William Armitstead

William George Armitstead (22 March 1833 – 12 March 1907) was an English first-class cricketer. A right-handed batsman, Armitstead was a member of a cricketing family: his brother Henry played first-class cricket, while brothers John and Robert, and nephew William, all played school cricket.[1] Armitstead played fourteen first-class matches between 1853 and 1862, the majority for Oxford University with solitary appearances for the Gentlemen of the North, Manchester Cricket Club, and the Marylebone Cricket Club.[2]

Not to be confused with William Martin Armistead.

William Armitstead
Personal information
Full nameWilliam George Armitstead
Born(1833-03-22)22 March 1833
Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, England
Died12 March 1907(1907-03-12) (aged 73)
Goostrey, Cheshire, England
BattingRight-hand bat
BowlingUnknown
RoleBatsman
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1853-1857Oxford University
1864Marylebone Cricket Club
1852Manchester
1862Gentlemen of the North
Career statistics
Competition FC
Matches 14
Runs scored 293
Batting average 12.20
100s/50s 0/0
Top score 38
Balls bowled Unknown
Wickets Unknown
Bowling average -
5 wickets in innings -
10 wickets in match -
Best bowling -
Catches/stumpings -
Source: Cricket Archive, 31 May 2014

Armitstead was also a founding member of the Free Foresters Cricket Club, along with his brother Henry.[3] It was during a match between a United England XI and the Free Foresters in 1861 that he is credited with the introduction of the white coat for cricket umpires.[1] Armitstead requested that the umpires wear something white, as their existing garments were causing him to lose sight of the ball and the bowler's hand during delivery.[4][5]

Armitstead had a modest batting record, scoring only 293 runs in twenty-five innings at a batting average of 12.20.[6] 249 of these runs were made for Oxford, for whom he made eleven appearances.[7] His best was a score of 38, made opening the batting against the Marylebone Cricket Club on 3 June 1853.[8] He took six catches, and is noted as having bowled however his bowling style or statistics are not recorded.[1][6]

He also played non-first-class at county level for Oxfordshire, Cheshire (while also playing at club level for Sandbach), and one match in 1863 for Shropshire.[9]

Armitstead was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford. After graduating at Oxford he was ordained as a Church of England priest and was vicar of Goostrey, Cheshire, from 1862 until his death there in 1907.[10]

References
Notes
  1. "Player Profile: William Armitstead". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  2. "FC Batting Per Team". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  3. "Obituaries in 1912". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  4. WKR Bedford (1895). Annals of the Free Foresters. London: Free Foresters Cricket Club. p. 44.
  5. "Cricket". Auckland Star. 22 July 1905. p. 12. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  6. "Player Profile: William Armitstead". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  7. "FC Batting By Team". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  8. "Oxford University v Marylebone Cricket Club University Match 1853". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  9. Percival, Tony (1999). Shropshire Cricketers 1844-1998. A.C.S. Publications, Nottingham. pp. 6, 40. ISBN 1-902171-17-9.Published under Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians.
  10. "Landed families of Britain and Ireland: (179) Armitstead of Cranage Hall".
Sources
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.