Cyril Deason Robinson (18 July 1873 – 25 August 1948) was a South African and 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 and clergyman.

Biography

Robinson was born in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

Natal Province The Province of Natal (), commonly called Natal, was a province of South Africa from May 1910 until May 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. During this period rural areas inhabited by the black African population of Natal were organized into ...

, the son of Frederic Sidney Robinson, the Archdeacon of Durban. He was educated at Hilton College in Natal 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 ...

. Robinson was a right-handed batsman who fielded as a

wicket-keeper The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. Th ...

. He made his first-class debut for

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

against CI Thornton's XI in 1901. He played 8 further first-class matches for the university, the last coming 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 ...

in 1896. In between the end of the 1895 season and the start of the 1896 season, Robinson toured the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

with F Mitchell's XI, making 3 first-class appearances: one against a University of Pennsylvania Past and Present team and two against the

Gentlemen of Philadelphia The Philadelphian cricket team was a team that represented Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in first-class cricket between 1878 and 1913. Even with the United States having played the first ever international cricket match against Canada in 1844, t ...

. In the same season that he made his debut for Cambridge University, he also made his debut for

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

against

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

. Robinson played 2 further Minor counties matches for Buckinghamshire in 1895 and 1896, before playing 2 further fixtures in 1907. Robinson later appeared in first-class cricket for his native Natal in 1906 against the

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 ...

. He played first-class cricket for Natal from 1906 to 1911, making his final first-class appearance against

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

. He also played first-class cricket for the

South Africans The population of South Africa is about 58.8 million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages, and religions. The South African National Census of 2022 was the most recent census held; the next will be in 2032. In 2011, Statistics Sout ...

in their tour of the British Isles in 1907, although he played in some tour matches, he didn't feature in any

Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

. He also played once for the Rest of South Africa. In total, Robinson appeared in 30 first-class matches, scoring 542 runs at a batting average of 12.60, with a highest score of 41. Behind the

stumps In cricket, the stumps are the three vertical posts that support the bails and form the wicket. '' Stumping'' or ''being stumped'' is a method of dismissing a batsman. The umpire ''calling stumps'' means the play is over for the day. Part of ...

he took 36

catches Catch may refer to: In sports * Catch (game), children's game * Catch (baseball), a maneuver in baseball * Catch (cricket), a mode of dismissal in cricket * Catch or reception (gridiron football) * Catch, part of a rowing stroke In music * Cat ...

and made 19

stumping Stumped is a method of dismissing a batsman in cricket, which involves the wicket-keeper putting down the wicket while the batsman is out of his ground. (The batsman leaves his ground when he has moved down the pitch beyond the popping crease ...

s. Robinson was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

priest in England in 1898. He served as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

Walworth Walworth () is a district of south London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. It adjoins Camberwell to the south and Elephant and Castle to the north, and is south-east of Charing Cross. Major streets in Walworth include the Old ...

before returning to South Africa, where he served as a curate in Durban from 1899 to 1904. He was in charge of the Native Mission in Ladysmith for most of the period from 1904 to 1924, and was also the principal of St Chad's College in

Modderspruit Modderspruit is a town in Bojanala District Municipality in the North West province of South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the s ...

from 1913 to 1924. He was Superintendent of Native Missions in

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

from 1924 to 1946, and canon of

St Saviour's Cathedral, Pietermaritzburg St Saviour's Cathedral was the home of the Anglican Diocese of Natal in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa from 1868 until its deconsecration in 1976: it was demolished in 1981. References Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGung ...

, from 1926 to 1946. He married Agnes Hallowes in 1905. He died in

Botha's Hill Botha's Hill (locally , ) is a small town outside Hillcrest in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It remains a peaceful beautiful hill where regular country style food and craft markets are held. It is the gateway to the Valley of a Thousand Hills. Ke ...

, Natal, on 25 August 1948. His brother Leo and his cousins Lewis and Patrick Addison also played first-class cricket, as did his nephew

Victor Robinson Victor Robinson (16 August 1886, in Ukraine – 15 January 1947) was a physician and medical journalist. Biography In early childhood, he was brought to United States of America after being born in Ukraine. For two years, he studied at New York ...

References

External links

Cyril Robinson
at

ESPNcricinfo ESPN cricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a ...

Cyril Robinson
at CricketArchive {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Cyril 1873 births 1948 deaths Alumni of Hilton College (South Africa) Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Cricketers from Durban South African cricketers Cambridge University cricketers Buckinghamshire cricketers South African expatriate cricketers in England KwaZulu-Natal cricketers 20th-century South African Anglican priests Wicket-keepers