Alexander Josiah Webbe (16 January 1855 – 19 February 1941) was a

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

er who played for

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

and

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

. He also played one

Test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. After being schooled at Harrow School, he went on to

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, where he got a Blue in his first year. He was twice captain of the university side. Whilst still at Oxford, Webbe played for the Gentlemen at

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

's and made 65 out of 203 in the opening stand, which he shared with

WG Grace William Gilbert Grace (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English amateur cricketer who was important in the development of the sport and is widely considered one of its greatest players. He played first-class cricket for a record-equal ...

. Webbe first played for Middlesex in his first year at University, aged only 20. In 1878–79 he was one of the amateurs to tour Australia with

Lord Harris Colonel George Robert Canning Harris, 4th Baron Harris, (3 February 1851 – 24 March 1932), generally known as Lord Harris, was a British colonial administrator and Governor of Bombay. He was also an English amateur cricketer, mainly active ...

, and it was on this tour that he played in his one and only Test, scoring only 4 and 0. Webbe was appointed captain of Middlesex in 1885, a post he held until 1898. His best season as a batsman was his third as captain, when in 1887 he scored 1,244 runs at an average of 47 and made 243 not out against

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

. After he retired as a cricketer, he was secretary of Middlesex from 1900 to 1922 and President of Middlesex from 1923 to 1936. From 1886 until 1909 he was a member of the committee of the

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

. In 1884, Webbe became a Christian through

Dwight L. Moody Dwight Lyman Moody (February 5, 1837 – December 26, 1899), also known as D. L. Moody, was an American evangelist and publisher connected with Keswickianism, who founded the Moody Church, Northfield School and Mount Hermon School in Massa ...

's preaching, after C. T. Studd invited him to attend Moody's campaign meeting.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Webbe, AJ 1855 births 1941 deaths People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford Cricketers from Greater London England Test cricketers English cricketers Middlesex cricket captains Oxford University cricketers Presidents of Middlesex County Cricket Club Secretaries of Middlesex County Cricket Club I Zingari cricketers Gentlemen of the South cricketers Gentlemen cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers North v South cricketers Orleans Club cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers C. I. Thornton's XI cricketers A. J. Webbe's XI cricketers Old Oxonians cricketers A. W. Ridley's XI cricketers Middlesex cricketers Gentlemen of Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers