Domestic team information | |
---|---|
Years | Team |
1789–1796 | Kent |
FC debut | 10 June 1789 Kent v Surrey |
Last FC | 21 June 1803 England v Surrey |
Source:CricInfo,30 June 2022 |
Thomas Boxall (dates unknown) was a noted English cricketer who played during the late 18th century. He is considered to have been "one of the finest professional cricketers" of his day. [1]
Boxall was a noted bowler and is believed to be the first player to have bowled leg breaks. [2] Bowling underarm,he took more than 300 wickets [lower-alpha 1] in 89 first-class matches, [lower-alpha 2] playing between 1789 and 1803. [4] As a professional he played for a wide variety of sides,most frequently appearing for England sides [lower-alpha 3] and for Kent county cricket teams,although he played as a given man for both Brighton and Middlesex teams. [4] According to Scores and Biographies ,Boxall was around 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m) tall,strong and muscular and may have been born at Ripley,Surrey. [7] He was employed by Stephen Amherst,who organised matches featuring Kent sides,at his estate in Kent. Amherst constructed an indoor practice area in a converted barn so that Boxall could bowl during the winter. [2]
In 1790,Boxall published one of the earliest cricket instructional books,The Cricket Guide. [8] In 1801,towards the end of his playing career,he published Rules and Instructions for Playing at the Game of Cricket. [9] [10] Early editions of the book are considered to be "extremely scarce" [11] and are prized by collectors of early cricket literature. The book,which was printed in London by E Billing and was pocket sized,has been described as "perhaps the most rare and coveted" example of early cricket literature,and "the rarest of all cricket items". [12] A copy of the second edition of the book,thought to have been printed in 1802,sold at auction for £2,600 in 2010. [13]
Sir Curtly Elconn Lynwall Ambrose KCN is an Antiguan former cricketer who played 98 Test matches for the West Indies. Widely acknowledged as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time, he took 405 Test wickets at an average of 20.99 and topped the ICC Player Rankings for much of his career to be rated the best bowler in the world. His great height—he is 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m) tall—allowed him to make the ball bounce unusually high after he delivered it; allied to his pace and accuracy, it made him a very difficult bowler for batsmen to face. A man of few words during his career, he was notoriously reluctant to speak to journalists. He was chosen as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1992; after he retired he was entered into the International Cricket Council Hall of Fame and selected as one of West Indies all-time XI by a panel of experts.
Hedley Verity was a professional cricketer who played for Yorkshire and England between 1930 and 1939. A slow left-arm orthodox bowler, he took 1,956 wickets in first-class cricket at an average of 14.90 and 144 wickets in 40 Tests at an average of 24.37.
Charles Warrington Leonard Parker was an English cricketer, who stands as the third highest wicket taker in the history of first-class cricket, behind Wilfred Rhodes and Tich Freeman.
Colin Blythe, also known as Charlie Blythe, was an English professional cricketer who played Test cricket for the England cricket team during the early part of the 20th century. Blythe was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1904 and took more than 2,500 first-class wickets over the course of his career, one of only 13 men to have done so.
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.
George Herbert Hirst was a professional English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1891 and 1921, with a further appearance in 1929. One of the best all-rounders of his time, Hirst was a left arm medium-fast bowler and right-handed batsman. He played in 24 Test matches for England between 1897 and 1909, touring Australia twice. He completed the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in an English cricket season 14 times, the second most of any cricketer after his contemporary and team-mate Wilfred Rhodes. One of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year for 1901, Hirst scored 36,356 runs and took 2,742 wickets in first-class cricket. In Tests, he made 790 runs and captured 59 wickets.
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.
Alec Hearne was a member of the famous cricketing Hearne family. He played as a professional for Kent County Cricket Club between 1884 and 1906 and made one Test match appearance for England. He was an all-rounder who was named as one of Wisden's five Cricketers of the Year in 1894. His father, George played cricket for Middlesex during the 1860s and brothers George and Frank also played Test cricket, as did his cousin, John Thomas Hearne.
George Gibbons Hearne was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket for Kent County Cricket Club between 1875 and 1895. He also played in one Test match for England against South Africa in 1891/92. Hearne was part of the famous cricketing Hearne family. His brothers Alec and Frank also played Test match cricket.
Richard Pollard was an English cricketer born in Westhoughton, Lancashire, who played in four Test matches between 1946 and 1948. A fast-medium right-arm bowler and a lower-order right-handed batsman who made useful runs on occasion, he played for Lancashire between 1933 and 1950, taking 1,122 wickets in 298 first-class matches; he is 10th highest wicket-taker for Lancashire.
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.
James Moffat Allan was a Scottish cricketer. He was an all-rounder who bowled slow left-arm orthodox and batted right-handed and was described by his Wisden obituary as "the best all-rounder Scotland ever produced".
Bernard James Tindal Bosanquet was an English cricketer best known for inventing the googly, a delivery designed to deceive the batsman. When bowled, it appears to be a leg break, but after pitching the ball turns in the opposite direction to that which is expected, behaving as an off break instead. Bosanquet, who played first-class cricket for Middlesex between 1898 and 1919, appeared in seven Test matches for England as an all-rounder. He was chosen as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1905.
Kent County Cricket Club's 1906 season was the seventeenth season in which the county competed in the County Championship and saw the side win their first Championship title. Kent played 25 first-class cricket matches during the season, losing only four matches overall, and only two matches in the 1906 County Championship. They finished equal on points with Yorkshire and Surrey but won the title on the percentage of finished matches won.
Kent County Cricket Club's 1909 season was the twentieth season in which the county club competed in the County Championship. Kent played 30 first-class cricket matches during the season, losing only two matches overall, and won their second championship title. They finished clearly ahead of second place Lancashire in the 1909 County Championship with the previous year's winners, Yorkshire, in third place.
Geoffrey Smith, known as Geoff Smith, was an English amateur cricketer who played for Kent County Cricket Club between 1951 and 1958. He made 42 appearances in first-class cricket for the county, playing in his holidays, and professionally worked on engineering projects around the world.
Harold Lawrence Hever was an English cricketer. He played seven first-class matches between 1921 and 1925, six of them for Kent County Cricket Club where he was a professional on the playing staff.