Albert Edward Lawton (31 March 1879 – 25 December 1955) was an English

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 1900 and 1910 and for

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 ...

between 1912 and 1914. He captained the Derbyshire team between 1902 and 1905 and also played for London County and

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).

Early life

Lawton was born at

Dukinfield Dukinfield is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, on the south bank of the River Tame opposite Ashton-under-Lyne, east of Manchester. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 19,306. Within the boundaries of the historic co ...

, Cheshire, the son of John Edward Lawton and his wife Ellen. His father owned a cotton spinning business at Dukinfield and in 1883 Frederic Charles Arkwright brought him to

Matlock, Derbyshire Matlock is the county town of Derbyshire, England. It is situated in the south-eastern part of the Peak District, with the National Park directly to the west. The town is twinned with the French town of Eaubonne. The former spa resort of Matloc ...

to revive Masson Mill to meet the growing market for sewing thread generated by the popularity of sewing machines. Lawton senior built a substantial mansion Woodbank, later Cromford Court, overlooking Masson Mill.

Cricket career

Lawton made his debut for Derbyshire in the 1900 season and remained with the team until 1910. He also played matches for London County from 1900 to 1903 and for the

(MCC) from 1905 to 1914. Lawton captained Derbyshire between 1902 and 1905, although for part of 1904

Maynard Ashcroft Edward Maynard Ashcroft (27 September 1875 – 26 February 1955) was an English doctor and cricketer who played first-class cricket for Derbyshire between 1897 and 1906 and captained the Derbyshire team in 1904. Early life Ashcroft was born at ...

held the captaincy. In 1902 he hit three of his ten first-class centuries, all at Derby. He scored 149 in two and a quarter hours against W.G. Grace's London County, 146 against

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

and 126 in just over two hours against

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

. He scored 1,044 runs in the 1902 season with an average of 27.47. The Lawton family left Matlock around 1910 and Lawton then played for Lancashire from 1912 to 1914. His last significant game was a one-off match for MCC in 1920. Lawton was a right hand batsman who played 314 innings in 182 first-class matches. His highest score was 168 and his average 24.78. He was a right arm slow-medium bowler who took 113 wickets with an average of 31.92. While he was captain, Derbyshire ended the season twice at 10th in the table and otherwise 12th and 14th. Wisden described Lawton as "very tall" and a "prodigious hitter".Wisden Obituaries 1955
Cricinfo.com (19 December 2005). Retrieved on 2018-05-03. Lawton died at

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

aged 76.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawton, Albert 1879 births 1955 deaths English cricketers Derbyshire cricket captains Lancashire cricketers People from Dukinfield Cricketers from Greater Manchester Sportspeople from Tameside (district) Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers London County cricketers Gentlemen cricketers North v South cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI cricketers W. G. Grace's XI cricketers