Richard Daft

Infobox Old Cricketer


nationality = English
country = England
country abbrev = Eng
picture = Cricket_no_pic.pngname = Richard Daft
batting style = Right-handed batsman
bowling style = (unknown hand) slow
FCs = 254
FC runs = 9788
FC bat avg = 25.42
FC 100s/50s = 7/50
FC top score = 161
FC balls = 2012
FC wickets = 51
FC bowl avg = 20.98
FC 5s = 2
FC 10s = 0
FC best bowling = 6-59
FC catches/stumpings = 155/0
debut date = 24 Jun
debut year = 1858
last date = 29 Aug
last year = 1891
source = http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Players/28/28921/28921.html

Richard Daft (born November 2, 1835 at Nottingham; died July 18, 1900 at Radcliffe on Trent, Nottinghamshire) was an English cricketer. He was one of the best batsmen of his day, the peak of his first-class career (which lasted from 1858 to 1891) being the 1860s and early 1870s. He appeared in only a handful of matches after 1880.

Most of his major cricket was played for Nottinghamshire and the All England Eleven, and he captained the former side from 1871 to 1880. Unusually for the period, after beginning his career as a professional he later became an amateur. Two of his most notable innings were 118 at Lord's for North against South in 1862 and 102 for the Players against the Gentlemen (see Gentlemen v Players) at Lord's in 1872. [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/1/1258.html scorecard of the North v South match] ] [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/1/1759.html scorecard of the Gentlemen v Players match] ]

He led a strong side to North America in late 1879, which beat a XV of Philadelphia.

It was written of him: "Not a big hitter, but played a thoroughly sound and at the same time graceful game." ["Giants of the Game" (1900) by Lyttleton, Ford, Fry, Giffen.]

He wrote "Kings of Cricket: Reminiscences and Anecdotes with Hints on the Game", which was published by J. W. Arrowsmith/Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co. in 1893.

His brother, Charles, his sons, Harry and Richard, and his father-in-law, Butler Parr, all played first-class cricket. In August 1891, he played with Harry in the county eleven, at Kennington Oval against Surrey. Richard had returned to the Nottinghamshire side after an absence of ten years because Arthur Shrewsbury was forced to stand down through injury. Neither father nor son made any particular impact in this game, with Harry scoring 5 and 0, and Richard 12 and 2 as Surrey won by an innings and 46 runs. [cite web|url=http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/3/3731.html |title=http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/3/3731.html|title= Surrey v Nottinghamshire scorecard] His great-grandson Robin Butler served as the Cabinet Secretary (1988-1998).

Notes

External sources

* [http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/12016.html Cricinfo profile]

Further reading

* H S Altham, "A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914)", George Allen & Unwin, 1962
* Derek Birley, "A Social History of English Cricket", Aurum, 1999
* Rowland Bowen, "Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development", Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970
* Arthur Haygarth, "Scores & Biographies, Volumes 3-9 (1841-1866)", Lillywhite, 1862-1867
* John Major, "More Than A Game", HarperCollins, 2007