Abraham Bass (23 February 1804 – 15 August 1882) was an English cricketer known as 'the father of Midland cricket'. ''Burton-upon-Trent: Social and cultural activities'', A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 9: Burton-upon-Trent (2003), pp. 147–156. Retrieved 7 November 2009
/ref> He played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

for the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

in 1840 and 1841 and for

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

in 1843.

Biography

Bass was born in

Burton-upon-Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In 2011, it had a population of 72,299. The d ...

, the third son of brewer Michael Bass and his wife Sarah Hoskins. He was the main influence behind the founding of Burton Cricket Club in 1827. In 1840 he played two matches for the North against

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 ...

(MCC) at Lords and at Burton and one match in 1841 at Burton. In 1843 he played a match for

against Hampshire. He played eight innings in four first-class matches with an average of 4.50 and a top score of 10. Bass is subsequently recorded as playing for various teams against an All England XI in 1847, for Burton in 1848 and for Gentlemen of Staffordshire in 1852. He was a noted authority on batting technique, referred to as "our good friend Mr Abraham Bass – and what cricketer in the Midland Counties defers not to his judgement". Bass married Margaret Jane Lloyd, daughter of Rev George Lloyd vicar of Gresley, Derbyshire on 10 May 1852. They had a son, Roger. They lived at Moat Bank, Ashby Road,

Winshill Winshill is an area to the east of the town of Burton upon Trent, in the borough of East Staffordshire, England. Flanked to the north and east by the South Derbyshire border, historically the parish of Winshill had always been part of Derbyshir ...

British Census 1881 where he died on 15 August 1882 at the age of 78.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bass, Abraham 1804 births 1882 deaths Sportspeople from Burton upon Trent English cricketers Nottinghamshire cricketers North v South cricketers People from Derbyshire (before 1895) Cricketers from Derbyshire