Alfred James "Dandy" Lowth (27 July 1817 – 5 February 1907) was an English cleric and first-class

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 with amateur status. As a cricketer he was active from 1836 to 1841, when his career was cut short because of failing eyesight.

Career

Lowth matriculated at

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth-oldest college of the un ...

, becoming a scholar in 1838. He graduated B.A. in 1841, and M.A. in 1844. After graduating at Oxford, Lowth became a Church of England priest and was

perpetual curate Perpetual curate was a class of resident parish priest or incumbent curate within the United Church of England and Ireland (name of the combined Anglican churches of England and Ireland from 1800 to 1871). The term is found in common use mainly du ...

of Branksea Island in Poole Harbour, Dorset, 1845–60;

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

Hamworthy Hamworthy is a village, parish, peninsula and suburb of Poole in Dorset, England. It is sited on a peninsula of approximately that is bordered by the town of Upton to the north, Poole Harbour to the south, Lytchett Bay to the west and Hol ...

, Dorset, 1860–62;, and rector of St Swithun-upon-Kingsgate, Winchester, 1865–85.

Cricketer

Lowth was a left arm

fast bowler Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is one of two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket, the other being spin bowling. Practitioners of pace bowling are usually known as ''fast'' bowlers, ''quicks'', or ''pacemen''. T ...

, using a roundarm action, who was recorded in 8 matches designated first-class by ''CricketArchive''. He totalled 101 runs with a highest score of 24 and held 3 catches. His bowling record was outstanding as he took 63 wickets in his eight games and twice achieved

ten wickets in a match In cricket, a ten-wicket haul occurs when a bowler takes ten wickets in either a single innings or across both innings of a two-innings match. The phrase ten wickets in a match is also used. Taking ten wickets in a match at Lord's earns the bowle ...

. Lowth played six times for

Oxford University Cricket Club Oxford University Cricket Club (OUCC), which represents the University of Oxford, has always held first-class status since 1827 when it made its debut in the inaugural University Match between OUCC and Cambridge University Cricket Club (CUCC). ...

and also represented the Gentlemen twice in the

Gentlemen v Players Gentlemen v Players was a long-running series of English first-class cricket matches. Two matches were played in 1806, but the fixture was not played again until 1819. It became an annual event, usually played at least twice each season, exc ...

series. Known as "Dandy", Lowth appeared for the Gentlemen in the 1836 match when still a pupil at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

. He was only 5 feet 4 inches tall, which is small for a fast bowler but he was described as a "pocket Hercules". His action was described as "natural roundarm at the height of the shoulder" and, although a fast bowler, he put a lot of spin on the ball.Warner, p.42. A letter to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' in 1919 quoted from the preface to

John Wisden John Wisden (5 September 1826 – 5 April 1884) was an English cricketer who played 187 first-class cricket matches for three English county cricket teams, Kent, Middlesex and Sussex. His father, William, was a builder. He attended Brighton's ...

's book ''Public School Matches'': "Probably the greatest bowler who has ever hailed from Winchester was A. J. Lowth, who holds the unique record of having represented the Gentlemen of England v. the Players at Lord's whilst still a boy at school." A reply from

Pelham Warner Sir Pelham Francis Warner, (2 October 1873 – 30 January 1963), affectionately and better known as Plum Warner or "the Grand Old Man" of English cricket, was a Test cricketer and cricket administrator. He was knighted for services to sport in ...

three days later indicated that Lowth's feat was achieved for a team of 18 Gentlemen against 11 Players, and "that Mr G. T. S. Stevens is entitled to the honour of having achieved a unique feat" in that he appeared in a full Gentlemen v Players game while still at school. Lowth played for Oxford for three seasons and made another appearance for the Gentlemen in 1841 but his career ended early due to failing eyesight.

Publication

*''Winchester Cathedral: an historical poem'', Jacob & Johnson, "Hampshire Chronicle" Office, Winchester, 1897

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lowth, Alfred James 1817 births 1907 deaths English cricketers English cricketers of 1826 to 1863 Gentlemen cricketers Oxford University cricketers People educated at Winchester College Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford 19th-century English Anglican priests