Alfort Smith (7 July 1846 – 21 December 1908) 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 kept wicket 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 ...

in 1867 and 1871 and 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 1873 and 1880.

Life

Smith was born in Bank Lane, near

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

, but his parents moved to

Glossop Glossop is a market town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is located east of Manchester, north-west of Sheffield and north of the county town, Matlock. Glossop lies near Derbyshire's borders with Cheshire, Greater Manches ...

shortly after his birth. He became a cotton weaver, and started playing for Glossop cricket club in 1863 at the age of 16. He was a respected batsman and wicket-keeper at the club. He made his debut for Lancashire in 1867 against Yorkshire when he scored 2 and was not out for zero and held three catches behind the stumps. However, he did not play again until the 1871 season when he played against Derbyshire in their first outing. Smith was top scorer at 11 not out in Lancashire's record low innings score of 25, but his two catches and two stumpings were not enough to stave off defeat. He played two more matches for Lancashire and umpired one match. After a year out of the game, Smith transferred his allegiance to Derbyshire and played one match in the 1873 season which was a return match against his old side of Lancashire. In the 1875 season Smith became Derbyshire's regular wicket-keeper, and playing with bowlers such as

William Mycroft William Mycroft (1 February 1841 – 19 June 1894) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Derbyshire and MCC between 1873 and 1886. He was a left-arm fast bowler with a great deal of spin and a dangerous yorker that was ofte ...

, George Hay and William Hickton became reliable enough for the club to dispense with the services of George Frost as long-stop. He played regularly every year until 1880. Smith was a right-handed batsman and played 98 innings in 55 first-class matches at an average of 4.76 and a top score of 30. As wicket-keeper, he took 70 catches and stumped 12 times. He also bowled 16 balls without a wicket. In 1881 Smith was living with his family as a cotton weaver at Fitzallan Street Glossop Dale.British Census 1881 RG11 3458/62 p23 He maintained his links with the game, umpiring several matches each year until 1901. He was given the Lancashire v Yorkshire match in August 1893 and after Yorkshire had been defeated by 5 runs, they complained because he had been born in Lancashire. Smith died at Glossop at the age of 62.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Alfort 1846 births 1908 deaths Derbyshire cricketers English cricketers Lancashire cricketers North v South cricketers Cricketers from Bury, Greater Manchester