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Arthur Richards (cricketer)

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Arthur Richards
Personal information
Full name
Arthur Carew Richards
Born(1865-02-20)20 February 1865
Grays, Essex, England
Died29 November 1930(1930-11-29) (aged 65)
Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm slow
RelationsWilliam Richards (father)
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1884–1904Hampshire
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 4
Runs scored 104
Batting average 17.33
100s/50s –/–
Top score 47
Balls bowled 304
Wickets 3
Bowling average 37.33
5 wickets in innings –
10 wickets in match –
Best bowling 3/45
Catches/stumpings 2/–
Source: Cricinfo, 13 February 2010

Arthur Carew Richards OBE (20 February 1865 – 29 November 1930) was an English first-class cricketer and an officer in the British Army.

Life and military career

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The son of the cricketer and clergyman William Richards, he was born in February 1865 at Grays, Essex. He was educated at Eton College,[1] where he played for the college cricket eleven and won the Public School Racket with Ralph Pemberton.[1][2] From there, he matriculated to Jesus College, Cambridge.[3] During the summer break which followed his freshman year at Cambridge, Richards made his first-class debut for Hampshire against Sussex at Southampton in 1884, with him making a further appearance that season against Somerset.[4]

After graduating from Cambridge, he was commissioned a lieutenant in the Hampshire Regiment in December 1886.[5] Richards served with the Burmese Expedition from 1887 to 1889, during which he was slightly injured. He was made a supernumerary captain in July 1893,[6] before seeing action in the Second Boer War.[1] After arrival in South Africa in early 1900, he took part in the battles of Paardeberg, Poplar Grove, Karee, Brandfort and de Vet and Zand Rivers; and the occupation of the Boer capitals Bloemfontein and Pretoria. He was District Commander at Hoopstad from June 1900 until April 1901,[3] was mentioned in despatches and received the Queen's South Africa Medal (with three clasps).[7] Following the end of hostilities in early June 1902, he left Cape Town on board the SS Orotava,[8] and arrived at Southampton the next month. From November 1902 he was an adjutant in the 5th (Isle of Wight Princess Beatrice's) Volunteer Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment,[9][10] before being promoted to the full rank of captain in 1905.[3] He retired from active service in July of the same year.[11]

Since playing for Hampshire in 1884, the county had lost and later regained its first-class status. Richards returned to play for Hampshire in the 1903 County Championship against Essex, before making a final appearance in the 1904 County Championship against Sussex.[4] In four first-class matches, he scored 104 runs at an average of 17.33, with a highest score of 47.[12] With his right-arm slow bowling, he took three wickets.[13] He later returned to military service in the First World War, being appointed a railway transportation officer at Woolwich.[3] In July 1916, he was made a commandant of a prisoner-of-war camp and was appointed a temporary lieutenant colonel whilst holding that command.[14] After the end of the war, he was made an OBE in December 1919, to be antedated to June 1919.[15] Richards died at Nottingham in November 1930.[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Eton College Register 1883–1889. Vol. 5. Eton: Spottiswoode & Co. 1908. p. 9.
  2. ^ "Wisden - Obituaries in 1930". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d Venn, John (1944). Alumni Cantabrigienses. Vol. 5. Cambridge University Press. p. 286.
  4. ^ a b "First-class matches played by Arthur Richards". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  5. ^ "No. 25653". The London Gazette. 7 December 1886. p. 6194.
  6. ^ "No. 26430". The London Gazette. 8 August 1893. p. 4523.
  7. ^ Hart′s Army list, 1903
  8. ^ "The Army in South Africa - Troops returning home". The Times. No. 36804. London. 26 June 1902. p. 10.
  9. ^ "No. 27502". The London Gazette. 9 December 1902. p. 8512.
  10. ^ "No. 27497". The London Gazette. 21 November 1902. p. 7539.
  11. ^ "No. 27823". The London Gazette. 1 August 1905. p. 5298.
  12. ^ "First-Class Batting and Fielding For Each Team by Arthur Richards". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  13. ^ "First-Class Bowling For Each Team by Arthur Richards". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  14. ^ "No. 29772". The London Gazette. 3 October 1916. p. 9561.
  15. ^ "No. 31684". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 December 1919. p. 15454.
  16. ^ "A soldiers funeral". Nottingham Journal. 3 December 1930. p. 7. Retrieved 16 February 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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