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Alfred Lubbock

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Alfred Lubbock
Personal information
Born(1845-10-31)31 October 1845
London, England
Died17 July 1916(1916-07-17) (aged 70)
Par, Cornwall, England
BattingRight-handed
Relations
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1863–1875Kent
1866–1869MCC
FC debut10 August 1863 Kent v England
Last FC19 July 1875 Kent v Derbyshire
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 28
Runs scored 1,043
Batting average 23.70
100s/50s 2/3
Top score 129
Balls bowled 252
Wickets 4
Bowling average 23.00
5 wickets in innings 0
10 wickets in match 0
Best bowling 2/62
Catches/stumpings 14/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 27 December 2014

Alfred Lubbock (31 October 1845 – 17 July 1916) was an English insurance underwriter and banker. He is best known as an amateur cricketer who played first-class cricket for a variety of sides including Kent County Cricket Club and the Marylebone Cricket Club between 1863 and 1875. He was considered to be one of the best batsman of his era, comparable to WG Grace, and also played association football, playing for Old Etonians in the 1875 FA Cup Final.

Early life

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Lubbock was born in London in 1845, the seventh son of Sir John Lubbock.[1][2] One of 15 children of Sir John and his wife Lady Harriet Lubbock, he was educated at Eton College. Lubbock was a fine sportsman, playing lawn tennis and excelling at the Eton wall game as well as playing cricket, captaining the school team in 1863.[2][3][4] In his Wisden obituary Sydney Pardon argued that, given the relatively low scoring nature of cricket in the 1860s, Lubbock had a claim to have had one of the best season's batting for the school,[3] including making a score of 174 not out against Winchester College in 1863.[5]

Cricket career

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Lubbock made his first-class cricket debut for Kent County Cricket Club during Canterbury Cricket Week in 1863, playing against an England side. He played a total of 28 first-class matches for a variety of teams, including Gentlemen of Kent and MCC,[6] until "practically giving up" first-class cricket before the age of 28 in 1871.[3] He played eight times in Gentlemen v Players matches and scored two centuries, one for the Gentlemen and one, his highest score of 129, for an England XI in 1867. Pardon was of the opinion that if Test cricket had existed at the time Lubbock played that "he would have had every right to play for England" in his best seasons.[3]

Lubbock appeared in only one county cricket match, his final first-class game at Catford in 1875 and ost of his cricket at this level was played during Canterbury Week or for the Gentlemen in more social environments.[2] In club cricket Lubbock played for a wide variety of sides, including Eton Ramblers, of which he was a founder with seven others in 1862,[7] the Gentlemen of West Kent, Band of Brothers and I Zingari.[2][6] He scored "hundreds of runs", including a score of 200 against Royal Engineers in 1866 but chose to play relatively little first-class cricket.[3] Pardon believed him to have been "one of the greatest batsmen" of his era who had "threatened to be WG Grace's most formidable rival".[3]

Football

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Lubbock also played football and appeared for Old Etonians in the replay of the 1875 FA Cup Final against the Royal Engineers, one of the dominant teams of the day. The first match had finished 1–1, but several Old Etonians were unable to play in the replay at The Oval and Lubbock was called in as a replacement. He finished on the losing side, Royal Engineers winning 2–0.[8]

Athletics

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Lubbock was a keen athlete and participated in various events, including the early days of the pole vault (known as the pole jump at the time).[9] He finished third in the pole vault event at the 1868 AAC Championships.[10][11]

Family and later life

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Two of Lubbock's brothers, Nevile and Edgar also played some first-class cricket for Kent and most of his brothers played cricket for the Gentlemen of West Kent at some point.[2] Edgar played in the 1875 FA Cup Final replay alongside Alfred for Old Etonians, the first time that two brothers had appeared on the same side in an FA Cup Final.[8] His oldest brother, John, became the first Baron Avebury in 1900.[2]

He is the author of Memories of Eton and Etonians (1899).[12]

Lubbock worked as an underwriter for Lloyd's of London and was a director of Robarts, Lubbock & Co, a private bank established in 1772 and owned by his family.[2][13] He married Louisa Wallwroth in 1875. The couple had five children, including the author Basil Lubbock.[2] He died at Killmarth Manor at Par, Cornwall in 1916 aged 70.[1][14]

References

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  1. ^ a b Alfred Lubbock, CricInfo. Retrieved 2018-12-15.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Carlaw D (2020) Kent County Cricketers A to Z. Part One: 1806–1914 (revised edition), pp. 338–339. (Available online at the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 2020-12-21.)
  3. ^ a b c d e f Mr Alfred Lubbock, Other deaths in 1916, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1917. Retrieved 2018-12-15.
  4. ^ Stapylton HEC (1884) Eton school lists from 1791 to 1877, p.287. Eton: Ingalton Drake. (Available online. Retrieved 2018-12-15.)
  5. ^ Past Year, Eton College Chronicle, no. 9, 1 October 1863, p.34. Available online at Eton College Archives. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  6. ^ a b Alfred Lubbock, CricInfo. Retrieved 2018-12-15.
  7. ^ Eton Glossary, Etoniana, no.116, 30 December 1955, pp.244–264. Available online at Eton College Archives. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  8. ^ a b FA Cup Final: 1875: Royal Engineers 2 Old Etonians 0 (First leg: 1-1) FA Cup Finals. Retrieved 2018-12-15.
  9. ^ "Athletic Sports". The Sportsman. 8 October 1867. Retrieved 2024-07-20 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ^ "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 2024-07-20.
  11. ^ "Amateur Athletic Club Sports". Morning Post. 22 June 1868. Retrieved 2024-07-20 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. ^ Alfred Lubbock, Memories of Eton and Etonians (1899)
  13. ^ John Lubbock, RBS Heritage, Royal Bank of Scotland, 2017. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  14. ^ Deaths, The Times, 20 July 1916, p. 11.
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