St Edward's 150 Years - by Nicola Hunter

St Edward’s: 150 Years

Chapter 7 / Sport and Outdoors

Left: Cricket XI 1872. On the far right is Russell Henry Bencraft. Below left: After the match, XI vs MCC, 1952. Below right: Cricket coach Brian Edrich in the 1980s.

The second and third cricketpavilions,1893.

CRICKET Cricket has always been played at St Edward’s, originating in the playground at New Inn Hall Street, Oxford, and thence to various parts of the surrounding areas including public parks, Port Meadow, the Meads (today’s quad), Keble College and finally Upper One. The earliest records of results for the School’s XI date from 1873, in which six games were played, with three victories and three defeats. By 1879 the number of fixtures had risen to some 19, of which no fewer than 15 were won. Indeed, no XI in the School’s history surpassed that feat until the 2012 side recorded 16 victories. Other notable team performances have come from the 2008 side with 14 victories (including winning the inaugural John Harvey Cup), the 1935 side with 11, and the 1879 and 2009 sides with ten wins apiece. The 2013 side secured 17 victories, including winning the John Harvey Cup for the second time in the School’s history, and so hold the

The heroic Douglas Bader represented the RAF XI between 1930 and 1931, R.H.J. Brooke averaged over 40 runs with the bat for Gloucestershire between 1931 and 1935, and Peter Cranmer represented Warwickshire CCC between 1934 and 1954 and also played rugby for England. Eric ‘Budge’ Dixon captained Oxford University in 1939, and then played for Northamptonshire but was killed in the Second World War before his potential could be fully realised. The School has recently been fortunate enough to receive a bat signed by the great Sir Donald Bradman, which was presented to Dixon as a boy at prep school. This bat is now displayed in the Martyrs Pavilion. Other Teddies’ First Class cricketers from the 1940s include Derek Henderson (MCR and former 1st XI coach), who played for Oxford University and Sussex in 1944, and A.N.E. Waldron for Hampshire in 1948. Between 1950 and 1990 the School has seen a number of impressive cricketers pass through the ranks. These include

credited with the ‘invention’ of the sweep shot. Other products of the early years of St Edward’s cricket were F.W. Terry who went on to play for Somerset and Canada, T.H. Page who played for Hampshire, E.G. Read who played for Hampshire and Sussex, C.R. Wetherall who played for Northamptonshire, P. Hutchinson who took a School record 118 wickets in the season of 1880, and A.M. de Labat who represented New Zealand from 1890 to 1897. Interestingly, de Labat still holds the oldest School cricketing record remaining: 267 wickets in a 1st XI career. This record has lasted 125 years and certainly does not look like ever being beaten. In the 1920s Kenneth Harding played three matches for Sussex and Michael Spurway three for Somerset. P.A. Gibb, a boy here from 1927 to 1931, has the great distinction of scoring 93 and 106 in his two innings on Test debut against South Africa at Johannesburg in 1938. He also participated in the ‘Timeless Test’ against South Africa during the same

series. In his second innings he scored 120 in what must have been a watchful affair, given that it lasted some 451 minutes and included just two boundaries! In total he played in eight Tests for England and 287 First Class matches combined for Yorkshire, Essex and Cambridge University.

record for the highest number of wins in a school season. Two 1st XIs have had unbeaten seasons, under the captaincy of Peter Thackeray in 1968, and Oliver Martin in 1998. Over the years, St Edward’s has produced a number of notable cricketers. Foremost amongst these is Russell Henry Bencraft, the ‘father’ of Hampshire cricket who acted as their president, secretary, first captain and player. Then of course there is our first international player, E.G. Wynyard, a boy at St Edward’s in the late 1870s, who went on to play three matches for England and who is

Far left: E.J.H. Dixon (C, 1929–35). Left: E.G. Wynyard (1877–9).

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