Geoffrey MacLaren (28 February 1883 –14 September 1966) was an English cricketer [1] who played first-class cricket for Lancashire [2] in addition to playing three matches for Egypt. [3] His elder brothers Archie and James also played for Lancashire, [4] [5] as did his uncle Alexander Rowley. [6] Archie also played Test cricket for England. [4]
Born in Whalley Range,Manchester in 1883, [2] Geoffrey MacLaren was educated at Harrow. [7] He played his only two first-class matches for Lancashire during the 1902 English cricket season, [8] both under the captaincy of elder brother Archie. [7]
He later lived in Egypt for a time,playing for Cairo against I Zingari in March 1914,followed by three matches for the Egyptian national side against the same opposition. [3] He died in Sussex in 1966. [2]
Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in English cricket. The club has held first-class status since it was founded in 1864. Lancashire's home is Old Trafford Cricket Ground,although the team also play matches at other grounds around the county. Lancashire was a founder member of the County Championship in 1890 and have won the competition nine times,most recently in 2011. The club's limited overs team is called Lancashire Lightning.
Archibald Campbell MacLaren was an English cricketer who captained the England cricket team at various times between 1898 and 1909. A right-handed batsman,he played 35 Test matches for England,as captain in 22 of those games,and led the team to defeat in four Ashes series against Australia. An amateur,MacLaren played first-class cricket for Lancashire,captaining that county for most of his career. As a batsman,MacLaren was one of the leading cricketers of his time and had a reputation as a fast-scoring stylist. In 1895,he scored 424 runs in an innings against Somerset which was the highest individual score in first-class cricket until 1923 and remained a record in English cricket until 1994. Opinions were divided over his captaincy. He was a deep thinker on the game and critics believed him to be tactically advanced,but his pessimism,clashes with the selectors and inability to get the best out of his players led most commentators to rate him a poor leader.
Arthur Webb Mold was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket for Lancashire as a fast bowler between 1889 and 1901. A Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1892,he was selected for England in three Test matches in 1893. Mold was one of the most effective bowlers in England during the 1890s but his career was overshadowed by controversy over his bowling action. Although he took 1,673 wickets in first-class matches,many commentators viewed his achievements as tainted.
David Denton was an English first-class cricketer. An attacking batsman,he had a long career with Yorkshire and played eleven Tests for England. His nickname of 'Lucky' came from his habit of surviving the numerous chances that his attacking batting style created for the opposition. He was a fine deep fielder,and was said to be an excellent judge of a high catch,but did little bowling:his only really significant contribution with the ball came in 1896,when he took 5–42 against South of England. He also had one first-class stumping to his name,against Cambridge University in 1905.
John Thomas Tyldesley was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Lancashire and Test cricket for England. He was a specialist professional batsman,usually third in the batting order,who rarely bowled and generally fielded in outfield positions.
1895 was the sixth season of County Championship cricket in England. It was the first season in which the official definition of first-class cricket was activated,following the 1894 ruling. Surrey won the championship for the fifth time in six years,despite increased competition,as the tournament was expanded from nine to fourteen teams. The points system was changed as the teams played differing numbers of matches and the new system involved division of the number of points gained by the number of matches that had ended in either a win or a loss. Draws were thus completely disregarded,as they gave zero points. Derbyshire was the best of the rookie teams,finishing in fifth place.
Reginald Herbert Spooner was a cricketer who played for Lancashire and England. He also played Rugby Union for England.
John "Jack" Crossland was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket between 1878 and 1887. Crossland was recognised as one of the fastest bowlers in county cricket,but critics generally believed that he threw,rather than bowled the ball,a practice illegal in cricket. Contemporaries suggest that,but for the suspicions over his bowling action,Crossland would have played Test cricket for England.
The Egypt national cricket team was the team that represented the country of Egypt in international cricket matches. They were active from 1909 until World War II.
An England cricket team toured Australia in the 1897–98 season to play a five-match Test series against the Australia national cricket team. The team was captained by Andrew Stoddart and,except in the Test matches when it was called England,it was generally known as A. E. Stoddart's XI. The playing strength of the team was weakened by Stoddart acceding to a request from the Australians to bring “new blood”. As a result established players including JT Brown,Albert Ward and Bobby Peel were not selected.
The English cricket team in Australia in 1901–02 lost the Test series to Australia,who came from one down to win 4–1 and thus retained The Ashes. The England side was a private venture of Archie MacLaren at the invitation of the Melbourne Cricket Club,after MCC had declined to send a team. Prior to this,all Test tours of Australia had been privately organised,but MCC took over the responsibility with the following tour in 1903–4. George Hirst,Wilfred Rhodes,KS Ranjitsinjhi,Stanley Jackson and CB Fry were all unavailable.
Wing commander Rowland Gascoigne Musson was an English cricketer and pilot. He played Lancashire League cricket for East Lancashire and first-class cricket for the Combined Services.
Gerald Roscoe Bardswell was an English cricketer who played 59 first-class matches between 1894 and 1902. He was born in Woolton,Liverpool and died in New Orleans,Louisiana.
Alexander Garth MacLaren Watson is an English former cricketer. He was a left-handed batsman who bowled right-arm fast-medium.
An English team raised by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) toured New Zealand from December 1922 to February 1923 and played eight first-class matches including three against the New Zealand national cricket team. MCC also played the main provincial teams including Auckland (twice),Wellington,Canterbury and Otago. The overall tour included a short stopover in Ceylon,where a single minor match was played,and two visits to Australia where a total of seven first-class matches were played.
James Alexander MacLaren was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Lancashire County Cricket Club between 1891 and 1894. Born in Whalley Range,Manchester,and the eldest of seven brothers,MacLaren was a keen cricketer from his youngest days. He was particularly close to his younger brother Archie,who later captained England. He attended Elstree School and Harrow School,where he coached as a cricketer and was later joined by Archie. He also received coaching at Old Trafford Cricket Ground,where his father was treasurer of Lancashire County Cricket Club. He played in the Harrow first team between 1886 and 1888,and was appointed captain in his final year. Upon leaving Harrow,he played on four occasions for Lancashire between 1891 and 1894 but had little success. On one occasion in 1894,he opened the batting with his brother Archie,who was captain of Lancashire by that stage. In 1900,he qualified as a doctor of medicine. He died at the age of 82 following a fall.
An English team raised by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) toured Australia in November 1922 and March 1923 on their way to and from a longer tour of New Zealand. After a short stopover in Ceylon,where a single minor match was played,they played four first-class matches against Australian state teams in November,and three on the way back from New Zealand in March.
James Campbell Rowley was an English first-class cricketer.