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]
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William George Armitstead | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 22 March 1833 Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 12 March 1907 (aged 73) Goostrey, Cheshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-hand bat | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Unknown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Batsman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1853-1857 | Oxford University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1864 | Marylebone Cricket Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1852 | Manchester | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1862 | Gentlemen of the North | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 where he graduated B.A. in 1857 and M.A. in 1862.[10] After graduating at Oxford he was ordained as a Church of England deacon in 1859 and priest in 1860 by the Bishop of Chester.[10] He was vicar of Goostrey, Cheshire, from 1862 until his death there in 1907.[11]
References
edit- Notes
- ^ a b c "Player Profile: William Armitstead". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
- ^ "FC Batting Per Team". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
- ^ "Obituaries in 1912". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
- ^ WKR Bedford (1895). Annals of the Free Foresters. London: Free Foresters Cricket Club. p. 44.
- ^ "Cricket". Auckland Star. 22 July 1905. p. 12. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
- ^ a b "Player Profile: William Armitstead". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
- ^ "FC Batting By Team". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
- ^ "Oxford University v Marylebone Cricket Club University Match 1853". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Crockford's Clerical Directory, 1904. Horace Cox, London. p. 34.
- ^ "Landed families of Britain and Ireland: (179) Armitstead of Cranage Hall".
- Sources
- William Armitstead at CricketArchive (subscription required)
- William Armitstead at ESPNcricinfo