Sir David Maurice Serjeant (18 January 1830 – 12 January 1929) was an English-born

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 played two first-class cricket matches in Australia for Victoria. Described as a "very good batsman" with a defence that was "neat to a fault", he opened the batting for Victoria in both intercolonial matches, including in the very first against New South Wales, held in March 1856 on the newly-opened

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...

. The first ball of the match, bowled by George Gilbert, was driven by Serjeant for two. He played for Peterborough in England, and in an 1850 match against the touring All-England Eleven, he top-scored in the second innings before being bowled by John Wisden of '' Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'' fame.Peterborough v All England Eleven
Cricket Archive. Retrieved 25 April 2015. Educated at Cambridge University, Serjeant moved to Australia in 1852 and had a varied career. At club level, he made appearances for

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, and served as secretary of the Sandhurst Cricket Club. He returned to England in 1859 to continue his studies."Sir David Serjeant"
(12 November 1928), ''The Advertiser''. He worked as a physician and surgeon, and was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1922. Serjeant's brother and nephews were also cricketers.David Serjeant
Cricket Archive. Retrieved 25 April 2015. He was the author of ''Australia: Its Cricket Bat and Kangaroo''."Early Interstate Cricket: A Nonagenarian's Memories"
(15 November 1924), ''The Argus''. Serjeant was the last-surviving member of the cricketers who played in the first intercolonial match between Victoria and New South Wales. He died in London in 1929.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Serjeant, David 1830 births 1929 deaths Australian cricketers Victoria cricketers People from Ramsey, Cambridgeshire Knights Bachelor 19th-century British medical doctors

See also

References