James Bush (sportsman)

James Arthur Bush (28 July 1850 – 21 September 1924) was an English sportsman who played first-class cricket for Gloucestershire and represented England at rugby union.

James Bush

Personal information
Full name	James Arthur Bush
Born	28 July 1850 Cawnpore, Uttar Pradesh, India
Died	21 September 1924 (aged 74) Clevedon, Somerset
Batting	Left-handed batsman
Role	Wicket-keeper
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1870–1890	Gloucestershire
Career statistics
Competition First-class Matches 148 Runs scored 1263 Batting average 8.04 100s/50s 0/2 Top score 57 Balls bowled 136 Wickets 0 Bowling average – 5 wickets in innings – 10 wickets in match – Best bowling – Catches/stumpings 206/93
Source: CricketArchive, 28 July 1890

James Bush

Birth name	James Arthur Bush
School	Clifton College[1]
Rugby union career
Position(s) Three-quarter Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) Clifton Rugby Football Club Blackheath FC County side: Gloucestershire () National team(s) Years Team Apps (Points)  England

Family

Bush, the son of Major Robert Bush and his wife Emily, was educated at Clifton College,[2] as were three younger brothers who played rugby for the Clifton Rugby Football Club.[3] One of them, Robert Edwin Bush, also played cricket at Gloucestershire and later moved to Western Australia where he went exploring and became a member of the Western Australian Legislative Council. Another brother, John Edward Bush, had an accomplished military career where he reached the rank of Brigadier General. The third brother to play rugby at Clifton was James Paul Bush, who also served in the military as a surgeon with the Bristol Royal Infirmary and was at one time the Deputy Lieutenant for Gloucestershire.[4]

Cricket

Born in India, Bush played at Gloucestershire as an amateur. He was Gloucestershire's wicket-keeper in their strong side of the 1870s which won the only four championships in their history, one of them shared. Bush was a good friend of captain W.G. Grace and was the best man at his wedding.[5] He toured Australia with a W.G. Grace XI in 1873/74 which caused him to miss a rugby international against Scotland.[6]

Bush made just two half centuries in his first-class career, with a highest score of 57 against Yorkshire in an 1879 County Match.[7]

Aside from playing at Gloucestershire, Bush also represented the Gentlemen cricket team in a couple of Gentlemen v Players fixtures and also played a match for the South of England cricket team.[8]

Rugby

Bush was capped five times for England at international rugby, playing as a forward. All but one of those came against Scotland, with games in 1872, 1873, 1875 and 1876. He won his only other cap when he lined up for England against Ireland at Leinster in 1875.[9] Before his England debut, Bush had made five appearances for Blackheath.

He also played some association football matches as a goalkeeper for Clifton F.C.[10]

References

1. Francis Marshall, Football the Rugby union game, pages 484–488, London
2. "Clifton College Register" Muirhead, J.A.O. p4: Bristol; J.W Arrowsmith for Old Cliftonian Society; April, 1948
3. "Brief profile of J.A.Bush". CricketArchive.
4. "Centre for First World War Studies". University of Birmingham.
5. "The Bush Family". Clifton Rugby Football Club.
6. "WG Grace's XI in Australia 1873/74". CricketArchive.
7. "Yorkshire v Gloucestershire 1879". CricketArchive.
8. "First-Class Matches played by James Bush". CricketArchive.
9. "James Bush". Scrum.com.
10. "James Arthur Bush". Clifton Rugby Football Club.

External links

• Cricinfo: James Bush