Sir Francis Eden Lacey (19 October 1859 at

Wareham, Dorset Wareham ( ) is a historic market town and, under the name Wareham Town, a civil parish, in the English county of Dorset. The town is situated on the River Frome eight miles (13 km) southwest of Poole. Situation and geography The town is bu ...

– 26 May 1946,

Sutton Veny Sutton Veny is a village and civil parish in the Wylye valley, to the southeast of the town of Warminster in Wiltshire, England; the village is about from Warminster town centre. 'Sutton' means 'south farmstead' in relation to Norton Bavant, on ...

, Wiltshire) was the first man to be

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 ...

for services to

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 ...

(and the first person to be knighted for services to any sport) in the 1926 King's Birthday Honours List, on retiring as Secretary of

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 ...

(MCC), a post which he held from 1898 to 1926. As Secretary, he initiated many important reforms. He was subsequently a Trustee of the club from 1926 until his death.

Early life and career

Lacey was educated at

Sherborne School (God and My Right) , established = 705 by Aldhelm, re-founded by King Edward VI 1550 , closed = , type = Public school Independent, boarding school , religion = Church of England , president = , chair_label = Chairman of the governors , ...

and

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

. He played both

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and cricket 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 ...

, obtaining a

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

for football in 1881 and for cricket in 1882. He was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

from the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in 1889, and practised as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

First-class cricket

Most of his cricket, in a first-class career lasting from 1880 to 1897, was played for

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

as a right-handed batsman and a right-arm slow round-arm bowler. He was Hampshire's captain from 1888 to 1889, and President in 1927–8. Hampshire were not admitted to the

County Championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...

until 1895, prior to which they played comparatively few first-class matches. He therefore played only 50 first-class games during his long career, scoring 2,589 runs at an average of 32.77, with four hundreds and a highest score of 211 (at the

Antelope Ground The Antelope Ground, Southampton was a sports ground that was the first home of both Hampshire County Cricket Club, who played there prior to 1884, and of Southampton Football Club, who played there from 1887 to 1896 as "Southampton St. Mary's ...

, Southampton) against

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

in 1884. He took 52 wickets at 21.59, with best innings figures of 7/149. He scored 323

not out In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at t ...

for Hampshire against

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

in 1887 in a non first-class fixture, which remains the highest score ever made in a

Minor Counties The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes unde ...

match.

Personal life

Lacey married twice. Firstly on 9 April 1890, he married Helen Carnegie, daughter of the 9th

Earl of Northesk Earl of Northesk is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1662 for John Carnegie, who notably served as Sheriff of Forfarshire. He was given the subsidiary title of Lord Rosehill and Eglismauldie (or Inglismaldie) at the same t ...

. She died on 18 May 1908. He married secondly Mary Marshall (née Ramsay), former wife of J. Campbell Walker. His portrait was painted by

George Spencer Watson George Spencer Watson R.O.I., R.P., A.R.A., R.A. (8 March 1869, in London – 11 April 1934, in London) was an English portrait artist of the late romantic school who sometimes worked in the style of the Italian Renaissance. Career He studie ...

in 1928. He died on 26 May 1946 at his home, Sutton Veny House.

References

* ''Barclay's World of Cricket – 2nd Edition'', 1980, Collins Publishers,

External links

Cricinfo

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lacey, Francis English cricketers Hampshire cricketers Hampshire cricket captains Cambridge University cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Secretaries of the Marylebone Cricket Club English cricket administrators Cricket players and officials awarded knighthoods People educated at Sherborne School Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge English barristers Members of the Inner Temple Knights Bachelor 1859 births 1946 deaths I Zingari cricketers Gentlemen cricketers Oxford and Cambridge Universities cricketers A. J. Webbe's XI cricketers