Sir Henry Dudley Gresham Leveson Gower ( ; 8 May 1873 – 1 February 1954) was an English

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 ...

from the Leveson-Gower family. He played first-class cricket for Oxford University and

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. ...

and captained England in Test cricket. His school nickname "Shrimp" remained with him through his life, but few cricket sources refer to him by anything other than his initials. He was a selector for the England cricket team, and a

cricketing knight This is a list of cricketers who were also knighted. The list is divided into two categories: one for those (22 players) who were knighted for their services to cricket, and one for Test cricketers (8 players) who were knighted for other reasons. ...

Early life

Leveson Gower was born in Titsey Place near

Oxted Oxted is a town and civil parish in the Tandridge district of Surrey, England, at the foot of the North Downs. It is south south-east of Croydon in Greater London, west of Sevenoaks in Kent, and north of East Grinstead in West Sussex. Oxte ...

in Surrey, the seventh of twelve sons of Granville William Gresham Leveson-Gower JP DL FSA, by his wife The Hon Sophia Leveson Gower LJStJ (née Leigh). His father was a great-great grandson of John Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Gower (descending from his youngest son, John), and served as Liberal MP for two years for Reigate from 1863 to 1865. His mother was the daughter of

Chandos Leigh, 1st Baron Leigh Chandos Leigh, 1st Baron Leigh (27 June 1791 – 27 September 1850) was a British landowner and minor poet. He was Lord of the Manor of Hunningham. Early life Leigh was the son of James Henry Leigh, of Adlestrop, Gloucestershire, the son of Jame ...

and sister of Sir

Edward Chandos Leigh Sir Edward Chandos Leigh (22 December 1832 – 18 May 1915) was a British aristocrat of the Victorian era, a barrister by profession, and a first-class cricketer. He served as President of MCC for 1887–88. Background Born at Stoneleigh A ...

QC and

James Wentworth Leigh James Wentworth Leigh (22 January 1838 – 5 January 1923) was an Anglican priest in the last decade of the 19th century and the first two of the 20th. He was a very active Freemason, an enthusiastic temperance campaigner, and an ardent social ref ...

. His uncles, and brothers Frederick Leveson-Gower and Evelyn Marmaduke Gresham Leveson-Gower, also played first-class cricket. He was educated at Winchester College, where he played cricket for the school

first eleven The First XI (or, less commonly, First 11) are the eleven primary players in an organisation's leading team, particularly a football or cricket team. A player who is considered a core part of the starting line-up in a First XI team is often the ...

for three years from 1890, and in 1892 he captained the school team to its first victory against Eton College for 10 years, scoring 99 runs and taking 8 wickets for 33 runs in the match. The school team also included Jack Mason, who later played first-class cricket for Kent. He attended

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

, and played cricket for Oxford for four years, receiving his blue in 1893 and captaining the Oxford team in 1896. He hit 73 runs and took 7–84 in the match against Cambridge in 1895. He did not receive a degree.

Cricket career

He started to play for Surrey as an amateur in 1895. He played his last match for Surrey in 1920, but continued to play occasional first-class cricket until 1931. In all, he played in 277 first-class matches, scoring 7,638 runs at a batting average of 23.72, including 4 centuries, and took 46 wickets at an average of 29.95, including 5 wickets on three occasions. His highest first-class score, 155, was reached playing for Sussex against Oxford in 1899. As captain of Surrey from 1908 to 1910, he led the team to 3rd, 5th and 2nd in the County Championship. He was treasurer of Surrey from 1926 to 1928, and the club's president from 1929 to 1939. He was an outstanding fielder, and took 103 catches. He toured the West Indies with Lord Hawke in 1896–97, and North America with Pelham Warner in 1897. He joined the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) tours to South Africa in 1905–6, but did not play in the Tests. He returned to South Africa in 1909–10, and captained England in all three of the Test matches he played, winning one and losing two against South Africa in 1909/10, with

Frederick Fane Frederick Luther Fane, (27 April 1875 – 27 November 1960) played cricket for the England cricket team in 14 Test matches. He also played for Essex, Oxford University and London County. Fane was born at Curragh Camp in County Kildare, Irela ...

captaining the other two Test matches of the series. He played for the

Gentlemen against the 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 ...

on several occasions. For fifty years he played a major role in organising the

Scarborough Festival {{No footnotes, date=July 2011 The Scarborough Festival is an end of season series of cricket matches featuring Yorkshire County Cricket Club which has been held in Scarborough, on the east coast of Yorkshire, since 1876. The ground, at North Mari ...

which takes place at the end of each English cricket season. Touring Test teams would play annually against H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI. He became a Freeman of the

Borough of Scarborough The Borough of Scarborough () is a non-metropolitan district and borough of North Yorkshire, England. In addition to the town of Scarborough, it covers a large stretch of the coast of Yorkshire, including Whitby and Filey. It borders Redc ...

in 1950. Leveson Gower became an England Test selector in 1909, and was chairman of selectors in 1924 and from 1927 to 1930. In 1925 he published a book called ''Cricket Personalities'', which included profiles on well-known cricketers such as Jack Hobbs,

Percy Fender Percy George Herbert Fender (22 August 1892 – 15 June 1985) was an English cricketer who played 13 Tests for his country and was captain of Surrey between 1921 and 1931. An all-rounder, he was a middle-order batsman who bowled mainly l ...

and Frank Woolley. He 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 ...

for his 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 ...

in 1953 and in the same year he published a book of reminiscences entitled ''Off and on the Field''.

Other activities

Outside cricket, Leveson Gower was a stockbroker. He married Enid Mary Hammond-Chambers in 1908. They had no children. He served as a major in the

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...

in the First World War, and was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. He died in Kensington, survived by his wife.

Nickname

Leveson Gower was nicknamed "Shrimp" at school, probably due to his shortness and slight physique, but few cricket sources refer to him by anything other than his initials. During a tour of America in 1897 organised by Plum Warner that Leveson Gower took part in, the Philadelphian journalist

Ralph D. Paine Ralph Delahaye Paine (August 28, 1871 – April 29, 1925) was an American journalist and author popular in the early 20th century. Later, he held both elected and appointed government offices. Life and career Born in Lemont, Illinois, Pai ...

published the following piece of humorous verse concerning the pronunciation of his surname: :''At one end stocky

Jessop Jessop is a surname, and may refer to: * Bob Jessop (born 1946), British Marxist theoretician * Carolyn Jessop (born 1968), American author * Charles Minshall Jessop, mathematician * Christine Jessop, Canadian child murdered in 1984 * Clytie Jes ...

frowned,'' :''The human catapult'' :''Who wrecks the roofs of distant towns'' :''When set in his assault.'' :''His mate was that perplexing man'' :''We know as "Looshun-Gore",'' :''It isn’t spelt at all that way,'' :''We don’t know what it's for.'' :''But as with Cholmondeley and St. John'' :''The alphabet is mixed,'' :''And Yankees cannot help but ask -'' :''"Why don't you get it fixed?"''Alan Gibson (1989) ''The Cricket Captains of England'', The Pavilion Library, , p. 114

References

External links

www.burkespeerage.comCricinfo
''Wisden'', 1955
H.D.G. Leveson Gower introducing English Test players on a British Pathe newsreel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leveson-Gower, H D G England Test cricket captains Surrey cricket captains Oxford University cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Gentlemen cricketers North v South cricketers Free Foresters cricketers Presidents of Surrey County Cricket Club Cricket players and officials awarded knighthoods Knights Bachelor 1873 births 1954 deaths Henry Dudley Gresham Leveson-Gower England cricket team selectors Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford People educated at Winchester College British Army personnel of World War I Harlequins cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers Oxford and Cambridge Universities cricketers English cricketers Surrey cricketers H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI cricketers Lord Hawke's XI cricketers C. I. Thornton's XI cricketers Lord Londesborough's XI cricketers P. F. Warner's XI cricketers A. J. Webbe's XI cricketers Oxford University Past and Present cricketers Over 30s v Under 30s cricketers Royal Army Service Corps officers Marylebone Cricket Club South African Touring Team cricketers Military personnel from Surrey England Test cricketers