Abraham Shuker (6 July 1848 – 11 February 1909) was an English schoolmaster and

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 striki ...

er who played first-class cricket for

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

between 1874 and 1882. Shuker was born in Stockton,

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

, the son of John Shuker, a bailiff, and his wife Charlotte. He was educated at

Brewood Brewood is an ancient market town in the civil parish of Brewood and Coven, in the South Staffordshire district, in the county of Staffordshire, England. Located around , Brewood lies near the River Penk, eight miles north of Wolverhampton cit ...

School,

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

, and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

, where he graduated BA in 1872 and MA in 1879. On leaving university he became a master at

Trent College Trent College is a co-educational independent day and boarding school located in Long Eaton, Derbyshire between Nottingham and Derby. Founded in 1868 as a local ’middle class alternative’ to the more famous public schools, it is now a coedu ...

. Shuker played for

in 1873 and joined Derbyshire in the 1874 season where he made his first-class debut In his first match he opened the batting to score 41 runs, in a win against

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

. His second first-class game was the return match against Lancashire and he also played in a scratch side against

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 ...

. He played two first-class matches a season without making much impression in

1875 Events January–March * January 1 – The Midland Railway of England abolishes the Second Class passenger category, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies follow Midland's lead during the rest of the ...

1876 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Reichsbank opens in Berlin. ** The Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the world's first registered trademark symbol. * February 2 – The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs i ...

and

1877 Events January–March * January 1 – Queen Victoria is proclaimed ''Empress of India'' by the ''Royal Titles Act 1876'', introduced by Benjamin Disraeli, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . * January 8 – Great Sio ...

. He played three first-class matches in the 1878 season and again in the 1879 season when he played an additional match for the club against Harrow Wanderers. In the 1880 season, he played four matches and hit 55 against

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

to top the batting averages for the season. In the 1881 season he played three matches and scored 45 against Sussex. In the 1882 season, he played one match which was his last in June against Sussex, and opened with

Duncan Johnston Colonel Sir Duncan Alexander Johnston (25 June 1847 – 21 October 1931) was a Royal Engineers officer who became Director General of the Ordnance Survey. He also played first-class cricket for Derbyshire County Cricket Club, Derbyshire in ...

to make his top score of 86. Shuker was a right-handed batsman and played 40 innings in 22 first-class matches with an average of 15.81 and a top score of 86. Shuker retired from Trent College in 1904 after 32 years, having just established the Trent Association.Trent Association
He died at Chell House in Tunstall, Staffordshire at the age of 60.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shuker, Abraham 1848 births 1909 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge English cricketers Derbyshire cricketers Cricketers from Shropshire