Alfred Henry Evans (14 June 1858 – 26 March 1934) was an English first-class cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman who bowled right-arm fast-medium.

Early life

Evans was the son of Deputy-Surgeon-General Evans, M.D., formerly Inspector-General of Hospitals in Madras. Evans was educated at Rossall School, before moving to Clifton College where he represented the college cricket team from 1875 to 1877. Later, Evans was educated at

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, wh ...

."Clifton College Register" Muirhead, J.A.O. ref no 614: Bristol; J.W Arrowsmith for Old Cliftonian Society; April, 1948

Early career

Evans made his first-class debut for the Oxford University against the Gentlemen of England in 1878. In Evans' second match for the university against the Marylebone Cricket Club he took his maiden

five-wicket haul In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batsman. Takin ...

of 6/39. A few matches later against Cambridge University Evans took 5/55 in Cambridge Universities first innings and 7/86 in the Universities second innings to give him maiden ten wicket haul in a match. Evans played four matches for Oxford University in 1878. In the same season Evans made his debut for the Gentlemen in the annual Gentlemen v Players, the gentlemen side featured W.G. Grace. Also in 1878, Evans made his debut for the Gentlemen of England against the touring Australians. In 1879 Evans represented Oxford University in four first-class matches, as well as representing the Gentlemen in two Gentlemen v Players fixtures. Also during the 1879 season, Evans played a single first-class match for I Zingari against Yorkshire and a single match for the Gentlemen of the North v Gentlemen of the South, where Evans represented the South. In the 1879 season Evans took 41 wickets at a

bowling average In cricket, a player's bowling average is the number of runs they have conceded per wicket taken. The lower the bowling average is, the better the bowler is performing. It is one of a number of statistics used to compare bowlers, commonly use ...

of 12.09, with five five wicket hauls and two ten wicket hauls in a match. Evans best bowling figures were 7/31. In 1880 Evans represented an England XI against R Daft's American XI, where Evans took 9/59 in R Daft's American XI's first innings. From 1880 to 1881 Evans represented Oxford University in ten more first-class matches, with his final match for the university coming against Cambridge University in 1881. In his eighteen first-class matches for the university, Evans scored 348 runs at a batting average of 11.22 and a high score of 49. With the ball Evans took 107 wickets at a

of 15.21, with thirteen five wicket hauls, four ten wicket hauls in a match and best bowling figures of 7/74. Evans captained the university in 1881 and was awarded his Oxford Blue in the same year. In 1881 Evans made his debut for the Marylebone Cricket Club against the touring Australians. The same season Evans made his debut for Somerset against Lancashire. From 1882 to 1884 Evans represented Somerset in six first-class matches, with his final appearance for the county coming against Hampshire. Evans scored 212 runs at a batting average of 23.55, with two half centuries and a high score of 59 *. With the ball Evans took 26 wickets at a bowling average of 22.00, with two five wicket hauls and best figures of 6-75. In 1882 Evans played two more first-class matches for I Zingari against the touring Australians and Yorkshire.

Later career

In 1885 Evans made his debut for Hampshire 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 ...

. Evans played two more first-class matches for Hampshire in 1885 against Derbyshire and Kent. In his three matches for Hampshire, Evans took 10 wickets at a bowling average of 17.80, with best figures of 4/47. In 1885 Evans played his final match for I Zingari against the Gentlemen of England. Evans also played his final first-class match for the Gentlemen in the 1885 Gentlemen v Players fixture. Evans played seven first-class matches for the Gentlemen, taking 39 wickets at a bowling average of 9.35, with four five wicket hauls and one ten wicket haul in a match and best figures of 7/31. Evans final first-class match came in 1885 for the Marylebone Cricket Club against Yorkshire. In Evans overall first-class career he played 44 matches, scoring 908 runs at a batting average of 13.75, with three half centuries and a high score of 59 *. Evans took 204 wickets at a

of 16.08, with twenty five wicket hauls and six ten wicket hauls and best figures of 9/59 which came for an England XI against R Daft's American XI in 1880.

After cricket

From January 1882 until April 1888 Evans was the assistant master at Winchester College. Later Evans became headmaster of Horris Hill School at

Newbury, Berkshire Newbury is a market town in the county of Berkshire, England, and is home to the administrative headquarters of West Berkshire Council. The town centre around its large market square retains a rare medieval Cloth Hall, an adjoining half timbere ...

, a position he held from 1888 to 1920. Evans died at

Saunton Saunton is a village located approximately two miles from Braunton on the North Devon coast in the South West of England. Several kilometres long, the village borders Braunton Burrows, the heart of North Devon's Biosphere Reserve, the first ...

, Devon on 26 March 1934.

Family

Evans' sons John and Ralph both played first-class cricket, John captaining Kent in 1927 and playing one Test match for England in 1921. His nephews, Dudley, William and Alfred also all played first-class cricket.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Alfred 1858 births 1934 deaths People from the Madras Presidency People educated at Rossall School People educated at Clifton College Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford English cricketers Oxford University cricketers Gentlemen cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Somerset cricketers Hampshire cricketers Schoolteachers from Berkshire I Zingari cricketers Gentlemen of the South cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers 19th-century sportsmen Heads of schools in England English cricketers of 1864 to 1889 British people in colonial India