice of merely killing the ball was indulged in to such an extent as to become almost an obsession. It appeared to furnish Gunn with complete satisfaction, but it occasioned considerable annoyance to spectators who knew that, if he wished, he could score both without undue effort and as rapidly as anybody.

A younger brother of John Gunn and a nephew of William Gunn, George Gunn first appeared for Nottinghamshire in 1902. He met with no special success to begin with, but displayed such good style and powers of defence that there could be little doubt about his class. He steadily improved, but a haemorrhage of the lungs late in July ended his cricket for the summer. Happily a winter in New Zealand did him so much good that in 1907 he took the field again and, finishing at the top of the averages, bore a big part in winning the Championship for Nottinghamshire. Although his health was thus obviously re-established, his friends decided that he should spend the next winter in Australia. There went a team sent by M.C.C. and the illness of A. O. Jones, the captain, necessitated a call upon Gunn's services. The young professional made full use of his chance, making 119 and 74 in the first of the five Test matches, 122 not out in the fifth and for the whole tour heading the batting figures with an average of 5l.

Visiting Australia again in 1911-12 under J. W. H. T. Douglas, Gunn again showed to marked advantage, batting so consistently that he averaged 42 in the Test matches. While he enjoyed a well-earned reputation for Test cricket in Australia, he had a tragic experience in England, where only once, at Lord's in 1909, was he called upon to play for his country. Upon his form at the time, his selection was a mistake; he himself thought he should not have been chosen and, playing without his usual confidence, he was dismissed for 1 and 0.

Apart from that failure upon what might have been a big occasion in his life, Gunn enjoyed a wonderfully successful career. For Nottinghamshire before the First World War he made over 13,000 runs in the course of twelve full seasons, his best summer being that of 1913 when he hit 1,697, average nearly 50. On cricket being resumed, he made five separate centuries in 1919, gaining an average of 65. For twelve consecutive seasons he registered over 1,000 runs, his aggregate amounting to nearly 1,800 in 1927 and again in 1928. Among his triumphs was a first-wicket stand of 252 with W. W. Whysall against Kent at Trent Bridge in 1924. He and Whysall altogether associated in 40 three-figure opening partnerships. Three times Gunn put together two hundreds in a match at Nottingham: 132 and 109 not out v. Yorkshire in 1913; 169 and 185 not out v. Surrey in 1919; and 100 and 110 v. Warwickshire in 1927 when aged 48. Characteristic of the man was the game with Yorkshire. He batted six hours for the 132, but, with no occasion for anxiety, he followed with 109 out of 129 in less than ninety minutes. He celebrated his 50th birthday by hitting 164 not out against Worcestershire at Worcester and in the West Indies next winter he and A. Sandham obtained 322 for the first wicket against Jamaica at Kingston.

In the course of his career, Gunn played 62 three-figure innings and registered 35,190 runs, average 35.90. Of these runs 1,577 came in Australia, where he averaged 52. He was an excellent field at slip, where he brought off most of his 438 catches. He shared in one rare, if not unique, performance in 1931 against Warwickshire at Edgbaston when he and his son, the late G. V. Gunn, each scored a century in the same innings.

An appreciation of Gunn by Neville Cardus will be found earlier in this Almanack.

HAMPDEN, BRIGADIER-GENERAL THE THIRD VISCOUNT (Sir Thomas Walter Brand), who died in a nursing home at Winchester on September 4, aged 89, was President of M.C.C. in 1926. In the Eton XI from 1884 to 1887, he helped substantially in victories over Harrow in the last two years, taking seven wickets for 59 runs in 1886 and seven for 80 in the following season when he was captain. Though taking part in a Freshmen's match at Cambridge, he did not gain a Blue. He appeared for Hertfordshire when 17 and in 1920 became the county President. Two of his sons also played for Eton.

HARTIGAN, MR. ROGER JOSEPH, who died in Brisbane on June 7, aged 78, played for Australia in two Test matches against A. O. Jones's England team in 1907. Born at Sydney, he took part in one game for New South Wales before moving to Brisbane, where he earned a big reputation as a batsman for Queensland. After scoring 59 for his State and 55 not out for an Australia XI against the M.C.C. side, he was chosen for the third Test at Adelaide in 1907 and enjoyed the distinction of hitting a century in the second innings. He (116) and Clem Hill (160) added 243 for the eighth wicket, an Australian record which still stands. He toured England with M. A. Noble's Australians in 1908, but never found his true form, his one century being against Western Union at Glasgow, and he averaged no more than 18.84 for 33 innings. When his playing career ended, he served on the Australian Board of Control for 35 years and was chairman of the Brisbane Cricket Ground Trust. He represented New South Wales at baseball and Queensland at lacrosse.

HENSON, LIEUT.-COLONEL HUGH ARNOLD, who died following a heart attack at Bournemouth on November 17, aged 74, was secretary of Gloucestershire from 1935 to 1956 and from 1942 till the end of the war acted as deputy assistant secretary of M.C.C. Educated at Malvern, he was for some years an actor, appearing in several popular musical comedies in London. He served in the First World War, being twice mentioned in dispatches, and afterwards took a regular commission in the R.A.S.C. and then with the Indian Army. He rejoined his old regiment at the outbreak of the Second World War till he retired on grounds of health.

HIRSCH, MR. JOHN GAUNTLETT, who died in Cape Town in March, aged 75, made a few appearances for London County under Dr. W. G. Grace early in the century. Educated at Shrewsbury, Baron Hirsch played Association football there, but took up Rugby with marked success when going up to Cambridge. Returning to South Africa, he played for Eastern Province and toured the British Isles as centre three-quarter with Paul Roos's Springbok side of 1906.

IREMONGER, ALBERT, who died on March 9, played for Nottinghamshire between 1899 and 1914, his best score being 60 not out against Sussex at Trent Bridge in 1909. He was a younger brother of the more celebrated Nottinghamshire batsman, James Iremonger. Albert Iremonger's chief claim to fame was as an Association footballer. He stood nearly 6 ft. 6 in. and, as goalkeeper for Notts County, with whom he was associated for twenty-four years, and later for Lincoln City, could throw the ball as far as most men could kick it.

JARDINE, MR. DOUGLAS ROBERT, who died in Switzerland on June 18, aged 57, was one of England's best captains and a leading amateur batsman of his time. He caught tick fever while visiting Southern Rhodesia in 1957 and thenceforward had been in poor health.

Son of M. R. Jardine, himself an Oxford Blue, Douglas Jardine was born at Bombay and educated at Winchester, where he was in the XI for three years, being captain in the last, 1919, when he headed the batting figures with 997 runs, average 66.46. Going up to New College, Oxford, he got his Blue as a Freshman and played against Cambridge in 1920, 1921 and 1923 without achieving anything out of the ordinary. He missed the 1922 University match because of a damaged knee. In 1923 he began to play for Surrey and in 1932 took over the captaincy from P. G. H. Fender.

He went to Australia in 1928-29 with the M.C.C. team under A. P. F. Chapman, taking part in all five Test matches. To England's success by 12 runs in the fourth Test he made a big contribution when scoring 98 and sharing with W. R. Hammond in a third-wicket partnership of 262. He also enjoyed the distinction of hitting three centuries in successive innings, against Western Australia, Victoria and New South Wales.

Four years later he captained the M.C.C. side in Australia in what was probably the most controversial tour in history. England won four of the five Tests, but it was the methods they employed rather than the results which caused so much discussion and acrimony. H. Larwood and W. Voce, the Nottinghamshire fast bowlers, exploited leg-theory, or what came to be known as body-line bowling to a packed leg-side field. The Australians and others considered this means of attack placed batsmen at a grave disadvantage because they had either to risk being struck on the head or body by persistently short-pitched balls or, if they attempted to play them, were virtually certain to be caught by the close-set field.

Strongly-worded cables passed between the Australian Board of Control, who asserted that body-line bowling has assumed such proportions as to menace the best interests of the game, making protection of the body the main consideration, and the M.C.C. The Australians threatened to call off the projected tour of England in 1934. M.C.C. at length agreed that a form of bowling which is obviously a direct attack by the bowler upon the batsman would be an offence against the spirit of the game. Jardine always defended his tactics and in a book he wrote about the tour described allegations that the England bowlers directed their attack with the intention of causing physical harm as stupid and patently untruthful.

Finally in 1934 M.C.C. issued a ruling: That the type of bowling regarded as a direct attack by the bowler upon the batsman, and therefore unfair, consists in persistent and systematic bowling of fast and short-pitched balls at the batsman standing clear of his wicket. That was the end of body-line bowling.

Meanwhile in 1933, however, fast leg-theory had been employed by both England and the West Indies in the second Test match at Old Trafford. Jardine, who always held that this type of attack could be successfully countered by a resolute batsman, set out to prove the accuracy of his contention. For nearly five hours he faced the hostile pace of L. N. Constantine and E. A. Martindale and he hit 127, his first and only century in a Test match. In the process, he took much physical punishment, but The Iron Duke, as he was sometimes called, had proved his point to his own satisfaction.

Jardine captained the M.C.C. team in India the following winter, but thereafter his appearances on the field became fewer till in 1937 he dropped out of first-class cricket altogether. At the same time he maintained his interest in the game, being President of the Oxford University C.C. from 1955 to1957 and making occasional contributions to the Press. In 1953 he became the first President of the Association of Cricket Umpires.

Six feet tall, he possessed a very strong defence and was specially skilful in on-side strokes. In 22 Test match appearances he hit 1,296 runs, average 48, and held 26 catches. During his career his runs numbered 14,821, average 46.90, the highest of his 35 centuries being 214 not out against Tasmania in 1928-29. Extremely proud of his Oxford associations, he always wore a Harlequin cap.

Tributes included:--

Sir Pelham Warner: In my humble opinion, Jardine was a very fine captain, both on and off the field, and in the committee-room he was also extremely good. If ever there was a cricket match between England and the rest of the world and the fate of England depended upon its result, I would pick Jardine as England captain every time.

Sir Jack Hobbs: I played with him a lot in the Surrey side and I feel that he will be chiefly remembered as a splendid skipper. As a captain, I would rank him second only to P. G. H. Fender. He was a great batsman--how great I do not think we quite appreciated at the time. I remember that he was the first man to refer to me as `The Master'.

W. E. Bowes: To me and every member of the 1932-33 M. C. C. side in Australia, Douglas Jardine was the greatest captain England ever had. A great fighter, a grand friend and an unforgiving enemy.

R. Aird: Jardine was a great player and captain and a man of character who, like all men of character, was not liked by everybody. He did what he set out to do, as when his side won the `Ashes' in Australia in 1932-33, even if the method he adopted did not meet with general approval. His sound, solid batting inspired confidence in his colleagues.

JEANES, MR. WILLIAM H., who died at Adelaide on September 1, aged 75, was manager of the Australian team who visited England in 1938. Born at Nottingham, he went to South Australia at the age of three and was at one time Town Clerk of Glenelg, where South Australia was founded. He became secretary of the South Australia Cricket Association in 1926 and a year later secretary of the Australian Board of Control. He was a keen all-round sportsman and popular wherever he went.

LANE, MR. J. K., who died on August 4, aged 71, was President of Nottinghamshire. He served on the County Committee for thirty years, being chairman from 1953 to 1957. For a time he captained the Second XI and played on a number of occasions for M.C.C. A solicitor, he was educated at Rossall.

LE COUTEUR, MR. PHILIP RIDGEWAY, who died in Australia on June 30, aged 73, did fine work as an all-rounder for Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes scholar, in the early part of the century. From Melbourne University he went to Oxford in 1908 and appeared in the eleven in the three following seasons. He fared moderately in his first match against Cambridge, but in 1910 enjoyed pronounced success. He played an innings of 160 and, in taking six wickets for 20 and five for 46, bore a leading part in the dismissal of the Light Blues for 76 and 113 and their defeat in an innings with 126 runs to spare. Next season he took eight wickets for 99 in the second innings and helped Oxford to victory by 74 runs. In 1910 and 1911 he made six appearances for Gentlemen against Players. A batsman who excelled in back-play and on-side strokes, he also bowled leg-breaks skilfully with deceptive variation of pace. After leaving Oxford, he studied psychology for two years at the University of Bonn, returning in 1913 to Australia, where he became lecturer in philosophy at the University of Western Australia. He made two or three appearances for Victoria without achieving distinction.

LEDBROOKE, MR. ARCHIBALD WILLIAM, who was killed in the Munich air crash on February 6, aged 53, when returning with the Manchester United team from a match at Belgrade, for many years reported cricket and football for the Manchester Evening News, Manchester Daily Dispatch and the Daily Mirror. An immensely popular journalist, he contributed an article to the 1927 Wisden on the Old Trafford Centenary and also was responsible for the official history of Lancashire County Cricket published in 1954. He was the only man to hold office as both chairman of the Cricket Writers' Club and the Football Writers' Association.

LONGMAN, LIEUT.-COLONEL HENRY KERR, who died on October 7, aged 77, was the son of the late G. H. Longman. Like his father, H. K. Longman played for Eton and Cambridge. In the Eton XI of 1899 and the two following years, he enjoyed considerable success against Harrow and Winchester as a batsman specially skilled in strokes in front of the wicket. In 1899 he shared in an opening partnership of 167 against Harrow at Lord's with F. O. Grenfell, who won the Victoria Cross and was killed in the First World War. Longman gained his Blue as a Freshman at Cambridge, scoring 27 and 34 in the University match of 1901 and hitting 150 from the Yorkshire bowling at Fenner's. He then took a Commission in the Army and afterwards played occasionally for Surrey and Middlesex. During the 1914-18 war he won the D.S.O. and M.C. and rose to the rank of Major in the Gordon Highlanders.

MACARTNEY, MR. CHARLES GEORGE, who died in Sydney on September 9, aged 72, was one of the most brilliant and attractive right-handed batsmen in the history of Australian cricket. Daring and confident, he possessed a quickness of eye, hand and foot, a perfection of timing which made him a menace to the best of bowlers. Sydney H. Pardon, then Editor of Wisden, wrote of him in 1921 as a law to himself--an individual genius, but not in any way to be copied. He constantly did things that would be quite wrong for an ordinary batsman, but by success justified all his audacities. Except Victor Trumper at his best, no Australian batsman has ever demoralised our bowlers to the same extent.

Of medium height and stocky build, The Governor-General, as MacArtney came to be known, was specially good in cutting and hitting to leg, though there was no stroke, orthodox or unorthodox, of which he did not show himself master. Intolerant of batsmen who did not treat bowling upon its merits, he was quoted as giving, not long before his death, as the reason why he had ceased to be a regular cricket spectator: I can't bear watching luscious half-volleys being nudged gently back to bowlers. Yet in regard to his own achievements this man with the Napoleonic features could not have been more modest; he had no regard at all for records or averages, nor was he ever known to complain about an umpire's decision.

How punishing a batsman he could be was never more fully demonstrated than in 1921 when, at Trent Bridge, he took such full advantage of a missed chance when nine that he reached 345 from the Nottinghamshire bowling in less than four hours with four 6's and forty-seven 4's among his figures. This still stands as the highest innings put together by an Australian in England and, furthermore, no other batsman in first-class cricket has scored as many runs in a single day. It was also the third of four centuries in following innings, the others being 105 v. Hampshire at Southampton, 193 v. Northamptonshire at Northampton and 115 v. England at Leeds, where he performed the rare feat of getting to three figures before lunch.

From the time that he made his first appearance for Australia in 1907 till he ended his Test career in 1926, MacArtney represented his country 35 times, scoring 2,132 runs, including seven centuries, average 41.80. His highest Test innings was 170 against England at Sydney in 1920-21. He headed the Australia averages with 86.66 that season and also figured at the top in England in 1926 when, with the aid of innings of 151, 133 not out and 109, his average was 94.60. He took part in twelve Test partnerships of 100 or more, the biggest being 235 with W. M. Woodfull for the second wicket against England at Leeds in 1926.

For all the batting prowess he revealed later, it was as a slow left-arm bowler that MacArtney did his best work when first visiting England in 1909. During the tour he took 71 wickets at a cost of 17.46 runs each, and he played a big part in the overthrow of England at Leeds by dismissing seven batsmen for 58 runs in the first innings and four for 27 in the second. In an unofficial Australian tour of America in 1913, his ability as an all-rounder reached such heights that he hit 2,390 runs and took 180 wickets, finishing at the top of both sets of averages. As a fieldsman, particularly at mid-off, he had few equals.

He accomplished much fine work for New South Wales, for whom he first played in 1905, scoring 2,443 runs, average 42.12, with 201 against Victoria in 1913-14 his highest innings. Twice he got two separate centuries in a match--119 and 126 for his State against the South Africans in 1910-11 and 142 and 121 for the Australians against Sussex at Hove in 1912. In all cricket his runs numbered 15,003, average 45.87, and he hit 48 hundreds.

Of him, Sir Jack Hobbs said: I saw him begin his Test career in Australia and we thought him a very unorthodox player, but we soon realised he was brilliant. He hit particularly hard through the covers and frequently cut even fast bowlers off his stumps. He certainly had a wonderful eye. He was a charming fellow and a highly confident cricketer.

An appreciation of MacArtney by Neville Cardus will be found earlier in the Almanack.

MASON, MR. JOHN RICHARD, who died on October 15, aged 84, was one of the finest amateur all-rounders to play for Kent since the days of Alfred Mynn. Yet he never appeared for England against Australia in a home Test match. As one of A. E. Stoddart's second team who toured Australia, he took part in all five Test matches in 1897-98, but in England his nearest approach to a cap came in 1902 when he was one of fourteen from whom the final selection for the Birmingham Test was made. Still, he ranked as a very great player. Well over six feet, Mason made full use of his height and played with so straight a bat that he was always worth watching.

Essentially a forward player, possessing a drive scarcely surpassed for cleanness and power and a most effective cut, he could also bat to good purpose on slow turf, as many leading bowlers of his time found to their cost. In addition he was a right-arm fast-medium bowler of considerable skill and few excelled him as a slip-fielder.

Educated at Winchester, Mason showed even in his schooldays that he would take high rank in the cricket world. Against Eton in 1892 he scored 147 and 71, dismissed eight batsmen and brought off three catches, and in the corresponding fixture the following season he hit 43 and 36 and again took eight wickets. His record for the school in 1892 was 777 runs, average 48, and 48 wickets for 18 runs each; in 1893 his aggregate was 719, average 55, and he obtained 45 wickets for under 17 runs apiece.

In the same summer that he left Winchester, he was tried for Kent and figured in the game in 1893 when the county defeated the Australians by 36 runs. He failed to realise expectations in 1894, but the next summer jumped to the front and for several seasons afterwards rendered splendid all-round service. He succeeded Frank Marchant as Kent captain in 1898 and not only held that office with distinction for five years, but would doubtless have continued to lead the side for far longer had not the calls of his profession as a solicitor compelled his resignation. So heavy were the claims upon his time that he played no first-class cricket after 1906.

If comparatively brief, his career was brilliant. For Kent in 1900 he scored 1,662 runs, average 53, and took 78 wickets, average 19; the following year he made 1,467 runs, average 39, and secured 92 wickets, average 20. Altogether he hit 13,363 runs for the county, average 33, and obtained 675 wickets at a cost of 21 runs each. His highest innings were 183 v. Somerset at Blackheath and 181 not out v. Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge, where he and Alec Hearne (162 not out) shared in a third-wicket partnership of 321. Against Surrey at The Oval in 1900, he scored 98 and 147, and four years later hit three successive centuries--138 v. Yorkshire, 126 v. Somerset and 123 v. Essex. He appeared for Gentlemen v. Players in 1894 and 1895 and from 1897 to 1902. In the Lord's match of 1899 he and W. G. Grace put on 130. The Doctor, then 51 years old, hit 78 and appeared set for his hundred when, called for a short run, he lost his wicket, Mason forgetting for the moment his partner's age and weight!

MEAD, CHARLES PHILIP, who died in hospital at Bournemouth on March 26 following an operation for internal haemorrhage, aged 71, was for thirty years a mainstay of the Hampshire batting. A left-hander of the highest class, he scored in that time 55,060 runs--a number exceeded only by Sir Jack Hobbs, F. E. Woolley and E. Hendren--at an average of 47.87. He hit a century against every other county, totalling 153 in all, with 280 not out against Nottinghamshire at Southampton in 1921 the biggest.

Though he often appeared to the uninitiated to be a slow run-getter, he could, by clever placing of the ball, take singles which many another batsman could not have obtained. His defence was remarkably sound, he was excellent in hitting to leg and in driving on either side of the wicket, and his quick-footedness made him specially capable of dealing with slow spin bowling. He also bowled slow spinners which brought him 277 wickets, average 34.46, and by nimble slip-fielding surprising in a man of his large build he held 647 catches.

One of his mannerisms when preparing to receive the bowling was to place his bat in the block-hole, shuffle his feet towards the bat and then touch the peak of his cap. Born at Battersea, he first joined the Surrey staff, but deeming his opportunities of advancement slight, decided to throw in his lot with Hampshire. While completing two years of qualification by residence, he appeared for his new county against the 1905 Australians and afforded evidence of his capabilities by making 41 not out against A. Cotter at his fastest. He played his first County Championship match the following year and his value to the county is shown by the fact that in no fewer than 27 seasons he scored over 1,000 runs. He exceeded 3,000 twice and 2,000 nine times.

On three occasions Mead hit a century in each innings of a match: 109 and 100 not out v. Leicestershire at Leicester, 1911; 102 and 113 not out v. Leicestershire at Southampton, 1913, and 113 and 224 v. Sussex at Horsham, 1921, when he headed the English averages with an aggregate of 3,179 runs at 69.10 per innings. That last season, a disastrous one for England, Mead played in the last two Tests against Australia, putting together innings of 47 and 182 not out and helping in two drawn games after three defeats. These performances suggested that he might with advantage have been called upon earlier to break the stranglehold on batsmen gained by that deadly pair of fast bowlers, E. A. McDonald and J. M. Gregory. That innings of 182 stood as the highest against Australia in England for seventeen years. He took part in 17 Test matches in all, involving visits to Australia in 1911 and 1928 and South Africa in 1913 and 1922. While he achieved nothing out of the ordinary in Australia, he proved a distinct success in South Africa and in the third Test at Durban in 1922-23 he showed his most dogged tactics when staying eight hours twenty minutes for 181.

Other of Mead's achievements were the scoring of three hundreds in following innings in 1921, 1922, 1923 and 1933, and record stands for Hampshire of 344 for the third wicket with G. Brown against Yorkshire at Portsmouth, 1927, 259 for the fourth wicket with the Hon. L. H. Tennyson v. Leicestershire at Portsmouth, 1921, and 270 for the seventh wicket with J. P. Parker v. Kent at Canterbury, 1926.

After leaving Hampshire, he turned out for Suffolk in the Minor Counties' Championship competition in 1938 and 1939, meeting with considerable success. For the last ten years of his life he was totally blind, but his interest in cricket endured and he often attended Hampshire matches.

NUNES, MR. ROBERT KARL, who died in St. Mary's Hospital, London, on July 22, aged 64, captained West Indies in England in 1929, the year in which they were accorded Test match status. In the three games against England he scored 87 runs and in all first-class matches during the tour he hit 798 runs, average 23.47, with 127 not out from the Glamorgan bowling at Swansea his highest innings. Educated at Dulwich College, he was a member of the Jamaican Board of Control from its inception in 1926 and President of the West Indies Board of Control from 1945 to 1952. In 1951 he was made a C.B.E. for public services, chiefly as chairman of the Agricultural Societies Loan Board.

PAGE, SIR ARTHUR, Q.C., who died at his home at Hildenborough, Kent, on September 1, aged 82, played for Harrow in 1894 and 1895, but did not gain a Blue at Oxford. He became Chief Justice of Burma.

POOLE, MR. A. W. H., whose connection with Bedfordshire extended over 61 years, died on April 2, aged 81. He had been player, captain, vice-president and latterly honorary scorer.

RABJOHNS, MR. DAVID, who died in February, aged 77, was the oldest member of the Worcestershire County Committee, upon which he served since 1919. He undertook the duties of honorary scorer for the county at the age of 70 and continued in that capacity for five years. In his younger days he played in League cricket for West Bromwich Dartmouth and was one of the founders of the Worcester City club, of which he became President.

RANSFORD, MR. VERNON SEYMOUR, who died at Melbourne on March 19, the day before his 73rd birthday, was an attractive left-handed batsman and fine deep fieldsman for Australia and Victoria. He first appeared for his State in 1903-4 and between then and 1925-6 he scored 4,350 runs for them, including twelve centuries, average 37.24. Against New South Wales at Sydney in 1908-9 he hit a century in each innings, 182 and 110, and almost made three in successive innings against the same opponents, for he put together 94 in the first meeting at Melbourne.

He took part in 20 Test matches for Australia, 15 of them in his own country and five when touring England with M. A. Noble's team, scoring 1,211 runs. In England he overcame strange conditions so successfully that he hit 143 not out in the Test match at Lord's and headed the Australian Test figures with an average of 58.83. In all matches that season, 1909, he registered 1,783 runs, average 43.48, and his six three-figure innings included the highest of his career--190 against M.C.C. at Lord's. From 1939 to 1957 he held the post of secretary to the Melbourne C.C.

SAYAGEE DHANAWADE, who died suddenly in January, aged 27, at his home in Kalpur, India, following a cerebral haemorrhage, played as a spin bowler for Holkar State before coming to England to assist Kendal in the Northern League. For three years afterwards he was professional for the Lancashire League club, Accrington.

SIDWELL, THOMAS EDGAR, who died on December 8, aged 70, kept wicket for Leicestershire between 1913 and 1933, his total of 551 catches and 127 stumpings constituting a record for the county. A sound batsman, he enjoyed his best season in 1928 when he scored 1,153 runs, average 29.56, and hit two of his three centuries. He retired from county cricket in 1931, but played in several matches two seasons later when his successor, P. Corrall, was badly hurt. He never lost his love for the game and took part in two club matches last summer.

SLATER, HERBERT, who died on December 2, aged 77, played in five matches for Derbyshire in 1907. A good batsman and an excellent fielder, he scored many runs in club cricket.

SMALL, MR. JOE A., who died on April 26, aged 75, played in the First Test Match between England and the West Indies at Lord's in 1928, his score of 52 in the second innings being the highest for the West Indies in the game. This tall, loose-limbed all-rounder, who did much fine work for Trinidad, hit 595 runs, average 18.59, in the tour, his highest innings being 106 not out against the University at Oxford, and with off-breaks dismissed 50 batsmen for 28.88 runs each. He also toured England in 1923, averaging 31.04 for 776 runs, including innings of 94 and 68 in the match against Lancashire at Old Trafford, but took only 19 wickets, average 33.47. Altogether Small, who was a splendid slip fieldsman, scored 2,995 runs, average 25.50, and took over 100 wickets.

SPRY, EDWARD, who died at Bristol on November 19, aged 77, played as a slow leg-break bowler for Gloucestershire between 1899 and 1909, taking 149 wickets, average 28.97. His most successful season was that of 1902, when he dismissed 60 batsmen at a cost of 21.66 each, and his best analysis was eight wickets for 52 runs in the first innings of Warwickshire at Bristol in 1903. A useful batsman, he scored 1,447 runs, average 11.13, his highest innings being 76 against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in 1903. His father was groundsman at Bristol.

SUKUNA RATU, SIR J. LALA V., who died at sea in July when on a voyage to England, aged 70, was President of the Fiji Cricket Association from 1946 to 1953. For 51 years he held various Governmental posts, including that of Speaker of the Legislative Council. He was at Wadham College, Oxford, at the outbreak of the First World War, during which he served in the French Foreign Legion, was wounded and awarded the MĂ©daille Militaire. He afterwards returned to Oxford, obtaining a degree, and qualified as a barrister. A cousin of Queen Salote of Tonga, he always wore the traditional dress of a calf-length skirt and sandals.

SWIFT, MR. BRIAN TENNANT, who was killed in a motor-car accident at Higham, Suffolk, on March 8, aged 20, kept wicket for Cambridge in the 1957 University match. A very promising cricketer, he caught four Oxford batsmen and stumped one. His total of victims for the season numbered 48--38 caught and 10 stumped--was the best for Cambridge for a good many years. Only son of Sir Brian and Lady Swift, of Mendindie, South Australia, he went to Cambridge from St. Peter's College, Adelaide.

TOWNSEND, MR. CHARLES LUCAS, who died at his home at Stockton-on-Tees on October 17, aged 81, was a right-arm slow bowler and left-handed batsman for Gloucestershire between 1893 and 1909. It is not too much to say that towards the close of the 1895 season, when a youth of 18, he was the most remarkable amateur bowler since A. G. Steel carried all before him in 1878. Such was the amount of spin that Townsend imparted to the ball that even the most experienced of batsmen found themselves in difficulties with his leg-breaks. In Gloucestershire matches with Nottinghamshire in 1895 he took at Trent Bridge 16 wickets for 122 runs and at Cheltenham 13 for 110. Against Yorkshire at Cheltenham he obtained 15 wickets, and against Sussex at Bristol, Surrey at Clifton and Somerset at Taunton 12 wickets fell to him on each occasion. Though he played in only one game until late in July, he dismissed 131 batsmen at a cost of 13 runs each.

During the next two years, without quite maintaining his bowling skill, he took 113 wickets in 1896 and 92 in 1897 and materially enhanced his reputation as a batsman. In 1898 he reached the height of his career, for after winning the match with Middlesex at Lord's by his bowling, he played a series of splendid innings. As soon as he left off making hundreds, he bowled almost as finely as in that memorable 1895 season. Altogether that year he hit 1,270 runs, average 34, and took 145 wickets, average 20.

The summer of 1899 saw him one of the great batsmen of the day, for he scored 2,440 runs, averaged 51, put together nine centuries--including one for Gentlemen v. Players--and was chosen for England against Australia at Lord's and The Oval. He had then lost some of his talent as a bowler; yet he obtained 101 wickets that year. In the autumn he visited Australia with a team led by K. S. Ranjitsinhji and in 1900 he registered 1,662 runs. Never afterwards could he afford much time for cricket, his practice as a solicitor and a subsequent appointment as Official Receiver at Stockton demanding so much of his attention. All the same, he enjoyed a memorable triumph in 1909 when scoring 129 out of 169 in two hours against the Australians at Cheltenham.

A son of Frank Townsend, a leading member of the Gloucestershire team when the Graces were at their zenith, Charles Townsend gained a place in the Clifton College XI at the age of 15. The next season, 1893, he took nine wickets out of ten against Cheltenham and a year later against Cheltenham performed the hat-trick, taking 12 wickets in all, and played an innings of 55. He made his first appearance for Gloucestershire before he was 17. His highest innings were 224 not out v. Essex in 1899 and 214 against Worcestershire in 1906. Although he had only half a dozen full seasons, he hit 9,390 runs in first-class cricket, average 30, and took 725 wickets, average 24.

Townsend figured in a notable hat-trick against Somerset at Cheltenham in 1893 when W. H. Brain stumped three men off successive balls sent down by him. It remains the only instance of its kind in first-class cricket.

VICK, HIS HONOUR JUDGE SIR GODFREY RUSSELL, Q.C., who died on September 27, aged 65, was in The Leys XI in 1910 and was a member of M.C.C. As a Rugby footballer, he played for the Harlequins and captained Middlesex.

VINCENT, MAJOR RICHARD BEAUMONT, who died on September 29, aged 67, was cricket correspondent for The Times from 1930 until ill-health compelled his retirement in 1951. Educated at Haileybury, he played golf for Cambridge against Oxford in 1913 and 1914, but achieved no real distinction at cricket. He served with the Gordan Highlanders during the First World War.

WADDY, REV. ERNEST FREDERICK, who died at Evesham, where he was Vicar of The Littletons, on September 23, aged 77, played for New South Wales in the days of Victor Trumper, M. A. Noble and S. E. Gregory. In 1904-5 he headed the Inter-State batting averages with figures of 70.20 and a highest innings of 129 not out against South Australia. In 1908 he hit 107 not out and 57 from the bowling of A. O. Jones's M.C.C. team and acted as twelfth man in the final Test Match. His 308 for Melbourne against Sydney in 1904 was the biggest score ever hit in Australian Inter-University cricket. He came to England in 1915, becoming a master at Rugby, and from 1919 to 1922 appeared in some matches for Warwickshire, scoring 955 runs, average 23.87. He was top of that county's averages with 54.66 in 1921 when hitting 109 not out against Middlesex at Lord's.

WIGAN, MR. DENIS GREY, who died on December 31, aged 65, was in the Eton XI for three years. He took part in Fowler's Match in 1910, hit 79 against Harrow the following season and 64 in 1912 when he was captain. A graceful batsman, he might well have gained a Blue at Oxford but for the First World War, in which he reached the rank of captain in the K.R.R.C.

WILLIAMS, SIR PHILIP FRANCIS CUNNINGHAM, Bart., who died on May 6, aged 73, was in the Eton XI in 1902 and in 1903 when he hit 89 against Harrow and helped E. N. S. Crankshaw in a second-wicket partnership of 123 in an hour. He did not get a Blue at Oxford, but played as an attractive batsman for Gloucestershire from 1919 to 1923, scoring 2,793 runs. A Commissioner of the Church of England, he was chairman of the Church of England Pensions Board and was for 25 years a member of the Salisbury Diocesan Board of Finance.

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