Obituaries in 1901

MR. WILLIAM JOHN BANKS, who represented Kent on a few occasions, died at his residence, Oxney Court, near Dover, in January. He was born in 1822. Scores and Biographies (vol. 3, page 159) describes him as a a hard hitter and an active field. He was a most entertaining old gentleman, full of cricket lore, and a regular attendant at the Canterbury Festival.

MR. E. W. BASTARD, who was the chief bowler in the Somersetshire eleven before the County became first-class, died at Taunton some time during the first week of April, in his 40th year. He played for Oxford against Cambridge in 1883 and the two following years. In 1884 he assisted in the defeat of the Australians by the University, taking five good wickets in the second innings for 44 runs. After he retired from county cricket, he frequently played for the Gentleman of Somerset. He was educated at Sherborne, where his skill as a slow left-handed bowler was first recognised. He was born February 28th, 1862.

SIR COURTENAY EDMUND BOYLE, K.C.B., Permanent Secretary of the Board of Trade, died suddenly on May 19th, at his London residence in Granville Place. Scores and Biographies (vol 9, page 99) describes him as a splendid field at point, a pretty and useful bat, sure, steady, and with great confidence. Also a change bowler…an excellent wicket-keeper. For several seasons he was captain of Charterhouse, and he also played for Oxford against Cambridge in 1865, 1866 and 1867. For Oxford University against Warwickshire in June, 1865, he scored 103 not out. In the match between I. Zingari and Hillington, August 29th, 1872, he stumped six and caught two, and for I. Zingari v. Moor Park, on August 20th, 1875, he stumped two and caught six. In 1866 and 1867, he was Tennis Champion at Oxford, contending successfully each year against Cambridge. He was the author of the articles by An Old Blue which appeared in the Times on the subject of cricket reform, and attracted so much attention. He was born in Jamaica, October 21st, 1845. The late MR. C. W. Boyle, who played in the Clifton College Eleven, and assisted Oxford in 1873, was his cousin.

MR. EDWARD ERNEST BOWEN, senior assistant master at Harrow School, met his death whilst on a cycling tour in France. He fell in attempting to mount his machine, and died almost immediately. He was enthusiastic about cricket, and will long be remembered as the author of several spirited and charming songs on the game. As a player he was a stiff bat, a superb field at long-leg, and a useful wicket-keeper. He was educated at Cambridge, but was not in the eleven. Mr. Bowen, a younger son of the late lord Bowen, was born at Wicklow, Ireland, March 30th, 1836, and died April 8th, 1901, aged 65.

MR. WILLIAM BURRUP died on December 23, at the age of 81. Connected with Surrey cricket from the earlier days of the county club, MR. Burrup was honorary secretary from 1855 to 1872, his period of office thus covering the rise and decline of the famous eleven, which, with F. P. Miller as captain, used to play England single-handed. No one, apart from the players themselves, was better known at the Oval. His interest in Surrey was not affected by lapse of time, and up to the end of his life he was a member of the committee. On Mr. Burrup's retirement from the hon. secretaryship in 1872, Mr. C. W. Alcock was appointed secretary--a post he has held ever since.

ROBERT CARPENTER.--One by one the great professional cricketers of the last generation are passing away. Richard Daft, Thomas Hearne, and R. C. Tinley died in 1900, and on July 13th 1901, Robert Carpenter passed away. Though well advanced in years--he was born on Nov. 18, 1830--Carpenter was in fairly good health up to a few days before his death, As an active player, he was only a name to present-day cricketers, but no one who has any knowledge of the history of the game in the last forty-five years will need to be told that he was one of the really great batsmen of his time. He was very late in coming before the public, never appearing at Lord's until he was in his twenty-eighth year, but his first match--the United Eleven against the All England Eleven, in 1858--established his reputation, and he never looked back, remaining in the front rank till he was over forty. For several seasons he and the late Tom Hayward were by general consent the two best bats in England. It was difficult to say which was the better of the two, their methods being so dissimilar, but, though Hayward had an immense superiority in point of style, Carpenter was thought to be the harder man to get out. It is a curious fact that, though they were so closely associated on the cricket field, Carpenter belonged to the United Eleven and Hayward to George Parr's All England team. Thus, in the matches between the two elevens, which in the early sixties were the big events of the season, they always played on opposite sides. In conjunction with George Parr's, they made Cambridgeshire, for a few years, one of the great cricketing counties. Owing to the now half-forgotton schism between the northern and southern players which followed at the season of 1862, Hayward and Carpenter did not appear at the Oval for several years, and only played on rare occasions at Lord's, most of their time being given up to matches for the travelling elevens against local eighteens and twenty-two's. If one remembers rightly, however, their complete breach with Lord's only lasted for three or four summers. The quarrel was finally made up in 1870, and great interest was excited when, in company with George Parr, Hayward and Carpenter formally returned to Lord's. All three took part in the Whit-Monday match between North and South, Hayward and Carpenter having played a few weeks before for Righthand and Lefthanded. Carpenter was still at his best, and in the Whit-Monday match played a magnificent innings of 73 against the bowling of Southerton and Willsher, but Hayward--never a man of robust constitution--had sadly gone off, and retained little beyond his incomparable style. Geroge Parr, playing his last match at Lord's, made a good end, staying in a long time with Carpenter and scoring 41. He had appeared first on the ground twenty-five years before. As a final proof that all disagreements had been healed up, the Surrey and Cambridgeshire match was revived for one special occasion at the Oval in 1871, and Hayward and Carpenter, who in their younger days had done great things together on the Surrey ground, recalled pleasant memories by their fine play. Carpenter scored 26 and 87--both times not out--and Hayward, giving at least a suggestion of his former brilliancy, made 33 and 40. The two batsmen went to America with English eleven in the autumn of 1859, and in conjunction with E. M. Grace were the great stars of the splendid eleven that toured in Australia under George Parr's captaincy in the winter of 1863-4. At that time both were at the height of their fame. Carpenter was essentially a back player, and rarely went forward except when he meant hitting. No one in the old days of rough wickets at Lord's could come down on a shooter with greater certainty, and W. G. Grace himself scarcely possessed a stronger defence. Though specially noted for his skill on rough grounds, however, Carpenter keenly appreciated a good wicket when he found himself on one, and twice at the Oval he made over a hundred for Players against Gentlemen, scoring 119 in 1860, and 106 in 1861. He and Hayward were in the England team against Surrey, in the memorable match in 1862 in which Willsher was no-balled by John Lillywhite, and they contributed largely to England's total of 503, Carpenter making 94 and Hayward 117. The two cricketers were so closely connected that one never thinks of one without the other. Hayward died in July, 1876, after Carpenter had played in his last big match. Their names live on in the cricket of to-day, Carpenter's son being the present Essex batsman, and Hayward's nephew the great player in the Surrey eleven. Of Carpenter's professional contemporaries in his younger days there are not many left, but Caffyn, George Anderson, and George Atkinson are still surviving. Alfred Shaw, William Oscroft, Tom Emmett, and others often played with him, but they only began their career after he had reached his highest point. Carpenter represented the Players on eighteen occasions against the Gentlemen, making his début in the match in 1859 and appearing for the last time in 1873. He commenced twenty-eight innings, was not out once, and scored 723 runs with an average of 26.77. MR. E. M. Grace says of Carpenter as a batsman that there never was a finer back player.

Carpenter's principal scores in important matches were as follows:--

THE REV. JOHN COKER, died on the 30th of July. He had for forty-six years been Rector of the parish of Tingewick in Buckinghamshire. He was in the Winchester eleven in 1838 and 1839, and in the Oxford eleven in 1840-42-43-44. He captained the Winchester eleven in 1839 and the Oxford eleven in 1842 and 1843. His experience of the University match was peculiarly unlucky, as Oxford did not win once in the fours years he played. Among his contemporaries, were Alfred Lowth, G. E. Yonge, H. M. Curteis and Walter Marcon.

ROBERT CLAYTON, for many years past one of the ground staff at Lord's and formerly a member of the Yorkshire eleven, died on November 26th at Gainsborough. He was born at Caley, near Otley, in Yorkshire, on January 1st, 1844, and was thus nearly 58 years of age. Though he assisted Yorkshire for several seasons in the seventies, it cannot be said that he ever fulfilled the promise of his earliest performances. When he came out he made his mark at once, and was regarded on all hands as one of the best right-handed fast bowlers in the country. For a little while, indeed, his prospects were almost as good as Allen Hill's. Playing his first match at Lord's for the Colts of England against the M.C.C., on May 8, 9, and 10, 1871, in company with Richard Humphrey, the late John Selby, David Eastwood, Harry Phillips, James Phillips, and T. Hearne, jun. (the present ground- keeper at Lord's), he took six wickets--two for 49 and four for 36. A fortnight later at Lord's he played for Yorkshire against the M.C.C., and met with great success, bowling W. G. Grace in the first innings, and securing in all ten wickets for 94 runs. His form was so good that in the Whit-Monday match, between North and South, he was, in the absence of the late Geroge Freeman, given a place in the Northern eleven. Once more he did well, for though the South scored 328 ( W. G. Grace making 178), six wickets fell to him for 77 runs. His future seemed assured, but as it turned out he went back instead of forward, and though always a useful bowler, he never again reached the standard of his first season, dropping far behind Hill in the Yorkshire team. At the time of his death he was, as regards length of service, the oldest but one of the ground bowlers at Lord's, only Frank Farrands having been longer on the M.C.C. staff. It was a peculiarity of his that, though for so many years he spent every cricket season in London, his Yorkshire accent remained as strong as if he had never left his native village.

JOSEPH DAVIDSON, who died in the first week in December, was the father of the famous Derbyshire player George Davidson, whose premature death so weakened the County eleven. Joseph Davidson assisted Derbyshire in 1871 and 1874, taking part in the first match played by the present County Club. He was chiefly known as a right-handed medium-pace bowler. In one season, while engaged with the Carlisle club, he took 143 wickets for less than two runs each.

GEORGE DOE, an old Derbyshire cricketer, died at Birmington, on April 15th, at the age of 66. He was chiefly known as a long-stop, but he was also a hard-hitting batsman, and a useful change bowler.

MR. DUDLEY H. FORBES died in South Africa from enteric fever in April. MR. Forbes was in the Eton XI. in 1890, 1891 and 1892, and represented Oxford against Cambridge in 1894. He made 18 and 60 not out against Harrow in 1892, besides taking six wickets. His fast bowling was nearly always useful.

MR. C. J. MACDONALD FOX died suddenly from heart failure on April 1st, in a hospital at Albury, New South Wales. He was born at Dum Dum, near Calcutta, on December 5, 1858, and was educated at Dufton College, Calcutta, and Westminster School, where he was in the eleven. He first came into notice in 1874 by playing an innings of 87, out of a total of 220, against Charterhouse. In 1876, being qualified by residence, he appeared for Surrey against Gloucestershire, at the Oval, and his fine fielding was one of the features of the match. A return to India restricted his connection with Surrey to this one match, and it was not until 1885 that he reappeared with any prominence in English cricket. By 1888 he had become qualified for Kent, and it is with that county that his name will always remain associated. In his first season for Kent he played a splendid innings of 93, at Huddersfield, against Yorkshire, on a wicket drying under the sun and playing very queerly. His highest score for his adopted county was 103 against Notts, At Tonbridge, in 1891. As a batsman he possessed plenty of hitting power, and was, on occasion, a very fast scorer. He was also useful bowler--keeping a good length and using his head well--and a splendid field. In minor cricket MR. Fox made runs by the thousand, and his record in 1887 for the Crystal Palace Club was remarkable, even for him. That year, in consecutive innings, he scored 66 v. United Hospitals, 54 v. Reigate Priory, 58 v. Incogniti, 177 not out v. Surrey Club and Ground, 65 v. Gipsies, 243 not out v. Hamstead, and 185 not out v. H. E. Burrell's XI. (at Littlebury). In four completed innings he thus scored 828, giving an average of 207. He exceeded the two hundred on three occasions for the Crystal Palace, making 261 not out v. Charlton Park, in 1887, 255 v. Incogniti, in 1891, and 243 not out v. Hamstead, in 1887. In the last mentioned match, he and F. W. Janson (252) added 351 runs whilst together for the third wicket, the total of 650 for five wickets taking only six hours to get. A curious accident, which might have proved serious, occurred to MR. Fox in the match between Kent and Gloucestershire at Bristol, in 1890. In the first innings of the latter county, whilst fielding at point, he dislocated his shoulder in stopping a hard cut, and was prevented from taking further part in the game.

THE EARL OF GALLOWAY ( Alan Plantagnet Stewart, Lord Garlies) was born in London, October 21st, 1835, and died February 7th, 1901. He formed one of the Harrow eleven in 1853 and 1854, contending at Lord's v. Winchester and v. Eton, and being on the winning side on each occasion. On his first appearance at Lord's he made 17 and 23, being the highest scorer in each innings of his side. The match was Harrow v. Winchester, in 1853, and in his second innings he went in first, saw eight wickets fall, and was in three hours and forty minutes. Scores and Biographies (vol. 4, p. 509), says of him: Is a very steady batsman indeed making also hard forward drives... An active and energetic field, either at long-stop or at a distance from the wicket. He was President of the Marylebone Club in 1858.

CHARLES HAMMOND, a cricketer of the very old school, died in the middle of July at Storrington, in Sussex. His father was John Hammond, who participated in all the great matches at the end of the eighteenth and the commencement of the nineteenth century, whilst Ernest Hammond, whose name is found in the Sussex elevens of 1870, 1874 and 1875, was nephew to the deceased. Scores and Biographies says of Charles: Was a fine and powerful hitter, and very successful for his county during the few seasons he played. After 1849, however, he seldom was engaged in a match, owing to (at least the compiler was so informed) his being a bad field, but could throw in well at the distance of 70 or 80 yards. His batting averages for Sussex are appended:--

His highest scores in important cricket were 92 v. Notts, at Nottingham in 1843; 58 v. M. C. C. and Ground, at Lord's in 1844; and 57 v. M. C. C. and Ground, at Brighton, also in 1844. He made his score of 92 against the bowling of William Clarke and Samuel Redgate; and he was unfortunate to be dismissed when so near his hundred. In the same match two other players missed their century by a few runs only, C. Hawkins making 95 for Sussex, and John Gilbert 92 for Notts. One of Hammond's bats can be seen in the collection of Wisden's, in Cranbourn Street. Hammond was born at Storrington, on September 6th, 1818, and was, therefore, in his eighty-third year at the time of his death. In the famous Sussex v. Kent engraving, issued by Mason, of Brighton, and other publishers, Charles Hammond is to be seen fielding at cover-point.

JOHN JACKSON died in Liverpool Workhouse Infirmary on November 4th, in his sixty-ninth year. His career, which extended, from 1855 to 1866, was terminated, as regards big matches, by a serious accident sustained whilst playing against Yorkshire. Inasmuch as his connection with first-class cricket ended thirty-five years ago, John Jackson had long outlived his fame, but no one acquainted with the history of the game will need to be told that in his day he was the best fast bowler in England. Born in Suffolk on May 21st, 1833, he was taken to Nottingham in infancy, and with Notts cricket he was associated all the time he played. He first appeared at Lord's in 1856, and soon went to the top of the tree. Cricket in those days was very different from what it is now. Wickets were not prepared with the excessive pains now taken over them, scores were naturally far smaller, and bowlers met with a measure of success that in this generation would be impossible. It is fruitless to inquire what rank John Jackson would have taken in the cricket world

if he had been born thirty years later. The important fact is that under the conditions prevailing in his own time he was great. He was past his best when the accident occurred that cut short his career, but as he was then only thirty-three he would probably have lasted several seasons longer. In style he belonged to the old round-arm school, all his best work being done before the restriction as to the height of the arm was removed, but as he was a man of fully 6ft. the ball came from a good elevation. He had tremendous pace, and, like most of the right-handed fast bowlers of his time, but unlike Tarrant, made the ball go a little with his arm. Tarrant at times broke back but, on the evidence of Caffyn and others who played against him, was not so straight or so accurate in length as Jackson. The two bowlers went to Australia with George Parr's team in 1863-64, and met with great success. Jackson was then at the height of his fame, but he began to decline when he returned to England, He was a member of England eleven that in 1859 visited America. He assisted the Players in their matches against the Gentlemen from 1859 to 1864, bowling in twelve matches (23 innings) 2139 balls for 827 runs and 69 wickets, average 11.98. At Lord's in 1861 he and the late Edgar Willsher bowled unchanged through both innings of the Gentlemen, Jack-