Heathfield Harman "HH" Stephenson (3 May 1833 in

Esher Esher ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole. Esher is an outlying suburb of London near the London-Surrey Border, and with Esher Commons at its southern end, the town marks one limit of the Greater London Built-Up ...

, Surrey – 17 December 1896 in

Uppingham Uppingham is a market town in Rutland, England, off the A47 between Leicester and Peterborough, south of the county town, Oakham. It had a population of 4,745 according to the 2011 census, estimated at 4,853 in 2019. It is known for its ...

, Rutland) was a famous

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

cricketer during the game's roundarm era. Stephenson bowled right-arm fast roundarm, batted right-handed and was an occasional wicket-keeper. His known first-class career spanned the

1853 Events January–March * January 6 – Florida Governor Thomas Brown signs legislation that provides public support for the new East Florida Seminary, leading to the establishment of the University of Florida. * January 8 – Taiping R ...

to 1871 seasons. He took 303 wickets in 256 matches at 16.37 with a best analysis of 8/28. He had 17 5wI and 4 10wM. He scored 7360 runs at 17.90 with a highest score of 119, making 3 centuries. He took 152 catches and made 25 stumpings. HH Stephenson was the first cricketer to be awarded a ''hat'' for taking three wickets in consecutive balls, the origin of the

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

. He performed the feat for the

All-England Eleven In English cricket since the first half of the 18th century, various ''ad hoc'' teams have been formed for short-term purposes which have been called England (or sometimes "All-England"; i.e., in the sense of "the rest of England") to play against, ...

against the twenty-two of Hallam at the Hyde Park ground,

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

in 1858. A collection was held for Stephenson (as was customary for outstanding feats by professionals) and he was presented with a cap or hat bought with the proceeds. At the end of the 1859 English cricket season, Stephenson was one of the 12 players who took part in cricket's first-ever overseas tour when an

England cricket team The England cricket team represents England and Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club (the MCC) since 1903. Engl ...

led by George Parr visited North America. In the 1861-62 Australian cricket season, Stephenson captained the England team put together by Messrs Spiers and Pond that made the inaugural tour of Australia. The team travelled to Australia on the

SS Great Britain SS ''Great Britain'' is a museum ship and former passenger steamship that was advanced for her time. She was the largest passenger ship in the world from 1845 to 1854. She was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806–1859), for the Great We ...

. He is the first player featured on a mural in the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) pavilion showing many of the famous cricketers who have played on that ground. Stephenson was an occasional umpire after his playing career ended. He is known to have umpired 14 first-class matches from 1866 to 1882. One of them was the inaugural Test match in England at

The Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...

in 1880. Until shortly before his death, he was coach at

Uppingham School Uppingham School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils 13-18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oakham School. The headma ...

. He is buried in the town.

External sources

CricketArchive

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephenson, Hh 1833 births 1896 deaths All-England Eleven cricketers United South of England Eleven cricketers English cricketers of 1826 to 1863 English cricketers of 1864 to 1889 English cricketers Surrey cricketers Players cricketers North v South cricketers English Test cricket umpires People from Esher Surrey Club cricketers Married v Single cricketers North of the Thames v South of the Thames cricketers Players of the South cricketers Players of Surrey cricketers

External sources

Further reading

References