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Monday, March 27

Willie Bates (1855-1900) Test Cap # 30

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Full name Willie Bates
Born November 19, 1855, Lascelles Hall, Huddersfield, Yorkshire
Died January 8, 1900, Lepton, Huddersfield, Yorkshire (aged 44 years 50 days)
Major teams England, Yorkshire
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak

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© En.wikipedia.org
Willie Bates, known as Billy was an English all-round cricketer. Excellent with both bat and ball, Bates scored over 10,000 first-class runs, took more than 870 wickets and was always reliable in the field. A snappy dresser, Bates was also known as "The Duke".Born to a humble family in Lascelles Hall, Huddersfield, Yorkshire, Bates became a professional cricketer for Rochdale in 1873 and made his first-class debut for Yorkshire four years later, taking four for 69 in Middlesex's first innings to begin a ten-year career in the first-class game. He played fifteen Test matches for England between 1881–82 and 1886–87, all of them in Australia.At the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1882–83, Bates excelled by scoring 55 in England's only innings before taking 7 for 28 (including a hat-trick) to force Australia to follow on. He then claimed 7 for 74 in the second innings to help his team to the first-ever innings victory in Test cricket.

Bates set several individual records in this game as his hat-trick was the first for England in Test cricket, and his return of 7 for 28, and his match tally of 14 wickets, were then the best-ever by a Test match bowler. In addition, no Test bowler had previously taken 10 or more wickets and scored a half-century in the same match.

Richard Gorton Barlow (1851-1919) Test Cap # 29

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Full name Richard Gorton Barlow
Born May 28, 1851, Barrow Bridge, Bolton, Lancashire
Died July 31, 1919, Stanley Park, Blackpool, Lancashire (aged 68 years 64 days)
Major teams England, Lancashire
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Left-arm medium
Other Umpire

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Dick Barlow was a dour and resolute opening batsman who was the first to really use forward play defensively, and was so passionate about the game that he continued playing club cricket well into his sixties as well as being a capable umpire who stood in one Test in 1899. Hard to dismiss, Barlow is remembered for his association with fellow Lancashire opener Albert Hornby, who was his antithesis with the bat, and they were immortalised in one of the game's most famous poems by Francis Thompson:"As the run-stealers flicker to and fro,To and fro,O my Hornby and my Barlow long ago"He also developed into a very good slow-medium left-armer with immaculate length, clever variation, and a good eye for batsmen's weaknesses. He took a wicket with his first ball in first-class cricket and took four first-class hat-tricks. He carried his bat 11 times, including a two-hour innings of 5 not out (made out of 69) against Nottinghamshire in 1882.

Barlow toured Australia three times, playing in every match on each occasion, and he also played against Australia seven times at home. Although his highest Test score was only 62, Barlow played several valuable defensive innings in difficult circumstances. As a bowler he was more successful; his 7 for 44 at Manchester in 1886 was a match-winning performance. Playing for North of England against the Australian tourists in 1884 he took 10 wickets in the match, and then made a superb hundred (one of only four first-class centuries in his career) against Spofforth at his best. For the Players in the same year he captured a remarkable hat-trick of Gentlemen - WG, Shuter and Read falling to successive deliveries.

Close to the end of his life Barlow was quoted in the Manchester Guardian as saying: "I don't think any cricketer has enjoyed his cricketing career better than I have done, and if I had my time to come over again I should certainly be what I have been all my life - a professional cricketer.Away from cricket, he kept goal to county level at football and was also a top sprinter.

Test debut Australia v England at Melbourne, Dec 31, 1881 - Jan 4, 1882
Last Test Australia v England at Sydney, Feb 25-Mar 1, 1887
First-class span 1871-1891
Umpiring Career
Only Test England v Australia at Nottingham, Jun 1-3, 1899

Allan Gibson Steel (1858-1914) Test Cap # 28

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Full name Allan Gibson Steel
Born September 24, 1858, West Derby, Liverpool, Lancashire
Died June 15, 1914, Hyde Park, London (aged 55 years 264 days)
Major teams England, Cambridge University, Lancashire
Batting style Right-hand bat

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An outstanding allrounder, rated by his peers as second only to WG Grace, Allan Steel made the first Test hundred at Lord's, 148 to inspire England to victory over Australia in 1884. He played in eight Tests between 1880 and 1888, averaging 35 with the bat and 20 with the ball. Although primarily a bastman, he was highly rated in his early years as a slow-medium bowler, and in 1878 headed the All England averages with 164 wickets, although Wisden noted that he "owed his success to a certain trickiness, with the usual result that as batsmen found his tricks out, so did he become rather less effective". Though not a regular captain of county or country, he had an improbable run of success as skipper: Marlborough over Rugby, Cambridge over Oxford, Gentlemen over Players, Lancashire over Yorkshire and England over Australia. A fiendishly accurate right-arm slow bowler with the ability to spin the ball both ways, Steel became MCC President in 1902 but died in London in 1914 aged 56.

Test debut England v Australia at The Oval, Sep 6-8, 1880
Last Test England v Australia at Lord's, Jul 16-17, 1888
First-class span 1877-1893

Frank Penn (1851-1916) Test Cap # 27

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Full name Frank Penn
Born March 7, 1851, The Cedars, Lee, Lewisham, London
Died December 26, 1916, Bifrons, Patrixbourne, Kent (aged 65 years 294 days)
Major teams England, Kent
Batting style Right-hand bat

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Frank Penn, the famous Kent batsman of a generation back, died on the 26th of December at his home, Bifrons, near Canterbury. Though little of nothing had been seen of him in the cricket field for 35 years he was far indeed from forgotten. Born at Lewisham on March 7, 1851, Mr. Penn had a short but very brilliant career, ranking for several years among the finest batsmen of his day. He had a free, commanding style, and combined strong defence with splendid hitting. Stepping out of ordinary club cricket into first-class matches, he was, from the beginning, thoroughly at home in his new surroundings. He began to play for Kent in 1875, and in the following year he was seen at Lord's for the first time, scoring 44 and 35 for M.C.C. against Yorkshire. No doubt was felt as to his class. Indeed he made such an impression that he was picked for Gentlemen against Players in 1876, both at the Oval and Lord's. Thenceforward he was in the front rank. Unfortunately, his health gave way just when he was at the height of his fame.

Frederick Morley (1850-1884) Test Cap # 26

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Full name Frederick Morley
Born December 16, 1850, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire
Died September 28, 1884, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire (aged 33 years 287 days)
Major teams England, Nottinghamshire
Batting style Left-hand bat
Bowling style Left-arm fast

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At his peak, Fred Morley was regarded as the fastest bowler in England. A left-armer, what he lacked in height he more than made up for in accuracy and in a 13-year career he took more than 1200 first-class wickets. His batting is best forgotten and he was also something of a liability in the field. But with the ball he was devastating. He took 100 wickets in a season seven times, and in 1878 took 197 at 12.16. A year earlier, he had taken 13 for 14 for MCC against Oxford University (who were bowled out for 12) and in 1878 he took 15 for 35 on a bad pitch for Nottinghamshire against Kent. In 1879-80 he toured Canada and the USA with Richard Daft and returned with 100 wickets at 3.54.

Alfred Lyttelton (1857-1913) Test Cap # 25

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Full name Alfred Lyttelton
Born February 7, 1857, Westminster, London
Died July 5, 1913, Marylebone, London (aged 56 years 148 days)
Major teams England, Cambridge University, Middlesex
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm slow (underarm)
Fielding position Wicketkeeper

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© En.wikipedia.org
Alfred Lyttelton was one of the best amateur sportsmen of his generation and came from a family who excelled at sport - seven of his brothers played either first-class or good club cricket. He made his mark at Eton and then Cambridge as one of the best amateur wicketkeepers in the country, standing up without a long-stop in an era when that was rare, and in 1878 was in the Cambridge XI that beat the Australians. He played in four of the first five Tests against Australia in England in 1880, 1882 and 1884, and in his last appearance took of his pads and, bowling underarm lobs, took 4 for 8 on the second morning.

He was the first man to play football and cricket for England, but sport was only ever a pastime and he retired by the time he was 28 to further his political ambitions. He later became an MP and Colonial Secretary, possibly helped by the fact he was appointed by Arthur Balfour, his brother-in-law. He was also president of the MCC in 1898.

Test debut England v Australia at The Oval, Sep 6-8, 1880
Last Test England v Australia at The Oval, Aug 11-13, 1884
First-class span 1876-1887

William Gilbert Grace (1848-1915) Test Cap # 24

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Full name William Gilbert Grace
Born July 18, 1848, Downend, Bristol
Died October 23, 1915, Mottingham, Kent (aged 67 years 97 days)
Major teams England, Gentlemen, Gloucestershire, London County, Marylebone Cricket Club, South of England
Batting style Right-hand bat
Relation Brother - EM Grace, Brother - GF Grace, Cousin - WG Rees, Cousin - GHB Gilbert, Cousin - WL Rees, Cousin - WJ Pocock, Cousin - WR Gilbert, Son - WG Grace jnr, Son - CB Grace,
Nephew - H Grace, Nephew - NV Grace

introdution
William Gilbert ("W.G.") Grace, MRCS, LRCP (born 18 July 1848 at Downend, near Bristol; died 23 October 1915 at Mottingham, Kent) was an English amateur cricketer who is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest players of all time, having a special significance in terms of his importance to the development of the sport. Universally known as W.G, he played first-class cricket for a record-equalling 44 seasons, from 1865 to 1908, during which he captained England, Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, the Gentlemen, MCC, the United South of England Eleven and several other teams. He came from a cricketing family in which one of his elder brothers was E.M. Grace and his younger brother was Fred Grace; their joint appearance for England in 1880 was the first time three brothers played together in Test cricket.Right-handed as both batsman and bowler, Grace dominated the sport during his career and left, through his technical innovations and enormous influence, a lasting legacy. An outstanding all-rounder, he excelled at all the essential skills of batting, bowling and fielding, but it is for his batting that he is most renowned as he is held to have invented modern batsmanship. An opening batsman, he was particularly noted for his mastery of all strokes and his level of expertise was said by contemporary reviewers to be unique. He generally captained the teams he played for at all levels because of his skill and tactical acumen.Grace was a medical practitioner who qualified in 1879. Because of his profession, he was nominally an amateur cricketer but he is said to have made more money from his cricketing activities than any professional. He was an extremely competitive player and, although he was one of the most famous men in England, he was also one of the most controversial on account of his gamesmanship and his financial acumen.He took part in other sports: he was a champion 440 yard hurdler as a young man and also played football for the Wanderers. In later life, he developed enthusiasm for golf, lawn bowls and curling.

George Frederick Grace (1850-1880) Test Cap # 23

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Full name George Frederick Grace
Born December 13, 1850, Downend, Bristol
Died September 22, 1880, Basingstoke, Hampshire (aged 29 years 284 days)
Major teams England, Gloucestershire
Batting style Right-hand bat
Relation Brother - H Grace, Brother - EM Grace, Brother - WG Grace, Cousin - GHB Gilbert, Cousin - WR Gilbert, Nephew - AH Grace, Nephew - WG Grace jnr, Nephew - CB Grace, Nephew - NV Grace

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George Frederick ("Fred") Grace (1850–1880) was the youngest of the three Grace brothers to play Test cricket for England.Although his elder brothers E. M. and W. G. were always "known by (their) initials", the younger Grace was known as Fred, although his initials were used in scorecards like those of all other English cricketers.Gloucestershire CCC in 1880 shortly before Fred Grace's untimely death. Fred Grace (hooped cap) is third left in rear group. W. G. Grace is seated front left centre. Billy Midwinter (directly behind WG) is fourth left in rear (next to Fred). E. M. Grace (bearded) is sixth left in rear.
© Cricketer International


Born 13 December 1850 in Bristol, Grace was "an attractive batsman",but one who "lacked the concentration and resolve to build a long innings".Like his two famous brothers he made a duck on his first-class debut.Grace was selected along with his two brothers to play in the inaugural Test in England, which took place at The Oval in 1880 against Australia.He was out for nought in both innings but held a "skyscraping catch" at the Vauxhall End off the giant Australian batsman George Bonnor

On 22 September 1880, Two weeks after his Test appearance, Fred Grace died in Basingstoke, Hampshire of pneumonia, caught, it was said, as the result of sleeping in a damp bed.W. R. Gilbert, a cousin of the Graces, wrote to The Daily Telegraph: "It having come to my knowledge there is a rumour abroad that Mr. G. F. Grace's fatal illness was caused by sleeping in a damp bed at the Red Lion Hotel, Basingstoke, I beg to contradict it. He had a bad cold before he left home, and on my arrival at Basingstoke he told me that he had received another chill whilst waiting at Reading Station. By inserting this you will greatly oblige me, and also do justice to the members of a family whose attention and kindness to my cousin all through his illness could not have been surpassed had he been at home." The Times wrote, "His manly and straightforward conduct and genial manners won him not only popularity, but the esteem of hosts and friends".3,000 people followed his coffin and the touring Australians wore black armbands during their last match.

Only Test England v Australia at The Oval, Sep 6-8, 1880 
First-class span 1866-1880

Edward Mills Grace (1841-1911) Test Cap # 22

© Wisden Cricket Monthly
Full name Edward Mills Grace
Born November 28, 1841, Downend, Bristol
Died May 20, 1911, Park House, Thornbury, Gloucestershire (aged 69 years 173 days)
Major teams England, Gloucestershire
Batting style Right-hand bat
Relation Brother - H Grace, Brother - WG Grace, Brother - GF Grace, Cousin - GHB Gilbert, Cousin - WR Gilbert, Son - NV Grace, Nephew - WG Grace jnr

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© Wisden Cricket Monthly
Edward Mills Grace died on May 20 after a long illness at his residence, Park House, Thornbury, Gloucestershire. But for the accident that his own brother proved greater than himself, E. M. Grace would have lived in cricket history as perhaps the most remarkable player the game has produced. Barring W.G., it would be hard indeed to name a man who was a stronger force on a side or a more remarkable match winner. Primarily, he was a batsman, but his value in an eleven went far beyond his power of getting runs. As a fieldsman at point--at a time when that position was far more important than it is in modern cricket--he never had an equal, and, though he did not pretend to be a first-rate bowler, he took during his career thousands of wickets. In his young days he bowled in the orthodox round-arm style, but his success in club cricket was gained by means of old-fashioned lobs. Fame came to him early in life. Born on November 28th, 1841, he made his first appearance at Lord's in 1861, and a year later he was beyond question the most dangerous bat in England. It was in the Canterbury Week in 1862 that, playing as an emergency for the M.C.C. against the Gentlemen of Kent, he scored 192 not out, and took all ten wickets in one innings. This was a 12 a-side and one man was absent in the second innings when he got the ten wickets. He reached his highest point as a batsman in 1863, scoring in all matches that year over 3,000 runs.

William Barnes (1852-1899) Test Cap # 21

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Full name William Barnes
Born May 27, 1852, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire
Died March 24, 1899, Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire (aged 46 years 301 days)
Major teams England, Nottinghamshire
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm fast-medium
Other Umpire

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© ESPNcricinfo Ltd
HS Altham described him as "a sparkling player who batted as though he loved it" Barnes was a forceful batsman with strong offside shots, as well as a fine medium pacer whose bowling won at least two Test matches. An excellent close field, and an automatic first choice for England from the first test played on English soil to 1890. His finest hour was in the first Test ever played in Adelaide where his 134 on a rain-damaged wicket ensured the win for England. In the next Test of that series, at Melbourne, he bowled England into a 2-0 lead with second-innings figures of 38.3-26-31-6.

At Sydney two years later he did likewise - 6 for 28 off 46 (four-ball) overs, a match in which England were skittled for 45 on the first morning and still won. Legend has it that Barnes once made a match-saving century for Nottinghamshire after having more than one shandy too many. Appropriately, he later became landlord of a pub, and was only 46 when he died in Nottingham in 1899.

Test debut England v Australia at The Oval, Sep 6-8, 1880 
Last Test England v Australia at The Oval, Aug 11-12, 1890 
First-class span 1875-1894

Alexander Josiah Webbe (1855-1941) Test Cap # 20

 
Name:Alexander Josiah Webbe
Born:January 16, 1855, Bethnal Green, London
Died:February 19, 1941, Fulvens Farm, Hoe, Abinger Hammer, Surrey, (aged 86y 33d)
Batting Styule:Right hand bat
Bowling Style:Right arm fast
Fielding Position:Wicketkeeper
Education:Harrow School; Oxford University
Teams:England,Middlesex

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Mr. Alexander Josiah Webbe, of high renown in Harrow, Oxford University and Middlesex cricket, died on February 19, at his home, Fulvens Farm, Abinger Hammer, Surrey, aged 86. Born on January 16, 1855, he had not been seen on a cricket field in active pursuit of the game in an important fixture for over forty years, but during all that time he still exercised much influence at Lord's as President of Middlesex and member of the Marylebone Club Committee, to which he was first elected in 1886.

Like the Walkers before him, he first made his name in Harrow cricket, and was a member of the Eleven from 1872 to 1874, finishing as captain of the School Eleven when, in the big match at Lord's notwithstanding his personal contributions of 77 and 80, Eton were victorious by five wickets. Going up to Trinity College, Oxford, Webbe got his Blue as a freshman, and on his first appearance against Cambridge he made 55, the highest score in the match, and 21, so helping materially in a narrow victory by six runs. As evidence of his popularity and excellence as a cricketer, he was twice captain of Oxford, and, when first the leader, his side won handsomely by ten wickets, he and his brother, H. R. Webbe, hitting off 47 runs needed for victory. It is of special interest to recall that he and W. S. Patterson, the Cambridge captain, both played that year for Gentlemen against Players at Lord's, in what was described as the glorious match, which the Gentlemen won by one wicket when everybody present anticipated a triumph for the Players. W. S. Patterson and A. J. Webbe were the last survivors of the twenty-two engaged in that game and, after Patterson passed away in October 1939, A. J. Webbe remained as the oldest living University captain.

Another very interesting episode during his early period at Oxford was that in 1875 he played for the Gentlemen at Lord's and, going in first, helped W. G. Grace make 203 in the opening stand, his share being 65; the champion scored 152. Writing in his book, W. G. Grace said of that occasion, In a sticky-wicket season, batting suffered, but one young player, Mr. A. J. Webbe, came to the front with a rush; when we put on 203 runs his defence and patience were perfect. Those attributes expressed by the greatest of batsmen fairly described some of Webbe's characteristics at the wicket.

Webbe also started playing for Middlesex during his first year at Oxford when twenty years of age, and his success in the strongest company still serves as an example of how the best schoolboy cricketers in those days quickly reached the front rank. In every particular a great batsman, he possessed skill in defence, with untiring patience and remarkable power in stroke play. True to type, like many Harrow batsmen of the period, he stood at the wicket with legs wide apart, a position well suited to playing back in defence or cutting--something like the posture adopted and made memorable in later years by Gilbert Jessop, the Croucher. Webbe cut splendidly, both square and late, used the Harrow drive, now known as the hit through the covers, and placed the ball to the on or hit to leg with perfectly timed strokes. In fact, an admirable exponent of the batsman's art. Of middle height and good build, his early stamina had proof in an innings of 299 not out for Trinity College against Exeter; also in 1875 he made his first hundred in important cricket, 120 for the University against Gentlemen of England.

Ripening to maturity, Webbe got more runs as pitches became less favourable to bowlers, and in 1887 he enjoyed his best season, scoring 1,244 runs, with an average of 47, his highest innings being 243 not out against Yorkshire at Huddersfield; 192 not out at Canterbury off the Kent bowlers was another highly meritorious display. When set he exemplified what Robertson-Glasgow now calls a Difficult Target. Altogether in first-class cricket A. J. Webbe scored 11,761 runs, with an average of 23.75, as given in Sir Home Gordon's Form at a Glance.

Lord Harris accepting an invitation from the Melbourne Club for a team of Amateurs to visit Australia in the autumn of 1878, A. J. Webbe was one of the chosen. The impossibility of finding amateur bowlers able to go necessitated the inclusion of Tom Emmett and George Ulyett of Yorkshire. By no means representative of England, the side lost the one match against Australia. The death of A. J. Webbe leaves as the only survivor of that touring team F. A. Mackinnon, head of the clan Mackinnon, who has maintained his interest in Kent, his cricketing county, by going to the Canterbury Festival regularly up to 1939.

Free to give practically all his time to cricket, A. J. Webbe kept up his close connection with the game, as known to the public, for nearly seventy years--from his presence in the Harrow eleven to his resignation of the Middlesex Club presidency of 1937; and even to the last, as a trustee of M.C.C., he held an honoured place in cricket.

Besides his first-class activities, A. J. Webbe, on leaving school, went on the annual tours of Harrow Wanderers, under the lead of I. D. Walker, and he took teams to Oxford and Cambridge each season. After captaining Oxford Harlequins for several years, he was elected president of the club. For such sides he used to bowl medium pace, but really his skill was confined to batsmanship and fielding. Good everywhere, he excelled in the deep, and some magnificent catches stand to his credit.

At other games A. J. Webbe ranked high. He represented Oxford twice at racquets in the doubles, and in 1888 he won the tennis silver racquet at Lord's. Added to his fondness for games and skill in their practice, he served on hospital committees and in many ways helped to relieve the troubles and sufferings of people less fortunate than himself.

TRIBUTES TO AJ WEBBE Sir Pelham Warner, who succeeded Mr. A. J. Webbe as President of Middlesex in 1937, wrote directly after the loss of his old captain:--

I played my first match for Middlesex under his captaincy at Taunton in August 1894 and, among the many happy things which cricket has brought me, I am glad to remember that I was in the eleven when he played his last match for Middlesex at Worcester in July 1909--his only appearance for the County that season. He saves us from impending defeat by playing a splendid innings of 59 not out, half the total made on a very difficult wicket. After that, when in turn he was honorary secretary and president of Middlesex, it was easy to know where to go for encouragement and sympathy; this attitude towards successive captains he maintained to the end of his life. Mr. F. T. Mann, Mr. Nigel Haig, Mr. R. W. V. Robins, Mr. H. J. Enthoven and Mr. I. A. R. Peebles will fully endorse this.

Just as the Walkers made Middlesex cricket, Webbie continued in their tradition. No County captain ever had a more helpful and understanding supporter. We may count ourselves a very lucky band. Webbe was the soul of Middlesex cricket. He was a fine leader, kindness itself, with a rare charm of manner, and no one ever had a more loyal and truer friend. To lame dogs and in the troubles which from time to time befall cricketers he was a veritable champion. He lived to a great age and his passing was to be expected, but none the less one feels that a landmark has been removed and that something very tangible and visible has gone out of one's life. He fully earned almost every honour that cricket can give--for he was a great cricketer--and Lord's will not be the same without him to hundreds of others besides myself.

Mr. A. J. H. Cochrane, an Oxford Blue in 1885, 1886 and 1888, who played for Derbyshire, and remains, at the age of 77, in close touch with first-class cricket, writes:--

I am glad to pay a brief tribute to the memory of A. J. Webbe, as one among the many devoted friends who lament him, not only as a famous cricketer, but as a man whose long life was full of kindly deeds and kindly thoughts. His death breaks a line with the heroic past, for as an admiring small boy I watched him play in the early 80's, when I. D. Walker's Middlesex champions came North in August, and their matches at Nottingham or Sheffield were the great events of the summer holidays. I remember an innings of his against Yorkshire in 1882--the light was bad and the wicket, ruined by rain, was exactly suited to the left-hand slow of Peate who, that season, was the best bowler in England.

Middlesex, with a splendid batting side, had to get something like 140 to win, and lost by 20 runs. Webbie went in first and, while his gifted colleagues, failed one after the other, carried out his bat for 62. His watchfulness and correct timing were remarkable, and he never made a mistake or looked like getting out.

At Oxford a few years later I came to know him, for he brought down teams against us every summer. He always seems to me to have been the central figure of any match or gathering at which we met, as much for his personal characteristics as for his cricket reputation. In the field his keenness knew no bounds, making him impetuous and somewhat impatient in his comments, which, while a little disturbing to strangers, were a source of amusement to his acquaintances. At that date, half a century ago, first-class amateurs had more time than they have to-day for minor engagements, and Harlequin or Harrow Wanderers tours formed what I am sure Webbie found an enjoyable part of his summer campaign. I once played for the Harlequins with him at Woolwich, where our hospitable hosts regarded him as a well-known and welcome guest. On these festive occasions he had more opportunities of bowling than in county games, and he was very fond of bowling. He was not at all a bad change either and often got a wanted wicket.

During the last forty years, brought together by other associations as well as cricket, I got to know Webbie well. We met by appointment whenever I went to Lord's during the summer, and I always envied him his memory for faces, among the crowds of all ranks and ages, who saluted him with affection. He and his wife used to stay with us in the country, and we delighted in their visits. Our long talks wandered over many subjects, past and present; we spoke of old comrades and old opponents; and his judgements, mellowed no doubt by increasing years, were always charged with that charity which is the greatest of virtues.

Mr. J. T. Hearne, who played for Middlesex from 1888 for over twenty years and, in 1920, had the rare distinction for a professional of being elected on the Committee of his county club, writes of his old captain:--

It would be impossible for me to express in words the high esteem in which Mr. A. J. Webbe was held by me and how greatly I feel his loss. The whole of my cricket life has been very happy and I have played under many fine captains, but to me he was the best of them all, and I look back on the period of years when playing under his leadership as the most zestfully happy time of all. Ever ready with encouragement, at the same time giving such advice as to inspire one with absolute confidence in his judgement of the game, he could but succeed in getting the best out of one. Added to all this was his wonderfully kind nature, and it was my good fortune to realise quite early that I had in him a true friend to whom I could appeal both on and off the field; a friendship most highly valued which, by many an act of kindness, remained unbroken up to the time of his lamented death. I can in no way overstate how truly I revere the memory of so great a friend.

Two incidents in matches I have never forgotten. Mr. Webbe and I have often spoken of them through the years. Quite early in the 90's when playing Lancashire at Lord's, little Johnny Briggs was making a lengthy stand against us when, after several changes. Mr. Webbe put himself on to bowl--a rare occurrence--I believe at the Nursery end. I was fielding orthodox third man, but was brought up to what is now known as the gully, and had the satisfaction of catching Briggs off him in his first over. I vividly remember his delight at having broken up a dangerous partnership.

The other happened when we were playing Yorkshire at Bradford. Rain had driven us to the pavilion, and the usual precaution of stringing off the pitch had been taken, with two policemen placed on guard. After some delay and all of us sitting in front of the dressing-room, Mr. Webbe was the first to notice that the two guards had absentmindedly stepped over the rope and were patrolling side by side up and down the pitch, and, as captain, he shouted them from the pavilion to get off!

Sandford Spence Schultz (1857-1937)Test Cap # 19

 

Full name:Sandford Spence Schultz
Born:August 29, 1857, Birkenhead, Cheshire
Died:December 18, 1937, Brompton, Kensington, London, (aged 80y 111d)
Major teams:England,Cambridge University,Lancashire
Batting style:Right hand Bat
Bowling Style:Right arm Medium

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Sandford Spence Schultz  known in later life as Sandford Spence Storey, was an English cricketer, who played for Cambridge University and Lancashire and played one Test match for England.Schultz was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, the son of George Edward Schultz and his wife Emma. He was educated at Uppingham and Jesus College, Cambridge.

Although Schultz was only an occasional player in first-class cricket, he was prolific in club cricket and was selected as an amateur in Lord Harris's side that toured Australia in 1878-79, and played in the one Test match of that tour. Schultz was a fast round-arm bowler and made a lot of runs in club cricket. His Wisden obituary in 1938 recalled a less happy batting experience related in a letter to The Times by a Mr Edmund Peake about a match on the Christchurch ground at Oxford in 1881:

The fast bowler (I blush to say it) committed such havoc as would have made him famous in these days. The Gentlemen refused to continue and the match was begun all over again in The Parks. One batsman – SS Schultz – was out first ball each time. Twice first ball in one innings – a record. Schultz married Mabel Durrant in 1885. He was a stockbroker, working on the London Exchange for a firm known as Messrs Hedderwick and Schultz. In 1914, around the time of the start of World War I, Schultz changed his Germanic-sounding name to Sandford Spence Storey. He died in Brompton, Kensington, aged 80. He was the only English Test cricketer with a 'z' in his surname for over a century, until Usman Afzaal played three Tests in 2001.

Only Test:Australia vs England at Melbourne - January 02 - 04, 1879
Span:1876 - 1885

Vernon Peter Royle (1854-1929) Test Cap # 18

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Full name The Reverend Vernon Peter Royle
Born January 29, 1854, Brooklands, Cheshire
Died May 21, 1929, Stanmore Park, Middlesex (aged 75 years 112 days)
Major teams England, Lancashire, Oxford University
Batting style Right-hand bat

Profile
he Reverend Vernon Peter Fanshawe Archer Royle (29 January 1854 – 21 May 1929) was an English first-class cricketer who played in a single Test match for England in Australia and later became a schoolmaster.He was born at Brooklands, then considered part of Sale, Cheshire and died at Stanmore, Middlesex, England.He was the third son of a surgeon, Peter Royle, and Mariann Fanshawe, and was educated at Rossall School and Brasenose College, Oxford.