Percival Ernest Morfee (2 May 1886 –12 February 1945),known as Percy Morfee or Pat Morfee,was an English professional cricketer who played in 11 first-class matches for Kent County Cricket Club between 1910 and 1912.
Morfee was born at Ashford in Kent in 1886, [1] the son of George and Catherine Morfee. His father was a publican who became a railway clerk and his mother a private dressmaker by trade. Morfee followed his father and two brothers into the railway industry,leaving school to become a coach maker at the Southern Railway works at Ashford. [2] [3]
A fast bowler,Morfee joined Kent's Tonbridge Nursery in 1907 and played for the county's Second XI during the same year. When Kent's primary fast bowler Arthur Fielder became ill in 1910,Morfee made his first-class cricket debut for Kent at Lord's against Middlesex,dismissing Middlesex captain and England international Plum Warner for a duck in each innings. [2] A series of good performances in the Second XI and a recurrence of Fielder's illness saw Morfee make four more appearances for the First XI during the season,finishing with 14 wickets. [2]
The 1911 season was less successful,although Morfee took 39 wickets and scored 400 runs,including a century,for the Second XI. He made only five First XI appearances and only one the following season,his last for the county. [2] He was released by Kent after the 1912 season and had spells as professional at a variety of sides in Scotland and in the Lancashire League. He played for Dunfermline and made an appearance for a Scotland side in 1913,and was employed as a professional in the Lancashire League with sides including Nelson,Todmorden and Accrington until 1931 as well as working as a groundsman in the United States in 1922 and 1923. [2] [4] As late as 1937 he was employed as the professional at Darlington Cricket Club. [5] Morfee also played football,appearing for his home-town club Ashford United. [6]
Morfee enlisted as an air mechanic in the Royal Flying Corps in February 1916. He served in France from at least 1917,including at No. 1 Aircraft Depot at St Omer. Transferring to the Royal Air Force when it was formed in 1918,Morfee was transferred to the RAF Reserve in February 1919 and demobilised in 1920. [3]
Morfee married Ann Miller in 1919 at Dunferline and had one son. He worked as a driver and in industry,including as a welder in the chemical industry. He died as the result of a heart attack at Darlington in County Durham in 1945 aged 58. [1] [2] [3]
Frank Edward Woolley was an English professional cricketer who played for Kent County Cricket Club between 1906 and 1938 and for the England cricket team. A genuine all-rounder,Woolley was a left-handed batsman and a left-arm bowler. He was an outstanding fielder close to the wicket and is the only non wicket-keeper to have held over 1,000 catches in a first-class career,whilst his total number of runs scored is the second highest of all time and his total number of wickets taken the 27th highest.
Charles Stowell "Father" Marriott was an English cricketer,who played first-class cricket for Lancashire,Cambridge University and Kent. Marriott played between 1919 and 1938 and was considered one of the best leg-break and googly bowlers of the time. He went on to teach,having served during World War I in the British Army.
Frederick Martin,also known as Fred Martin and Nutty Martin,was an English professional cricketer who bowled left-arm medium-pace spin. Martin played first-class cricket between 1885 and 1892,primarily for Kent County Cricket Club,and appeared twice in Test matches for the England cricket team. He was considered one of the best left-arm spin bowlers in the country between 1889 and 1891.
Arthur Fielder was an English professional cricketer who played as a fast bowler for Kent County Cricket Club and the England cricket team from 1900 to 1914. He played a major role in Kent's four County Championship wins in the years before World War I and toured Australia twice with the England team making six Test match appearances. He was chosen as one of Wisden's Cricketers of the Year in 1907.
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Walter Hearne was an English professional cricketer for Kent County Cricket Club towards the end of the 19th century. He played primarily as a bowler but suffered from injuries and his career was cut short as a result. He was the elder brother of the great Middlesex bowler J. T. Hearne who played for England in Test cricket whilst his older brother,Herbert Hearne,also played for Kent. He was a member of the extended Hearne family.
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