William Geoffrey Lowndes Frith Lowndes (born William Geoffrey Lowndes Frith; 24 January 1898 – 23 May 1982), known as Geoffrey Lowndes, was an English 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. He 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 ...

from 1921 to 1936, the majority of which was 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 ...

. He succeeded Lord Tennyson as Hampshire

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1934, holding the captaincy for two seasons.

Early life and cricket

The son of William Frith, also a cricketer (who changed his surname and that of his issue from Frith to Frith Lowndes in July 1906), he was born at

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan The London Plan is the statutory spatial development strategy for the Gre ...

in February 1898. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

, before joining the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in the final two years of 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 ...

, being commissioned as a temporary

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in December 1916, with appointment to the

21st Lancers The 21st Lancers (Empress of India's) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1858 and amalgamated with the 17th Lancers in 1922 to form the 17th/21st Lancers. Perhaps its most famous engagement was the Battle of Omdurman, where W ...

in August 1917. Lowndes later served in the Third Anglo-Afghan War, which followed the First World War. After completing his military service, Lowndes matriculated to

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

. There, he played

for Oxford University Cricket Club, making his debut in 1921 against the

Free Foresters Free Foresters Cricket Club is an English amateur cricket club, established in 1856 for players from the Midland counties of England. It is a 'wandering' (or nomadic) club, having no home ground. The Free Foresters were founded by the Rev. Willi ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. He was a late inclusion in the Oxford side for the match, with his performance (three wickets and scores of 21 and 29) securing him a place in the Oxford side for their next match against the

British Army cricket team The Army cricket team is a cricket side representing the British Army. The Army team played 51 first-class matches between 1912 and 1939, although a combined Army and Navy side had played two games against a combined Oxford and Cambridge team ...

, where he scored 88 in the Oxford first innings. His performances in these two trial matches secured him a place in the Oxford side in four further matches in the 1921 season, including playing in The University Match at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

. Against H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI at

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

, he made a

double century In cricket, a century is a score of 100 or more runs in a single innings by a batsman. The term is also included in "century partnership" which occurs when two batsmen add 100 runs to the team total when they are batting together. A century ...

with a score of 216, sharing in a partnership of 218 in a little over 90 minutes for the fourth wicket with

Humphrey Ward Humphrey Plowden "H.P." Ward (20 January 1899 – 16 December 1946) was an English amateur first-class cricketer, who played for Oxford University (1919–1921), Europeans (India) (1921/22–1945/46), Madras (1926/27–1938/39), H. D. G. Leves ...

. After graduating from Oxford, Lowndes played for the Free Foresters ''against'' Oxford University in 1923.

Hampshire captaincy and later life

Lowndes played for

twice in the

1924 County Championship The 1924 County Championship was the 31st officially organised running of the County Championship. Yorkshire County Cricket Club won the championship title for the third successive year. Final placings were still decided by calculating the perce ...

against

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

and

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 ...

. He was a regular member of H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI, first playing for his eleven in 1926. Lowndes would make twelve first-class appearances for his team, scoring 494 runs. In the 1920s, he also played for 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 ...

(MCC) against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, and for the Harlequins against the touring

West Indians A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...

at Eastbourne. In the early 1930s, he played for an England XI against the touring New Zealanders and West Indians, in addition to playing for the Gentlemen 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 ...

fixture at

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

in 1933. Having played intermittently for Hampshire since his debut for the county, Lowndes was persuaded by Lord Tennyson to succeed him as Hampshire captain in 1934. The Hampshire side he inherited was in a state of transition, so had little success, nevertheless, he was a popular captain amongst his contemporaries. He played first-class cricket for Hampshire until 1935, after which he was succeeded as captain by Dick Moore. He made a final first-class appearance in 1936, for the Free Foresters against Oxford University. Lowndes played the majority (41 matches) of his first-class cricket for Hampshire, scoring 1,558 runs at an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

of 21.94; he made four centuries, with a highest score of 143. His most notable innings of 140 came against the touring

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, several (or all) ...

in 1934, reaching his century in 75 minutes and adding 247 runs in under three hours for the fourth wicket with

Phil Mead Charles Phillip Mead (9 March 1887 – 26 March 1958) was an English first-class cricketer. He played as a left-handed batsman for Hampshire and England between 1905 and 1936. He was born at 10 Ashton Buildings (since pulled down), second elde ...

. Overall, in 79 first-class matches, he scored 3,244 runs at an average of 24.02, recording five centuries. Lowndes was described by '' Wisden'' as an "attacking batsman and a particularly fine driver, at his best on fast wickets". He also a capable

fast-medium 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 ...

away-swing bowler, whom ''Wisden'' noted "sometimes took the new ball and might perhaps have used himself more". He took 78 wickets at a

bowling average In cricket, a player's bowling average is the number of runs they have conceded per wicket taken. The lower the bowling average is, the better the bowler is performing. It is one of a number of statistics used to compare bowlers, commonly use ...

of 38.50, with best figures of 3 for 5. Lowndes played the game in an amateur spirit – playing more for fun and the enjoyment of others. In 1943, Lowndes was alleged to have engaged in an affair with Joan Holroyd Akers-Douglas, wife of the Kent cricketer

Ian Akers-Douglas Ian Stanley Akers-Douglas (16 November 1909 – 16 December 1952) was an English amateur cricketer and rackets player. He was a right-handed batsman who played first-class cricket for Oxford University and Kent County Cricket Club between 1929 a ...

; their marriage ended in divorce as a result. In September 1949, he played an exhibition match for the Duke of Edinburgh's XI at

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

. Lowndes died at Newbury in May 1982, aged 84. At the time of his death, he was the last survivor of the 1921 Oxford University team.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lowndes, Geoffrey 1898 births 1982 deaths Cricketers from Wandsworth People educated at Eton College British Army personnel of World War I 21st Lancers officers British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Afghan War Alumni of New College, Oxford English cricketers Oxford University cricketers Free Foresters cricketers Hampshire cricketers H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Harlequins cricketers Gentlemen cricketers Non-international England cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers Hampshire cricket captains