David Alexander Ashby (11 June 1852 – 2 June 1934) was an English-born

cricketer 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 ...

who played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

for

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

in England in 1874, and

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

in New Zealand from 1876 to 1890.

Life and career

Ashby was born in

and played for the county in 1873 and 1874. He moved to New Zealand, arriving in 1875, and took a job at a

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

flour mill operated by William Wood, where he worked for the next 50 years. He became a regular member of the Canterbury team. An all-rounder who batted at various positions in the order and opened the bowling, he played a major part in Canterbury's spectacular victory over

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

at the

Auckland Domain The Auckland Domain, also known as Pukekawa / Auckland Domain, is a large park in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the oldest park in the city, and at is one of the largest. Located in the central suburb of Grafton, the park land is the remains o ...

ground in 1877-78. Canterbury batted first and made 93 (Ashby 12), Auckland replied with 135 (Ashby 4 for 42), and Canterbury made 163 in their second innings (Ashby 32, the second-highest score in the match). Auckland needed 122 to win, but Ashby took 5 for 2, he and

Billy Frith William Frith (9 June 1912 – 1996) was an English football player and manager. Starting his career with Worksop Town, Mansfield Town, and Chesterfield; he won a move to Coventry City in 1932. He stayed with the club right up until the outbr ...

(3 for 3) skittling Auckland for 13, a total that included eight

byes In cricket, a bye is a type of extra. It is a run scored by the batting team when the ball has not been hit by the batter and the ball has not hit the batter's body. Scoring byes Usually, if the ball passes the batter without being deflected, th ...

. Ashby was a member of the Canterbury side that inflicted the only defeat on the touring Australian team in 1877-78. A month later he took his best bowling figures, 6 for 27 (all bowled) in Canterbury's annual match against

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

, at the

South Dunedin Recreation Ground The Kensington Oval, formerly known as the South Dunedin Recreation Ground, is a park and sports ground in Kensington, Dunedin, New Zealand.Herd, J., and Griffiths, G.J., (1980) ''Discovering Dunedin.'' Dunedin: John McIndoe. . p. 90 It is also kno ...

. He made his highest first-class score in 1879-80 at Dunedin's Caledonian Ground. Captaining the side, he won the toss and batted, and scored 59 out of Canterbury's total of 190. He hit one ball out of the ground; the stroke was later measured at 130 yards. He and Billy Frith's brother

Charlie Charlie may refer to: Characters * "Charlie," the head of the Townsend Agency', from the ''Charlie's Angels'' franchise * Charlie, a character on signs for the CharlieCard, a smart card issued by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority * ...

then bowled Otago out for 105 and 99, and Canterbury won by nine wickets. He took part in New Zealand's first overseas cricket tour, when Canterbury visited Victoria and

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

in 1878-79 and played several non-first-class matches. After his playing career ended he became an umpire, standing in a first-class match in Christchurch in 1901. He was one of the 14 players chosen in 1927 by the New Zealand cricket historian

Tom Reese Thomas Wilson Reese (29 September 1867 – 13 April 1949) was a New Zealand first-class cricketer who played for Canterbury from 1888 to 1918, and later wrote a two-volume history of New Zealand cricket. Life and career Reese was one of the fir ...

as the best New Zealand cricketers before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Ashby and his wife Mary Jane (née Haddrell), whom he married in Christchurch in April 1882, had a son and three daughters. They lived in the Christchurch suburb of Riccarton. At his funeral all the pall-bearers were employees of Wood Brothers flour mill.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashby, David 1852 births 1934 deaths Surrey cricketers Canterbury cricketers British emigrants to New Zealand English cricketers Surrey Club cricketers Sportspeople from the London Borough of Sutton Cricketers from Greater London 19th-century New Zealand sportspeople